Iron Minds

Sam Bolotta

Great powerlifting isn't just built in the gym. It's built in the conversations between coaches: the debates about programming, the lessons from failed attempts, the ideas most people never get to hear. Iron Minds brings those conversations to you. Every episode features a coach worth knowing, talking about the work they actually do and why they do it that way.

Episodes

  1. 4 days ago

    Predictability Over Forcing Progress, The Neuroticism Curve & Hitting Your Quota w/ Ronnie Vallejo

    In the third episode of Iron Minds, Samuele sits down with Ronnie Vallejo — powerlifting coach and owner of Access Training Systems — to talk about predictability in programming, the psychological traits that correlate with success, and how identity, technique, and load management shape an athlete's long-term progress. 0:00 - Intro 0:44 - From mental health work to powerlifting coaching 4:01 - Coaching influences: Phil Jackson and Bill Belichick 8:33 - What makes a coach–athlete relationship work 15:22 - Psychological traits, neuroticism, and presence 21:13 - When powerlifting becomes your identity 25:42 - Ranking the six variables of athletic success 33:41 - Top-down vs bottoms-up programming 38:50 - Intuition vs data in coaching 44:07 - AI, motion capture, and the future of the sport 46:02 - Injuries, load management, and movement quality 50:16 - Why he doesn't change technique right away 1:01:25 - Dose, priming, and sequencing 1:09:07 - RPE, percentages, and pacing strategies 1:15:33 - Forcing progress vs letting it emerge 1:22:15 - Predictability as the core of his system 1:28:12 - Taylor, Perk, Keiko: longevity vs pushing 1:32:18 - Wrap-up Samuele: https://www.instagram.com/giulianodontario/ Ronnie: https://www.instagram.com/ronnieronnn/

    1hr 33min

  2. 27 May

    Technique Is Only 5% of the Picture, Velocity vs Intuition & the Bayesian Approach w/ Kedric Kwan

    In the second episode of Iron Minds, Samuele sits down with Kedric Kwan — a powerlifting coach and nutritionist who leans heavily Bayesian — to talk about what actually builds a strong lifter: why genetics outweighs technique, how to read fatigue from bar speed, and why a coach's intuition is an unreliable instrument. 0:00 - Intro 0:34 - Before powerlifting: a skinny volleyball kid in Malaysia 6:07 - Arsène Wenger and coaching through adaptability 11:54 - The expanding support staff of a modern lifter 13:02 - Funding, nutrition, and an expensive hobby 18:29 - Ranking success: genetics 33%, psychology 20% 27:12 - Why technique is only 5% 36:50 - Perfection vs "good enough" 40:55 - Top-down vs bottom-up, and the Bayesian coach 46:43 - Brett Gibbs and reverse periodization 53:33 - The coach who runs on pure intuition 59:53 - The one variable to track: velocity at 65–70% 1:01:50 - Velocity loss as a fatigue proxy 1:07:48 - Percentages, RPE, or velocity? 1:11:55 - Tapering, overreaching, and the Sheffield study 1:18:36 - Digging deep vs blind auto-regulation 1:25:59 - Rethinking injury as cessation of training 1:34:28 - Platonist or Aristotelian? Samuele: https://www.instagram.com/giulianodontario/ Kedric: https://www.instagram.com/kedric.reformance/

    1hr 39min

  3. 20 May

    Building Careers, Managing Risk & The Periodization Framework w/ Jason Tremblay

    In the first episode of Iron Minds, Samuele sits down with Jason Tremblay — head coach at The Strength Guys and one of the most accomplished powerlifting coaches in the world — to talk about what actually drives long-term success in the sport. 0:00 - Intro 0:40 - Jason's background before powerlifting 7:17 - The coaches who shaped his thinking 11:11 - Top-down vs bottom-up in training 15:41 - Rate of progress: when to push, when not to 19:36 - Competition frequency and career longevity 21:46 - Managing injury risk 25:37 - Ranking the variables: genetics, lifestyle, programming, technique 40:07 - What single variable to track 43:47 - How volume evolves across a career 50:32 - Signs of appropriate training load 52:07 - What makes a training block successful 54:49 - Weekly dose vs session structure 56:51 - RPE, percentages, and VBT 1:03:34 - RPE vs reps in reserve 1:06:24 - What Jason has changed his mind on Samuele: https://www.instagram.com/giulianodontario/ Jason: https://www.instagram.com/jasontsg/ The Strength Guys: https://www.instagram.com/thestrengthguys/

    1hr 12min
  • 3 Episodes

About

Great powerlifting isn't just built in the gym. It's built in the conversations between coaches: the debates about programming, the lessons from failed attempts, the ideas most people never get to hear. Iron Minds brings those conversations to you. Every episode features a coach worth knowing, talking about the work they actually do and why they do it that way.

Information

  • Creator
    Sam Bolotta
  • Years Active
    2k
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Sam Bolotta
  • Show Website
    Iron Minds