Chad Wesley Smith has squatted over 900 pounds, started one of the world’s most respected strength centers, and built an AI-powered system for training programs. Now, the Juggernaut Training Systems founder reflects on a decade of growth and talks about how artificial intelligence is helping his team train more athletes with greater precision.
In this episode of The BarBend Podcast, guest Chad Wesley Smith and host David Thomas Tao discuss:
- A look into how Chad creates podcasts, articles, and videos for Juggernaut (2:00)
- Deeper dive into Chad’s relationship with his business partner/weightlifting coach Max Aita (5:20)
- How Chad discovered powerlifting after a track & field career (7:30)
- Founding Juggernaut at 23 years old (10:00)
- Chad’s strength before and after preparation for his first powerlifting competition (13:00)
- How desperation became the catalyst for Juggernaut’s growth (18:52)
- Building new tools and leveraging artificial intelligence to program for athletes (22:30)
- Training: Differing between type vs. differing between magnitude (25:20)
- Listing the scientific principles behind strength training and scaling them for all athletes (29:30)
- How a powerlifter ingratiates himself with the weightlifting community (32:30)
- Ideal podcast guests, debating coaches, and why you need a common glossary in order to engage (35:10)
Relevant links and further reading:
- Follow Chad on Instagram
- Learn more about Juggernaut Training Systems
- Listen to The JuggLife Podcast
- Check out one of Chad’s more interesting strength accomplishments: a 2,000 pound total in 37 seconds!
