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Goals and Balance - A Woman’s Perspective with Erin Spiva | Stronger Is Better Podcast #4
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In Episode 4 of the Stronger Is Better Podcast, Nick Delgadillo sits down with long-time client and friend Erin Spiva to discuss six years of consistent barbell training, lessons learned, and how strength carries over into real life, including hobbies like pole fitness.
Erin shares her journey from getting started to becoming a client who trains with purpose and balance. They dive into training as a woman, programming adjustments for neuromuscular efficiency, nutrition habits, the myth of “bulking up,” chin-ups, and what happens when you pair heavy lifting with pole sport. A practical episode that demonstrates how strength makes everything better.
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro: Meet Erin Spiva
01:20 - Why Erin’s perspective matters
03:23 - How training women is (and isn’t) different
05:41 - Neuromuscular efficiency: men vs. women
08:28 - Programming fix: switching women to triples
11:46 - Women grind better: fatigue vs. recruitment
13:52 - Erin’s early lifting history
16:09 - Initial numbers, form struggles, and flexibility
17:46 - Weight trends over the years
18:54 - “Looking better” vs. health: what people really want
22:05 - Why women won’t “accidentally get bulky”
24:43 - Aesthetics vs. capability
26:52 - Cutting while training: Erin’s real numbers
27:55 - Simplicity in programming & new variations
30:36 - Dimmell deadlifts, press goals, and load manipulation
32:53 - Erin’s training progression & consistency
34:00 - Current mindset walking into the gym
35:37 - Lifelong strength: different goals at every stage
37:52 - The importance of balance & sustainable goals
40:09 - How Erin builds habits & sustainable systems
41:44 - Her weekly food prep: protein, grains, & travel chicken
42:50 - Accepting who you are and building around that
44:32 - Early goals: 315 deadlift & chin-ups
47:21 - Tradeoffs: could be stronger, but at what cost?
49:33 - How Erin got her first chin-up
52:29 - The progression: from holds to full reps
53:32 - Training balance and why pole fitness clicked
56:07 - What pole class is like—and who should try it
59:31 - How Erin found pole sport
1:01:18 - How strength helps with skill acquisition
1:03:30 - Why pole felt easier thanks to barbell strength
1:04:40 - Don’t spin your wheels: lift real weights
1:05:11 - Why Erin should start a practical nutrition blog
1:06:13 - Her no-brainer food strategy
1:07:46 - How much technical nutrition matters (or doesn’t)
1:08:52 - Progress is simple: consistency over perfection
1:10:00 - Helping parents get stronger without barbells
1:13:42 - Final advice to women thinking about lifting
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