397: Joel Smith Q&A on Reactive Strength, Intuitive Athleticism and Swim Performance Methods

Today's podcast features Kevin Mulcahy. Kevin is an experienced sports and S&C coach and owner-operator of the Design the Game Project. He has worked with various sports teams, athletes, professionals, and clubs across three continents, for over 30 years. Kevin takes a multi-lateral focus on human movement, skill development, and S&C, led by a deep interest in ecological dynamics and the constraints led approach to coaching and motor learning. Sport and the process of athlete development has undergone a major shift in the last 3-4 decades. Where free play used to be a hallmark of young athletes, the majority of athletic development now happens in the realm of supervised, cognitively overloaded, and hyper-accelerated practices and games. This aspect of sport (and sports performance) does get talked about, but the nuances of how things should actually change from both a developmental aspect are rarely discussed. On today’s show, Kevin gives his perspective on ideal athlete development from an ecological and environmental point of view. He lays out the difference between the dominant “cognitive” approach to coaching and training, relative to an ecological approach. Kevin also gets into skill development, game-play and the importance of motor learning, and an overall athlete-centered, approach to training. Kevin’s experience crosses many of the traditional lines drawn in athletics, and as such, helps us to form new connections and understand the athlete development process on a deeper level. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr, the Plyomat, and LILA Exogen. Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off of any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer head to Lilateam.com TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software at teambuildr.com. The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at plyomat.net View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 3:44- Kevin’s Evolution of Movement and Strength Coaching 10:32- Gaelic Football's Impact on Soccer Development 13:45- Nurturing Creativity in Gaelic Games Athletes 29:45- Balanced Development Through a Free Play Approach 33:16- Small-Sided Games for Tactical Coaching Success 47:10- Athletic Success: The Genetic Advantage Perspective 54:02- Optimizing Training Schedules for Performance Enhancement 59:21- Irish Sports Clubs: Community Support and Culture 1:02:46- Enhancing Sports Performance Through Soft Coaching 1:07:29- Tactical Deficit-Focused Conditioning in Team Sports 1:12:06- Enhancing Sports Performance Through Motor Learning Principles 1:18:23- Engaging Sports Coaching and Skill Development Initiative Kevin Mulcahy Quotes "I'm not sure we all know how deep the science of sports goes yet." - Kevin Mulcahy “How do we learn skills? How are they connected to skill as we see it? Because we see the action of a player throwing a basket, pulling a dummy solo, dribbling through a player in soccer, whatever and we see that as a fixed skill and that's something they did and they must practice that a thousand times. But versus the more ecological way looking at it like, you know, they saw an opportunity to act, they saw a gap, they saw space, they got free at the corner for a three point shot, whatever it is. And they just took it” - Kevin Mulcahy “But traditionally, I would have struggled to get soccer and basketball players to engage in strength and conditioning more than any other sport, right. I don't know if that related to the street element where they have so much exposure, they have so much play, they feel good from it, they look good. I don't need (S&C). Why would I need that? You know, I'm well built. - Kevin Mulcahy "I believe it was Steffan Jones,

Today's podcast features Cameron Josse, Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at Auburn University. With experience at Indiana University Football and DeFranco’s Training Systems, Cameron has worked with athletes from various levels and sports like NFL, NHL, UFC, and WWE. A former football player at the University of Rhode Island and current PhD candidate at Jean Monnet University, Cameron's approach to performance training is both practical and comprehensive. As we move forward in sports performance training, there is more data around speed training for athletes than ever, as well as corresponding logistics and systems. We are understanding that physical preparation is not a one-sized fits all approach, not only between sports, as well as within positions in a single sport. By better understanding key aspects of speed development on an individual level, as well as in knowing the evolving role of strength training over time, we can better serve the needs of the individual athlete. On today’s episode, Cameron will cover the process of optimizing resisted sprint protocols in college football athletes, as well as important individual differences he sees between positions and maximal speed ability. We will cover strength training in light of long term athlete speed and power development, sprint biomechanics and injury prevention, as well as concepts of integration between strength and sport skill staffs. Cameron is a brilliant coach with an expansive view of the training process. This conversation is a valuable addition for anyone interested in long term development of speed and athleticism. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr, the Plyomat, and LILA Exogen. Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off of any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer head to Lilateam.com TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software at https://teambuildr.com. The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at www.plyomat.net View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 4:08- Optimizing Power Output Through Velocity Variation 11:27- Position-Specific Biomechanics in American Football Players 19:31- Position-Specific Force-Velocity Profiles in Sprint Performance 27:50- Enhancing Sprint Training in Team Sport 31:08- Neural Efficiency in Skill Player Performance 36:20- Neural Processes in Sports Performance Optimization 42:30- Optimal Pelvic Alignment for Efficient Running 47:53- Enhancing Movement Quality Through Motor Techniques 57:47- Optimizing Performance by Removing Physical Constraints 1:07:06- Optimizing Training Programs for Athlete Profiles 1:15:02- Explosive Velocity Training for Muscle Hypertrophy 1:17:14- Optimizing Athlete Performance through Strategic Training 1:20:52- Sprinting’s Impact on Weight Room Training Integration 1:25:49- Collaborative Communication for Athletic Development Success Cameron Josse Quotes "It's like you're not going to get a ton of return on it if you just keep chasing (gym strength) forever and ever and ever. It seems like there's a certain point where enough is enough, right?" - Cameron Josse" What we're finding is that the, like, the step velocity itself, like how fast the leg moves through the push phase, is really, really important for the bigs. It seems like it. There's a big correlation to performance for those guys, but it's not really. It doesn't seem to be as big of an important factor for the skill guys. Cameron Josse The bigs are so big, they have less opportunity to compensate to a certain degree. Yeah, like, they. It's like, I got to get this big body moving, and, like, we all kind of need to self organize to do this better or else we're not going to move, you know.

Today’s podcast features Rafe Kelley, owner of Evolve Move Play. Rafe has studied and taught a multitude of movement practices spanning gymnastics, parkour, martial arts, weightlifting, and more for over 20 years. His passion is to help people build the physical practice that will help make them the strongest, most adaptable, and most resilient version of themselves in movement and life. Rafe has had a profound impact on my coaching and training philosophy and has helped me expand my views on the totality of the bio-psycho-social model of movement and human performance. Much of modern training is overly prescriptive, reliant on drills, and overemphasizes winning. This leads to practices with a reduced learning potential, a downplay of creativity, and a lowered ceiling of movement and skill potential. It also leads to less engaging practices in general. In today’s episode, Rafe delves into his unique methods and teachings that foster creative and adaptable athletic movement. He explores the interplay of constraints and play in sport and skill training, underscores the significance of creativity and improvisation in movement (and how to cultivate it), and shares insights on the role of joy in movement. Rafe also touches upon collaborative movement training, rough-housing, dance, and movement improvisation, and how these elements can shape better learners and movers in their respective sports or movement practices. By gaining a deeper understanding of play, exploration, and constraints, we can unlock the full potential of human performance. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr, the Plyomat, and LILA Exogen. Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off of any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer head to Lilateam.com TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software at https://teambuildr.com. The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at www.plyomat.net View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 2:30- The balance between constraints and free play in coaching, as well as children’s skill development 15:30- Training based off of “following one’s joy”, versus more set skill rehearsal 25:30- Creativity and improvisation in human movement and sport performance 32:30- Athleticism, dance, and individual dancing versus dancing with others, in context of sport 41:00- Roughhousing and links to team sport movement and problem solving 48:00- Forms of play that are both done for winning, as well as learning, exploration and mutual growth 57:30- Scaling and continuums of effort in individual and team sports, for improved learning 1:07:00- The use of roughhousing, and contact improv oriented work, on facilitating play states, and opening up movement options in a donor sport format Rafe Kelley Quotes “Soccer works because there is a set of constraints; there are structures that allow the game to exist, but there are infinite degrees of freedom once the constraints are in place” “Usually I’ll have 3 areas I’m working in, and then one core skill” “At the end of the session, I’ll ask them “What was your rose, your bud and your thorn”. They get to reflect on what they want to hold going forward” “Sweet, we are playing tag. How do we add a little more speed demand to that tag. How do we play a version of tag that looks like this, and gives you the thing you are looking for?” “Creativity is the ability to create a solution to a movement problem, in a sport situation” “What made Barry Sanders special wasn’t that he did set plays better than anybody else” “A gymnast doing a high bar routine, is actually adjusting constantly to try to achieve the goal; they are not doing the exact same thing… but that’s far less ...

