Unbranded with Nick Ridpath

At some point, trying harder stops being the answer. Once you’re already training hard and consistently, the next jump in progress comes from getting better at directing that effort.Nick breaks down why more advanced training requires more intentionality, using glute training as the main example—from building the skills to hinge, stabilize, and produce force to progressing toward B-stance RDLs, single-leg work, and walking lunges. Then he gets into a Q&A covering the best glute exercises, sore elbows during dumbbell RDLs, the StairMaster, programming around movement biases, coaching habits, and what he’d be doing if he weren’t a coach.Timestamps:0:00 — Why Nick is useless after 6 p.m.1:56 — Hitting 1,000 YouTube subscribers and almost getting his foot crushed6:20 — Why hard work eventually stops being enough10:59 — Progressing clients and building higher-level training skills14:57 — What actually drives better glute training20:05 — How to progress someone from basic hinges to single-leg RDLs26:09 — Q&A: Are walking lunges the GOAT glute exercise?30:51 — Q&A: Sore elbows from heavy dumbbell RDLs35:34 — Q&A: Why use the StairMaster?37:42 — Q&A: Programming around movement biases42:17 — Q&A: What works vs. what coaches do out of habit46:55 — Why coaches need their ideas challenged49:19 — Q&A: What Nick would do if he weren’t a coach51:34 — Who’s taller: Brandon or Jordan?https://www.instagram.com/nickridpath_/Support the show:Online Coaching: https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgCJoin the newsletter: https://www.unbranded-performance.com/newsletterPre-Script Level 1 Questions: https://calendly.com/nridpath-pre-script/pre-script-advisor-callAdvisory Services for Coaches: https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgCSpoken Nutrition (15% Off): https://spokennutrition.com/NICKRIDPATH_ (Use Code: NICKRIDPATH_)

A good program on paper doesn’t guarantee good results.This week I’m talking about what happens after you write the program. The exercises might fit the client’s goals, schedule, and skill level, but are they doing them the way you intended? Are they training hard enough? And when something hurts or progress stalls, do you actually know why?A friend of mine had a client report shoulder pain during front raises. He’d specified a neutral grip, put it in the demo, and given her the instructions. When he finally got a video, she was using a pronated grip. That’s a small example of how much can change between writing a program and having someone execute it.I get into using video and feedback before swapping exercises, building movement quality and effort together, and knowing when to push the logbook. I also talk about the Jaxson Dart injury takes, my fantasy football team falling apart, and the scooter powered wheelchair I saw in Playa del Carmen.Timestamps00:00 Last week’s unedited upload, becoming a sauna guy, and fantasy football05:15 Jaxson Dart’s injury and the problem with claiming one movement habit could have prevented it11:00 A scooter powered wheelchair in Mexico, my Spanish dubbed YouTube video, and the Elevated Coaching Systems workshop13:45 Why a good program can still get bad results22:30 The front raise story: why I ask for video before changing a client’s program29:00 Movement quality, effort, and when to push the logbook36:45 What makes a program good, and how coaching keeps it workingIf you enjoy the show, subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who coaches.https://www.instagram.com/nickridpath_/Support the show:Online Coaching: https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgCAdvisory Services for Coaches: https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgCPre-Script Level 1 Questions: https://calendly.com/nridpath-pre-script/pre-script-advisor-callSpoken Nutrition (15% Off): https://spokennutrition.com/NICKRIDPATH_ (Use Code: NICKRIDPATH_)

