Dr. Mike Israetel is known for unpacking exercise routines to bring lifting insights to his fans. On March 7, 2025, he critiqued the workouts and gym antics of fitness influencer Bradley Martyn, offering tips for those looking to improve their training.
“Let’s take a look at some of his lifting insights. Let’s take a look at some of his impressive lifts. Let’s take a look at some of his regular training and see if we can just talk that shit oh, and learn things… maybe, but definitely talk some shit.”
Dr. Mike Israetel is an established name in the fitness community, boasting experience as a competitive bodybuilder. He shares engaging content, often centered around specific workout routines and exercise selections.
Bradley Martyn is the host of YouTube’s Raw Talk podcast, where he regularly welcomes athletes and influencers to discuss their lives and achievements. Martyn has earned a high level of fame thanks to his unbelievable physique and, at times, unconventional lifts.
Looking At Bradley Martyn’s Craziest Lifts and Training
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In a recent YouTube video, Israetel examined Martyn’s training and viral gym moments.
Martyn’s 3-Plate Bench Press for Reps & Viral Gym Accident
Israetel praised Martyn’s barbell bench press technique, especially his ability to control the weight on the descent.
“This is a lot of reps,” shared Israetel. “This is actually really good technique for what I would call mostly people do this for fuckery, to see how many reps I can get. This is actually great technique. He’s controlling on the way down the entire time which is very unusual for rep max.
He’s touching his chest every time which is great, and even just going shy of lockout to keep the tension on the bottom three quarters bottom two thirds, which is more hypertrophic.”
Israetel commented on Martyn’s viral gym accident, where he needed his lip stitched after a woman fell on his face while he attempted to press her on a weight plate.
“It’s an incredibly impressive feat because of the degree of balance he has to have. Wobbling is a huge huge factor. It prevents you from using all of the parts of your muscle that produce the most force.”
375-Pound One-Arm Dumbbell Row?
He also examined Bradley Martyn’s impressive 375-pound dumbbell row but explained why bigger dumbbells can often prevent full ranges of motion.
“Problem with dumbbells is, they get so big that they stop fitting into normal parts of the human body.
Here, the one-arm dumbbell row you’re supposed to tuck it into your hips, but he’s not going to be able to do that because the outer edge of the dumbbell tracks through his knee.”
Training Arms Every Day
Israetel explained that if fatigue, soreness, and recovery aren’t hurdles, then training arms seven days a week can have muscle-building benefits.
“He’s got great arms. If you can recover, that is if every time you come in to train arms and your biceps and triceps are not sore, they’re not weak, the joints aren’t feeling weird, and you can throw in a couple sets to hit them both.
That is a very good way of hypetrophying them, you can absolutely train your arms everyday unless they are so unrecovered they’re getting worse. Do you have to? No,” he shared.
Leg Training
Lastly, Israetel offered some tips for improving his pendulum squats to more effectively tax the quads instead of the posterior chain.
“If this is truly a leg exercise and not a posterior chain exercise that trains your glutes and hamstrings, if you’re trying to train quads, it’s a good idea to stay much more vertical and let your knees come really far forward on the way down so you go almost completely vertically down and up.”
“This his hamstrings, glutes, and lower back a lot, and a bit of quads as well but doesn’t hit the quads optimally.”
From Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman, and Dorian Yates to influencers like Bradley Martyn, Dr. Israetel believes there’s value and learning opportunities in understanding diverse approaches to training. For the most part, he was quite impressed with Martyn’s degree of control and overall strength.
RELATED: Patrick Bet David to Bradley Martyn: “I Think Mr. Olympia Made a Mistake Not Selling to The Rock”
Watch the full video from the Renaissance Periodization YouTube channel below:
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