Pick Your Poison: When Loud Training Works (Part II)

by- Josh Bryant

Brian Dobson and Mark Hanlon Always Came With Purpose

Now let’s say the part most people are afraid to say out loud.

Some people like training like every day is a fight, like a fight in the Allsup’s parking lot. That’s their poison. And it works!

A lot of people say the performance mindset only cashes it in on meet day. That’s true. But it’s not the whole story. Plenty of lifters, myself included, have trained that way and gotten brutally strong.

Ever hear of the mythical Strongman Saturday?

(If you missed part I last week, click HERE to view.)

My Experience

Growing up, Saturday was squat day. Loud. Heavy. Everyone showed up ready to go. We added weight week after week. PRs mattered. And they happened and we got progressively stronger.

Walk into Metroflex on a Brian Dobson leg day or one of those legendary deadlift sessions I ran with Johnnie Jackso. 

Arousal is high. Intent is locked. Effort is brutally honest. The synergy was so real I’d bet Grandpappy’s still that the outcome beat the math on paper. The energy rolled down the street to the RaceTrac gas station. Every so often a local bum who lived in the cars behind the old wrecker shop, affectionately known as the Meth Ninja, would wander over and howl like he smelled something fermenting. People blamed drugs. Maybe. But the real intoxicant was that training atmosphere!

That’s also why a lot of bodybuilders thrive on one body part a day. You can cite studies on untrained college kids all you want, but there’s something real about showing up with one clear job and unloading everything you’ve got into it.

I was talking with Tom Haviland, who often trains twice a day, about structuring sessions. He prefers to execute the harder, more aggressive session first. Not because science says so, but because waking up knowing exactly what job needs to get done sharpens intent. You can argue activation and priming literature all you want, but psychology always trumps physiology. Knowing the mission when your feet hit the floor is more potent than any activation session.

Anthony Schlegel said it best in football: train violent, be violent. There’s a time and place for that mindset.

Elite strength athletes often thrive on numbers. They thrive on PRs. They don’t always walk away just because it felt hard. And that’s okay. This style has built a lot of strong people.

Final Thoughts

The more neurologically complex the lift, the more often you need to train it calmly. Olympic lifts are gymnastics with a barbell. Technique wins. That’s TF max territory. You can’t psych yourself up for that every day.

With simpler, brute-strength lifts like the deadlift, you have more room to choose. Plenty of powerlifters have built huge numbers leaning into intensity and aggression. That’s real too.

The real limiter isn’t right or wrong.
It’s sustainability.

Adherence matters. Personality matters. Preference matters. Some people love the quiet basement and perfect reps. Some people are adrenaline junkies who come alive in loud rooms with big numbers on the bar.

Both can win.

Bottom line: psyching up is real. Mental fatigue is real. Arousal is real. Environment matters. So do individual differences.

Pick the tool that fits the job.
Just know the cost before you swing it.

Build Texas-Sized Size and Strength HERE.