Today's podcast features Austin Jochum. Austin is the owner of Jochum Strength and is a strong proponent of athlete centered, play based, robust physical training. Austin was a former D3 All-American football player and a hammer thrower (MIAC weight throw champion) at the University of St.Thomas. Austin has been a multi-time guest on the podcast, and every conversation with him has been both enjoyable and enlightening. Much of sport coaching and training today takes place in a “fractured” version of ultimate training and performance. The balance point of training is shifted heavily towards “perfect technique”, drill work, and high output, low variability practices that reduce the movement solution potential of the athlete. This mentality feeds into sports performance, where singular physical markers (especially maximal strength) tend to be accelerated as fast as possible, rather than tending the patient, purposeful growth of the entire athletic library of skills and physical abilities. On today’s episode, Austin gives his take on the foundations of athlete-centered development model that prioritizes joy, the learning process, and long-term development. We discuss the role of play and exploration in achieving both one’s ultimate athletic performance, as well as enjoyment of the process. Austin goes into his take on games as a pre-cursor to prescriptive training measures, highlights the importance of confidence and emotional aspects of training, and much more. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr and the Plyomat. TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software at https://teambuildr.com. The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at www.plyomat.net Sign up for Austin and Joel’s live 1-day seminar in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 8th, 2024 View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 1:30- Rock Climbing Lessons and Athletic Performance Enhancement 7:27- Enhanced Performance Through Enjoyable Movement Practices 13:59- Athlete-Centered Coaching for Optimal Performance and Success 17:03- Athlete-Centered Coaching for Enhanced Performance 22:00- Joyful Training for Enhanced Athletic Performance 24:24- Athletic Success through Mental Fortitude and Confidence 40:35- Play-Based Warm-Up for Athlete Development 43:13- Optimizing Skill Development Through Varied Environments 48:33- Psychological Influence of Coaches in Sports 54:10- Balancing Creativity and Structure in Athlete Development 1:00:35- Empowering Athletes Through Training Autonomy 1:04:14- "Peak Performance through Passionate Pursuit" Austin Jochum Quotes " So how can you make things harder to get a stimulus to the body at a very, very low cost? And that is the complexity model that you were talking about. It's like hop on the (rock climbing) wall instead of just doing more pull ups with more weight. You're going to have to continually add so much more stress (in pull ups) to get the same level of stimulus that you could just do climbing a wall because there is so much going on there.." - Austin Jochum "We're just prescribing strength, we're just prescribing hypertrophy, whatever it is. We're just throwing that out there. Use the play to drive the prescription. What do they need? What are we finding out when they are playing? What do we see? Then you go prescribed”.- Austin Jochum "So, in fourth grade, we had an under the lights football game, and me and my buddy Luke, we scored a touchdown in that game, and it was the only touchdown scored in that game, and we were the only two to end up playing college football. And at that time, and never once were we the most athletic. Never once were we the highest. But in fourth grade, we scored a touchdown. He passed it to me. I caught the ball. We scored in fourth grade.

Today’s podcast features Scott Leech. Scott is the head strength and conditioning coach at the University of Rhode Island. He oversees football, women’s tennis, and women’s track and field and manages all strength and conditioning aspects for the department. Scott is a former football captain and earned academic honors at Springfield College. Agility training is far more than cones, ladders, and tires. It is a multi-faceted training construct based heavily on task-based stimuli. Modern coaches are understanding in greater detail, the need to help players adapt to the tasks of the game. There is a place in performance where further strength and linear speed gains no longer move the needle for an athlete in their on-field play. At some point, a broader understanding of movement must be taken up by coaches who desire to improve transfer points in their performance program. On today’s podcast, Scott gets into the weekly breakdown of his speed and agility training program. He talks about how he pairs specific on-field perception and reaction tasks with more linear speed, jump training items, and strength work done in the gym. Through the podcast, Scott makes distinctions between games done for fun and for task-specific purposes, the role of exploration, as well as manipulation of variables in speed and agility games. This podcast will really expand your understanding of off-season training and performance. Today’s episode is brought to you by Lost Empire Herbs, TeamBuildr and the Plyomat. TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software at https://teambuildr.com. For 15% off your Lost Empire Herbs order, head to lostempireherbs.com/justfly. To try Pine Pollen for free (just pay for shipping), head to: justflypinepollen.com. The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at www.plyomat.net View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 