436: Julien Pineau on Skeletal Loading, Sandbags and the Art of Instinctive Training

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. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio, Athletic Development Games, and the LILA Exogen Wearable Resistance Training Sleeves. Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com 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, but still try to make progress, you’ll see anxiety exploding, because you took something that is acute into chronic. That’s not how we are designed” 30:30 “I’m not just talking cognitively speaking, I’m talking physically speaking. Frustration has very specific physiological effect, that causes you to kick your own ass, and make progress” 35:30 “When you are holding an isometric, your sympathetic nervous system keeps going up” 37:30 “From a nervous system perspective, I do a lot of holds. That’s why I like the sandbag carries so much; you are walking but your upper body holds the thing” 40:20: “The strength of the heart matters more than the speed of the heart.. the #1 thing in the body for the strength of signaling is the heart.. how fast it’s pushing blood will decide so many things in your body, all the way to your brain” 41:30: “There are 8 heirarchies in the body, conscious thought is the 6th layer… there are different types of intelligence throughout your body” 45:50: “I can tell you that PTSD is related to the strength of the heart… the strength of your heart will rule so many things, including your conscious thoughts” 49:45: “When you are in the weightroom, how do you know the lift/position you are in, is correct”? 53:20: “Give me an athlete, make him do basic gymnastics, bodyweight, make him do basic wrestling, some swimming, some sprinting, tell me you don’t have a very good athlete that is mostly balanced” 56:30 “You can never lift a heavy sandbag a light way… where as the barbell is nice, it’s very structured, it’s very rule oriented. The sandbag is going to fight you” 1:02:15 “I can tell you from experience that a strong back and a strong grip are connected” 1:03:40: “Isolation work I’d rather get from gymnastics because it least it involves the hands and feet” 1:04:30: “The heart is the first heriarchy, no heart, no life. The rhythm of the heart decides what the other systems are doing, so cardiovascular health decides that the rest of the body does what it does” 1:10:50: “You can’t namaste the bear away” 1:14:00 “Load a yoke onto your shoulder, and you feel it all the way into your femur; the massive hormonal response from your body, from your bones, is going to dictate how far your sympathetic system will go; how much of a fight you will have… training through the bones, on a somatic level is what matters the most” 1:23:10 “The more you are in sympathetic your coordination goes away. The more you are in parasympathetic, your aggression goes away” About Julien Pineau Julien Pineau is the founder of Strongfit and a movement-focused human performance coach. Sports have been a part of Julien’s life since he was young, and he has athletic backgrounds in a variety of areas from competitive swimming, to mixed martial arts, strongman, and more. In 1993, Julien began his coaching career as a conditioning and grappling coach for the MMA gym where he trained, and in 2008, he opened his gym that focuses on strongman training. StrongFit was born and has evolved from a single gym to a full education program. Julien is trained to visualize and correct proper human movement patterns. He has a fascinating ability to diagnose imbalances, find the root of problems, and provide knowledge to build a stronger, more fit, and more resilient human. He is a man on a journey inward as much as he is outward.