2917: How Strong Should You Actually Be? The Numbers Finally Explained
Release Date: 08/06/2026
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15). In this episode the guys break down 5 lessons from bodybuilders that everyone should learn — mind muscle connection and why feeling the target muscle is a learnable skill that changes everything, the pump as a signal for hydration, recovery and muscle connection rather than just an ego boost, Lee Haney's principle of stimulate don't annihilate and why bodybuilders...
info_outlineMind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
use code LAUNCH for 40% off BONUS: If you buy MAPS Abs & Butt - on the next page you get to pick Muscle Mommy 15 or Muscle Mommy for free. Your Choice. INCLUDED: The Butt Building Diet Guide & Women's Supplement Guide & At-Home Version (Dumbbells only) You want round, full glutes and a tight waist. So why is what you're currently doing making neither happen? In this episode of Mind Pump Show, Sal, Adam, and Justin tear apart the most common mistakes women make when trying to build their glutes, starting with the big one: eating 1,200 calories and calling it a fitness plan....
info_outlineMind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15). In this episode the guys break down the low reps vs. high reps debate — covering why both build muscle equally when intensity is matched, why low reps build maximal strength better and high reps build strength endurance, why low reps are easier to recover from, and why doing both in phases produces the best long term results. They also get into Sal starting...
info_outlineMind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15). In this episode the guys break down the signs that your bulk or reverse diet is not working — losing weight on the scale, still feeling hungry, strength not going up, energy not improving, and sleep not getting better. They cover why strength is the single best metric to track during a bulk, why under eating during a supposed surplus leads to binge cycles on...
info_outlineMind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
Maps Abs and Butt 40% off, a free Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15 program, a build your butt diet guide, and a supplement guide. Find everything at htpps://mapsabsandbutt.com with code Launch. You cannot shrink yourself into a better body. You have to build it first, then reveal it. That's the whole thesis of this Mind Pump Show episode, and the guys spend every minute proving it with real client stories, hard science, and the kind of blunt coaching most trainers are too scared to deliver. The Guys break down exactly why starting with a cut is the most common, most damaging mistake people...
info_outlineMind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15). In this episode the guys break down the real dangers of artificial sweeteners — why they are unlikely to be physically dangerous despite all the scaremongering, why they simply do not work for weight loss in real life outside of controlled settings, how they change your perception of palatability so that water and whole foods start to taste bland, and why...
info_outlineMind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version, and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15). In this episode the guys break down the real reason most women never build the butt they want — and it has nothing to do with effort or genetics. They cover why you cannot shrink your way to a bigger butt, why high rep burn workouts and kickbacks produce almost no results, why the exercises that feel the best in your glutes are often the worst for building...
info_outlineMind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version, and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15). In this episode the guys break down why the cross-bench dumbbell pullover is one of the most forgotten and underrated exercises in the gym — covering how it trains a fundamental human movement pattern tied to throwing mechanics, why it fixes shoulder problems that nothing else touches, how it builds like a compound lift despite being an isolation movement,...
info_outlineMind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version, and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15). In this episode the guys break down the right and wrong reasons to use fasting — not for body composition, not for anyone with a history of restricting, but specifically for spiritual purposes, breaking food attachment, gut health issues, autoimmune conditions like psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis, and before or during chemotherapy. They also cover a...
info_outlineMind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
MAPS Abs & Butt: Abs and glutes. The two most requested body parts, the two most commonly undertrained. In this episode, Sal, Adam, and Justin break down the brand new MAPS Abs and Butt program and talk about WHY so many people fail to develop these areas, even when they're putting in the work. The answer isn't what most people think, and the guys are blunt about it. If you've been frustrated by a flat butt or abs that won't show no matter how hard you train, this is the episode that explains exactly why, and what to do about it. 00:00 Intro 00:22 MAPS Abs and Butt...
info_outlineMAPS BOGO: https://mapsbogo.com
Buy one get one free — mix and match any of the top 10 most popular programs (Anabolic, Aesthetic, Performance, 15 Minutes, Anywhere, Symmetry, Starter, Muscle Mommy, Powerlift, 40+) for $157.
In this episode the guys break down exactly how strong you should actually be — covering the real strength benchmarks for men and women across bench press, squat, and deadlift from decent to good to great to advanced, why strength is one of the single best predictors of longevity and all-cause mortality, why we are in a muscle weakness epidemic, why mainstream workouts designed around sweat and soreness are terrible for building strength, why training to failure hurts more than it helps, and why focusing on 4-5 compound lifts for the first few years of training beats everything else. Sal shares the summer he met powerlifters at 15 and gained 17 pounds of lean mass, and the story of his ER doctor friend Justin who went up 40 pounds on bench in 4 weeks wondering why it felt so easy.
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LINKS
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0:00 - Intro
1:47 - How strong should you actually be — and why strength is the best longevity metric
2:51 - The muscle weakness epidemic — a college male today has the grip strength of a 60-year-old in 1984
3:48 - The good news — everyone can get significantly stronger with the right training
5:39 - The risk of weakness vs the risk of heavy lifting — and who this actually applies to
9:49 - Why mainstream workouts built around sweat and soreness are terrible for building strength
11:10 - The conversation Sal had with every new client for the first 30-60 days
16:36 - What the Soviets figured out that the US hadn't — scientific strength programming
17:38 - Strength programs have fewer exercises and more practice of each lift — here's why
21:07 - Why training to failure hurts your strength gains more than it helps
22:38 - Schedule your deloads — the study that showed a week completely off matched constant training
25:17 - The actual strength benchmarks — decent, good, great and advanced for men and women
26:55 - Bench press, squat and deadlift numbers for men broken down
27:22 - Bench press, squat and deadlift numbers for women broken down
28:05 - Why good is the right goal and why advanced post-40 is high risk with diminishing returns
28:46 - MAPS Anabolic to MAPS Powerlift — the best 6-month strength combo