TMGP Ep 38 with NO-BS strength and fitness coach Cillian O’Connor AKA DYSFUNCTIONALPATTERNS

Cillian O'Connor, known by his Instagram handle @dysfunctionalpatterns, is a coach who combines critical analysis with sharp satire to examine popular fitness methodologies — most notably Functional Patterns. His content highlights and parodies what he sees as the absurdities, inconsistencies, and questionable practices within these systems, encouraging a more skeptical and evidence-based approach to training. Beyond the satire, Cillian focuses on helping men get stronger, build muscle, and manage pain with no-BS, practical training methods. In this episode, we dive into the importance of critical thinking in the fitness space, the risks of blindly following trending methodologies, and why grounding your training in science and reason is more vital than ever. In today’s episode, we dive into a wide range of insights: Some of the topics include:

Why is there so much BS in the fitness industry The origins of the name dysfunctional patterns Not being a fan of “functional patterns” The Value of a coach How to avoid burning out early in lifting Overrated vs underrated recovery protocols Why exercise tier rankings are misguided Consistency being more important than the angle of the cable machine Overcoming plateaus Beginner gains Effort being key AMRAP The importance of showing up Opinions vs science for example Jeff Nippard and Dr Milo Wolf’s so-called “best exercises” according to science Spinal loading Asymmetries and perfect technique And so much more! Get ready for a truly informative episode.