1:15- The “200” rule for bench press in Scott’s gym 7:15- Defining moments in how Scott’s approach to game speed has evolved 10:45- Scott’s ratio of linear or developmental work, to applied agility work 20:15- The role of “fun games” and then specific developmental agility games 22:15- Scott’s 3 types of training days in his weekly regimen 29:15- Manipulating race and chase drills to increase competitive richness 35:15- Setting up drills to allow for exploration of techniques and creativity 43:15- The nature of Scott’s maximal velocity day 51:00- Scott’s change of direction oriented training days 59:15- How Scott assesses athletic capacity Scott Leech Quotes “Can it be reactive, but can it also start looking a little more like football.. it’s easier when it looks like a drill they did at practice” “We like to start with high intensity, competitiveness (in speed and agility training), and then we backfill with what we need” “Coaches see a 1v1 on social media and think, that’s a good drill, but in my head, there is more to it then that, there is “what are the entry points for the offensive and defensive person?”, “Is it a static start, or are they shuffling and starting the drill”? What happens when you add obstacles to the situation” “Handball is purely a game, let’s go out and have fun; but I can’t use it to help them move off a pick and roll” “We’ll do acceleration, horizontal plyos, and single leg lifts (on Monday), and guys will come back feeling better then when they walked in, this is good work but it isn’t crushing me” “Wednesday we run fast, we jump high, we lift heavy, and we get paid!” “It’s ok if you have something a little bit lateral on your acceleration day, or curved sprints, where does that fit in?” “Now make it, the front person can’t leave until the back person moves (in a basic chase drill)”

Today’s podcast features Nicolai Morris. Nicolai is the Head of Performance for AFLW at Collingwood AFL club. She is also the strength and conditioning coach for World Champion and Olympic medalist high jumper Nicola Olyslagers (formerly McDermott). Previously, she worked as the Head of Physical Preparation of the Australian Women’s Hockey Team, NSWIS, and HPSNZ, working with NZ Rowing and leading NZ women’s hockey. She is an elite level 3 ASCA coach with a master’s in strength and conditioning and over 17 years of experience. Strength is far more expansive than what is gained from lifting barbells. It encapsulates a large number of qualities and abilities. When it comes to helping high-level athletes break through a performance barrier, what is needed is not simply “more barbell strength” but improving one’s total strength and movement package. Many forms of movement and strength can be employed to do this. This week’s podcast guest, Nicolai Morris, uses many strength and movement methods in her training. One of Nicolai’s athletes, Nicola Olyslagers, recently set the Oceanic high jump record at 2.03 meters (6’8”), and in today’s episode, Nicolai goes through the various strength and movement methods that helped set Olyslagers up for success on the high jump apron. Our discussion also deals with pole vault, swimming, and athlete autonomy. This episode was an expansive discussion on the role of strength and coordination in high jump training and beyond. Today’s episode is brought to you by Lost Empire Herbs and the Plyomat For 15% off your Lost Empire Herbs order, head to lostempireherbs.com/justfly. To try Pine Pollen for free (just pay for shipping), head to: justflypinepollen.com. The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at www.plyomat.net View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 1:27- Personalized Cues for High Jump and Pole Vaulting 17:39- Enhancing Coaching through Diverse Skill Training 25:52- Surface Variety for Enhanced Athletic Performance 35:48- Cushioned Surfaces for Plyometric Training 38:06- Enhanced Foot Strength Through Sand Training 42:19- Dynamic Training Strategies for Athlete Development 44:40- Optimizing Performance: Balancing Creativity and Structure 55:45- Athletic Success through Joyful Training Mindset 59:07- Targeted Training for Optimal Athletic Performance 1:04:34- Optimizing Movement Quality Through Single Leg Training Quotes “I have to relax. And even in drilling, I do better when I relax rather than tensing up and trying so hard. So it's a really fascinating one. And yeah, in swimming, when you try hard, it destroys you in an event in a 200” “But we've been doing a lot of work on her weaknesses. For her, that's often single leg strength, stability and hinging, hip extension type work and cross chain work are kind of key elements that have come across the whole way through that” “So we added in a bit of an obstacle course where she'd land on different soft, hard, interesting, big surfaces. And I told her to be creative, and she's a creative person, and went, all right, just chuck a bunch of things down on the ground. Make it fun, make it challenging, but make sure you are landing on different surfaces, hard and soft” “But our traditional model will help. We don't really have access to a gymnastics facility over the next four, five weeks. Coming into world indoors, let's go backwards. And we went back to our traditional way of doing things and you could see the position wasn't there. And immediately after the competition, it was. Yet we're going back to gymnastics” “She's got a beach right near her and her initial training, no matter when she comes back, will always start on sand and grass rather than going straight on track, which isn't uncommon. But the sand, she's always done blocks of sand her entire life.

