Greg Smith 🚢

I help people burn fat, build muscle and feel great. 150 lives changed for the better. 10+ years of experience. Get my free fat loss guide:

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

Five data points every beginner should be tracking in a log book or app;

Sets
Reps
Weight 
Workouts
Calorie Intake 

This will give you all the information your need to know to get stronger.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

The biggest challenges beginners face when getting stronger:

Building a consistent routine 
Learning technique by themselves 
Pushing themselves safely without a spotter

Easily fixed with the help of a good coach.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

Most strength training apps aren’t worth downloading. 

Here’s three that are:

Iron Path
Coach’s Eye
Starting Strength

What gets measured, gets improved.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

My favourite websites for strength training programs and advice:

Lift Vault 
Jim Wendler 
Starting Strength
Power Lifting To Win
Stronger By Science 

Great resources for beginner, intermediate and advanced trainees.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

The Moment Model is the most important framework in strength training. 

It uses physics, biomechanics and physiology to explain why the basic barbell exercises should be perfumed as described in the book Starting Strength.

Read, learn and implement it you want to get stronger.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

If you want to improve your technique, after every rep, ask yourself if you:

Kept the barbell position over the balance point?
Worked through a full range of motion?
Maintained good posture?

Constantly reviewing this three things will rapidly improve your form.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

Best companies for strength training equipment in the UK:

Eleiko
Mirafit
Rogue
Blackbox 
Bulldog Gear

Who would you add?

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

@Thomashornall True that!

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

Five examples of where being stronger is useful in every day life:

Moving furniture
Lifting up children 
Gardening and yard work
Home repairs and DIY projects
Helping others in an emergency 

Lifting weights is hard, but it makes life easy.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

The best beginner routine for getting stronger:

Starting Strength. You perform three exercises, for three sets, three times per week and increase the weight by 2.5-5kg every time you train.

It doesn’t get any simpler or more effective than that.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

Three podcasts worth listening to if you want to get stronger:

Starting Strength Radio
Stronger By Science
Weights and plates

Just listen and learn.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

Five mistakes beginners make when they start strength training:

Lifting with bad form
Using too much weight 
Not following a program 
Only training the upper body
Prioritising assistance exercises

Easy to avoid when you know what to do.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

The most important lesson I’ve learned in 15 years of coaching:

Everyone can get stronger. Man, woman, young, old, big or small - it doesn’t matter. If you show up, put in the work and stay consistent you will get stronger than you thought possible.

There’s no doubt about it.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

Social media is full of bad training advice. 

Here’s three strength training coaches worth listening too:

Jim Wendler
Mark Rippetoe 
Mike Tuchscherer

I’ve learn a ton from all of them.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

Five reasons why all athletes should be doing strength training: 

Hit harder
Run faster 
Lift heavier
Jump higher 
Throw further 

Being stronger is literally a cheat code for sports.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

For me, the biggest benefit of being strong is this:

It gives you a head start in almost every sport imaginable. You will be better than 85% percent of your peers in BJJ, Rugby, Football, Athletics and Rock Climbing by being stronger.

It is literally a cheat code for sports.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

Here’s a quote I like to reflect on when I come up short:

“If you don't get what you want, it's a sign either that you did not seriously want it, or that you tried to bargain over the price.” - Rudyard Kipling

It always helps me figure out where I went wrong.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

Three secret coaching cues I wish I knew when I started Deadlifting:

Keep the bar over the middle of the foot
'Take the slack’ out of the barbell
Knee’s in the pit of the elbows

Would have saved me a lot of back pain.

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

The biggest insights I’ve had from 25 years of strength training:

How strong you can get in your 40’s, 50’s and 60’s
How simple the strength training process is
How afraid people are of lifting weights
How young strength makes you feel
How little you need steroids

What's yours?

[Greg Smith 🚢 @TheBodySmithUK]

I’ve helped over 50 clients Squat 1.5 x their bodyweight.

The crazy part is I use the same system every time - they perform three sets of three exercises times per week and add 2.5kg to the bar every single time they train.

It doesn’t get any more simple or effective than that.