Unbranded with Nick Ridpath is a podcast about having real conversations with real coaches about training and performance. Nick works with general population clients, busy high-achieving professionals, and collegiate and professional athletes — D1, NFL, UFC — and shares the same evidence-based principles he uses with them, applied for coaches and people who take their training seriously. Practical insights that work, without the fluff.
At some point, trying harder stops being the answer. Once you’re already training hard and consistently, the next jump in progress comes from getting better at directing that effort.
Nick breaks down why more advanced training requires more intentionality, using glute training as the main example—from building the skills to hinge, stabilize, and produce force to progressing toward B-stance RDLs, single-leg work, and walking lunges. Then he gets into a Q&A covering the best glute exercises, sore elbows during dumbbell RDLs, the StairMaster, programming around movement biases, coaching habits, and what he’d be doing if he weren’t a coach.
Timestamps:
0:00 — Why Nick is useless after 6 p.m.
1:56 — Hitting 1,000 YouTube subscribers and almost getting his foot crushed
6:20 — Why hard work eventually stops being enough
10:59 — Progressing clients and building higher-level training skills
14:57 — What actually drives better glute training
20:05 — How to progress someone from basic hinges to single-leg RDLs
26:09 — Q&A: Are walking lunges the GOAT glute exercise?
30:51 — Q&A: Sore elbows from heavy dumbbell RDLs
35:34 — Q&A: Why use the StairMaster?
37:42 — Q&A: Programming around movement biases
42:17 — Q&A: What works vs. what coaches do out of habit
46:55 — Why coaches need their ideas challenged
49:19 — Q&A: What Nick would do if he weren’t a coach
51:34 — Who’s taller: Brandon or Jordan?
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28 Sept 2026
E33: Why a Good Program Still Gets Bad Results
A good program on paper doesn’t guarantee good results.
This week I’m talking about what happens after you write the program. The exercises might fit the client’s goals, schedule, and skill level, but are they doing them the way you intended? Are they training hard enough? And when something hurts or progress stalls, do you actually know why?
A friend of mine had a client report shoulder pain during front raises. He’d specified a neutral grip, put it in the demo, and given her the instructions. When he finally got a video, she was using a pronated grip. That’s a small example of how much can change between writing a program and having someone execute it.
I get into using video and feedback before swapping exercises, building movement quality and effort together, and knowing when to push the logbook. I also talk about the Jaxson Dart injury takes, my fantasy football team falling apart, and the scooter powered wheelchair I saw in Playa del Carmen.
Timestamps
00:00 Last week’s unedited upload, becoming a sauna guy, and fantasy football
05:15 Jaxson Dart’s injury and the problem with claiming one movement habit could have prevented it
11:00 A scooter powered wheelchair in Mexico, my Spanish dubbed YouTube video, and the Elevated Coaching Systems workshop
13:45 Why a good program can still get bad results
22:30 The front raise story: why I ask for video before changing a client’s program
29:00 Movement quality, effort, and when to push the logbook
36:45 What makes a program good, and how coaching keeps it working
If you enjoy the show, subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who coaches.
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21 Sept 2026
E32: How to Get More Out of Less Time in the Gym
A shorter workout doesn’t have to be a throwaway workout—but you need a better strategy than cramming an 80-minute program into 40 minutes.
I break down how to get more out of limited training time by cutting redundant exercises, choosing equipment that lets you train hard quickly, making your warm-up productive, and strategically using supersets, drop sets, rest-pause sets, and shorter rest periods. I also explains why the popular “you only need two sets” approach works for advanced lifters but may shortchange people who haven’t developed the movement quality or effort needed to make those sets count.
Timestamps:
00:00 Caffeine culture and why you can’t out-caffeinate bad sleep
04:13 Why “you only need two sets” doesn’t work for everyone
16:00 How to get more out of less time in the gym
18:13 Choosing exercises when time is limited
22:16 Turning isolation exercises into your warm-up
27:30 Minimum effective dose and training for maintenance
29:20 Using supersets without ruining your workout
33:20 Drop sets, rest-pause sets, and training density
36:47 How long you actually need to rest between sets
40:16 Matching your training split to your schedule
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Support the show:
Online Coaching: https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgC (https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgC)
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Pre-Script Level 1 Questions: https://calendly.com/nridpath-pre-script/pre-script-advisor-call (https://calendly.com/nridpath-pre-script/pre-script-advisor-call)
Advisory Services for Coaches: https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgC (https://w1c6llku20e.typeform.com/to/NDrtbAgC)
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