A shorter workout doesn’t have to be a throwaway workout—but you need a better strategy than cramming an 80-minute program into 40 minutes.I break down how to get more out of limited training time by cutting redundant exercises, choosing equipment that lets you train hard quickly, making your warm-up productive, and strategically using supersets, drop sets, rest-pause sets, and shorter rest periods. I also explains why the popular “you only need two sets” approach works for advanced lifters but may shortchange people who haven’t developed the movement quality or effort needed to make those sets count.Timestamps:00:00 Caffeine culture and why you can’t out-caffeinate bad sleep04:13 Why “you only need two sets” doesn’t work for everyone16:00 How to get more out of less time in the gym18:13 Choosing exercises when time is limited22:16 Turning isolation exercises into your warm-up27:30 Minimum effective dose and training for maintenance29:20 Using supersets without ruining your workout33:20 Drop sets, rest-pause sets, and training density36:47 How long you actually need to rest between sets40:16 Matching your training split to your schedulehttps://www.instagram.com/nickridpath_/Support the show:Online Coaching: https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgCJoin the newsletter: https://www.unbranded-performance.com/newsletterPre-Script Level 1 Questions: https://calendly.com/nridpath-pre-script/pre-script-advisor-callAdvisory Services for Coaches: https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgCSpoken Nutrition (15% Off): https://spokennutrition.com/NICKRIDPATH_ (Use Code: NICKRIDPATH_)

This conversation details Nick going solo again — a podcast-numbers scare, a shout-out to the YouTube channel closing in on 1,000 subscribers, and a rant on the Instagram comment section "experts" who argue confidently about topics they don't train in. He uses that to break down why "stability" has become a buzzword — and where base of support, load, and skill actually do change how stable you are — plus where AI is genuinely useful for a coaching business (organizing your schedule, emails, and content ideas) and where it's a trap (writing your actual content for you).From there it's a full teaching segment built around real client questions: why a client who supposedly "lacks ankle mobility" almost never actually has an ankle problem, how bar position and center of mass change what it takes to hit squat depth, and how to progress or regress a Bulgarian split squat when someone can't stabilize on one leg. He closes with shin splints — why it's a load-management problem before it's ever a mobility one.https://www.instagram.com/nickridpath_/Support the show:Online Coaching: https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgCJoin the newsletter: https://www.unbranded-performance.com/newsletterPre-Script Level 1 Questions: https://calendly.com/nridpath-pre-script/pre-script-advisor-callAdvisory Services for Coaches: https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgCSpoken Nutrition (15% Off): https://spokennutrition.com/NICKRIDPATH_ (Use Code: NICKRIDPATH_)

$85 bag of coffee beans, a bring-your-own-seatbelt gym rant, and why your posture probably isn't the problem you think it is.He opens with a London recap (Prescript seminar, a cursed British Airways flight, and what teaching a room full of students still teaches him) and a quick AI-in-coaching update after testing the new ChatGPT model. Then it's into the meat of the episode: a physics-class analogy (scalar vs. vector) for why training quality matters more than the numbers in your logbook, how to actually calibrate proximity to failure instead of just guessing, and why novice vs. high-effort-low-quality clients need completely different approaches.From there, Nick tears into a guy who brought his own seatbelt to strap into a seated hamstring curl — and uses it to explain why machines aren't "non-functional" and what internal stability actually means. He breaks down the torque physics behind the blood-pressure-cuff trend, calls out the "fragileista" corrective-exercise crowd that turns normal posture into a manufactured pathology, fact-checks a YouTube comment claiming you should always depress your scapula, and explains why "weak low traps / dominant upper traps" and classic upper-cross-syndrome framing oversimplify what's actually a motor-control and variability issue.No guest this week — just Nick, unscripted, working through a physics-class analogy and a full mailbag of coaching pet peeves.Timestamp markers~00:00 — Coffee snobbery, an $85 bag of beans, and why he's not sweating AI replacing coaches (yet)~07:09 — London/Prescript recap: a cursed flight and what teaching an L3 seminar still teaches him~11:05 — Scalar vs. vector: the physics analogy for why training quality beats chasing numbers~22:19 — The guy who brought his own seatbelt to the gym — and why isolation machines aren't the problem~28:10 — The "fragileista" PT trend, debunking a YouTube comment on scapular depression, and why upper cross syndrome oversimplifies posturehttps://www.instagram.com/nickridpath_/Support the show:Online Coaching: https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgCPre-Script Level 1 Questions: https://calendly.com/nridpath-pre-script/pre-script-advisor-callAdvisory Services for Coaches: https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgCSpoken Nutrition (15% Off): https://spokennutrition.com/NICKRIDPATH_ (Use Code: NICKRIDPATH_)