Training Partners

Weezy Shumaker and Justin McClintock
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Health & Fitness
  • Weekly

Strong Takes Held Loosely - Two Fitness Professionals, Weezy Shumaker and Justin McClintock, talk all things training and fitness. Funny, Strong, and In-Depth Conversations to make you think, laugh, and progress your fitness journey.

  1. 3d ago

    Aram Grigorian: Show me the data

    Aram Grigorian is on the pod this week! Aram is the nutrition coach behind @4weeks2thebeach, co-host of the Other Side Lifestyle Podcast, and the guy behind the Real Coaches Summit. He also finally upgraded to a laptop made this century, and doesn't like feet, in case that's a deal breaker for you. Aram is sick of the fragility narrative that tells women their bodies are broken, and the only fix is a pink-packaged supplement and cycle-syncing everything. Hormones are real, perimenopause can be a bear, and women have been overlooked in research for decades - yes; But serving women well looks a lot more like serving everyone else well than anyone selling you a $2,000 peptide-stack solution wants you to know. We get into why it’s rarely an information problem, why tracking your food is a tool and not a life sentence, and why “I tried that” is the most useless sentence in coaching. Aram’s take: show me the data, because trying isn’t a result. We also talk about what the best clients have in common, why your plan has to adjust to the mini and macro seasons of your life, and the five good months a year most people actually have to work with. We also talk about Real Coaches Summit, a two and a half day event for fitness pros where nobody gets pitched at the end, and why Aram keeps running it even though it costs a small fortune to pull off. Find Aram at @4weeks2thebeach and @real.coaches.summit on Instagram, or realcoachessummit.com for tickets. Strong takes held loosely, as always.

  2. Oct 28

    Starting Over?

    If you feel like you're always starting over, this one's for you. Justin came in with a topic that’s been living in his head since he ran into an old friend who took him aside and quietly said, "I really need to get back in shape, so I’m starting somewhere." That sentence is the whole episode. We break down the four groups of people who feel like they’re starting over, and why none of them are actually starting from square one. Then we build the map: from 'why now?' and getting clear on ALL your goals, to how to deal with injuries and fears, and of course we talk progressive overload. Strong takes held loosely.

  3. Oct 21

    Shoot the s*** October 2026

    We’re back with a proper shoot the s*** episode, and there’s a lot to unpack. Weezy got a dog (Not planned). Apparently he’s great for business? We talk about Justin’s shoulder progress and his hernia surgery recovery (this guy is falling apart). We talk college humor (the channel), why DNF-ing a book is legit, then somehow end up talking about the Caligula movie and hidden sex scenes in fantasy novels. As you do. There's lots more - friends catching up and cursing a lot is the theme?

  4. Oct 14

    Jessi Roesch: Food, Farms, Fitness, and Finance

    We sat down with Jessi Roesch, and you want to hear the whole thing. Jessi is the founder of Downland, and she works at the intersection of food, farms, fitness, and finance. She talks about being intentional, making informed decisions, and how understanding your values before you act applies everywhere. Whether it's choosing where to spend your food budget, beginning a fitness journey, or planning a farm succession, the work is the same: know who you are and what you want before you get to the table. We talked about the beef supply chain mess, why local spending matters economically, and her five C's framework for food choices (this is GOLD)O. No purity culture, no all-or-nothing thinking. Just thoughtful tradeoffs and building community through commerce.

  5. Oct 7

    Science of Sleep

    This week we're drilling down and making sense of science of sleep — and we mean actual science, not just "you should probably sleep more." Weezy breaks down what is happening inside your body across every phase of the sleep cycle, why it matters, and what to do about it when it isn't going well. We talk sleep types, how long people should sleep (some surprises here), and what you can do if you wake up groggy despite 'doing everything right'. Then Justin makes her big mad. Really. Strong takes held loosely.

  6. Sep 30

    Does your Coach look the part?

    We're asking the question that comes up constantly in fitness, on social media, and in DMs from coaches who are just getting started: does your coach need to look the part? We talk about why a coach's physical appearance is an understandable shortcut, but one that tells you almost nothing about their actual ability, why being great at the thing and being great at coaching the thing are completely different skill sets, and why high-level athletes often make surprisingly poor coaches. We get into the ethics of before-and-afters and sharing client wins publicly, why "I work with anybody between birth and death" is a red flag and not a selling point, and even a true story of a high-level professional athlete coach whose answer to "I'm pregnant, what should I change?" was "I'll ask my wife." Does your coach need to look the part is: not really, maybe kinda — and also, here's what to actually look for instead. Strong takes held loosely.

  7. Sep 23

    We've lost the plot

    This week we've officially lost the plot — and we're not apologizing for it. Weezy had a week, had some big feelings, and called an audible. What follows is a collection of things that have been living rent-free in our brains, in no particular order. Why your fitness is the currency with which you pay for (or can't afford) the life you want. Why messy action beats endless optimization every time. Why doing nothing is never actually neutral. Fitness is political. The book All In Her Head is currently making Weezy furious in the best way. We talk class warfare, GLP-1s, shame as a motivator (spoiler: it doesn't work), and why taking time off the gym to live an adventurous life isn't something to apologize for. We close by talking about Food Recalls:2026 Edition, which is exactly as unhinged as it sounds and includes multiple products recalled for containing erectile dysfunction medication, and those products are also ALL CANDY. WTF. Strong takes held loosely.

  8. Sep 16

    Walking Speed: The 6th Vital Sign

    Walking speed might be the most overlooked predictor of how long you'll live and what your life will actually look like. It's been showing up in research for years as one of the most reliable indicators of future health, independence, and quality of life... Yet almost nobody (at least in fitness) is regularly measuring it! Here's what makes it remarkable: it takes two minutes to test, requires no equipment, and tells you more about someone's overall function than most metrics we obsess over. Walking speed reflects cardiovascular fitness, strength, balance, coordination, cognitive processing, and how confident someone feels moving through the world all at once. It predicts whether someone will leave their house, whether they'll fall, and where their life is headed. The best part? You can improve it right now with things you already know how to do. If you coach people and haven't thought about this metric yet, this episode will change how you think about fitness, assessment, and what actually matters. This simple, powerful tool that's been hiding in plain sight, and we're YELLING about it.

See All (71)

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Strong Takes Held Loosely - Two Fitness Professionals, Weezy Shumaker and Justin McClintock, talk all things training and fitness. Funny, Strong, and In-Depth Conversations to make you think, laugh, and progress your fitness journey.

Information

  • Creator
    Weezy Shumaker and Justin McClintock
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    71
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Weezy Shumaker and Justin McClintock
  • Show Website
    Training Partners