Today's podcast features Ryan Jackson. Ryan has been the Associate Director of Human Performance/Nutrition with TCU Football since December 2021. His duties include team nutrition education, counseling, and menu planning. As a performance coach, he works directly with quarterbacks, mids, and advanced athletes. Jackson has been involved in sports performance and nutrition on the NCAA DI level for over 15 years. Tendons and connective tissue are an important aspect of human movement. Yet, compared to muscle, there is relatively little objective data or research on their adaptive processes or key performance metrics. Skeletal structure considerations, such as infrasternal angle, also play a vital role in an athlete's movement strategy and muscle mass dynamics and are also something we are just beginning to learn and integrate into the training equation. In creating a total performance program, it is essential to understand not just the dynamics of muscle but also of bone and tendon. On today's show, Ryan will discuss the correlations found at TCU between the Achilles tendon thickness, Nordboard metrics, fat-free muscle mass, and training season. He will also discuss the differences in Achilles thickness between football positions and the implications for training well-roundedness. Finally, Ryan will discuss the infrasternal angle measurements and how these correlate to an athlete's lean muscle mass and potential for maximal functional muscle gain in the gym. This episode was an awesome deep dive into cutting-edge information about connective tissue and performance. Today’s episode is brought to you by Lost Empire Herbs and the Plyomat For 15% off your Lost Empire Herbs order, head to lostempireherbs.com/justfly. To try Pine Pollen for free (just pay for shipping), head to: justflypinepollen.com. The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at www.plyomat.net View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 6:34- Tendon Adaptation in Response to Muscle Forces 7:51- Tendon Thickness Impact on Athletic Performance 16:54- Achilles Tendon Thickness and Athletic Performance 17:26- Achilles Tendon Thickness and Force Production 19:04- Achilles Tendon Stiffness at Malleolis Measurement 36:59- Calf Muscle Stiffness in Elite Athletes 52:56- Optimizing Athletes' Performance Through Body Composition Analysis 59:07- Achilles Tendon Thickness and Athletic Jump Strategies 1:00:19- Hip Dip Strategies Impact Jumping Performance 1:20:06- Enhancing Tendon Healing with Isometric Training 1:21:19- Enhancing Athletic Performance with Collagen and Tendon Training 1:31:42- Structural Differences Impacting Athletic Performance in Bounding Quotes “Defensive backs, on average had bigger Achilles tendons. Interesting. We have a guy the second biggest, and I think it's a product of their movement and their position, where if I'm backpedaling, moving backwards more, it's more eccentric loading. Right?” “So you get the knee bent to a 30 degree angle, and then you push as hard as you can, push your heel up into the strap as hard as you can, and it's like an ISO for like three to 5 seconds, overcoming ISO for like three to 5 seconds. There is an inverse relationship between Infra-sternal angle. So what I mean by that is the more narrow, the more force produced in that test” “But what we saw with that is that, yes, it was very strongly correlated with Isa. With higher. The greater the angle, the higher their fat-free-mass-index is, which in theory makes sense, and that typically that person is going to be wider. So they have the ability to handle more muscle mass on their frame” “So you would think that a big would have the widest ISA on the team. That was not the case. We had a running back, actually had the biggest 205 pound running back, had the biggest ISA in that upper 25% quartile.

This week’s podcast guest is Angus Ross. Angus is a former Winter Olympian employed by High Performance Sport New Zealand. He works with track and field and several other Olympic sports, including sprint cycling, skeleton, squash, rowing, tennis, and more. Angus has a PhD in exercise physiology from the University of Queensland and has been a multi-time guest on the podcast. He is an absolute wealth of knowledge on all things speed, power, and human performance. There is a lot that the world of sport can learn from track and field, but perhaps the most valuable lessons can be gained by studying the decathlon and heptathlon events. Most sports performance programs will jump, sprint, and throw, but the focused, competitive aspects of those events bring out the highest level of expression for pure outputs, along with the speed-endurance aspects. In today’s podcast, Angus discusses the relationship between the multi-events and the needs of team sports, including the dynamics of creating scoring tables in a performance program and the connective tissue development multi-event training brings about. He discusses the relationship between speedbag training and sprinting. He also gets into isometrics and elasticity, as well as plenty of case studies and examples of putting these principles into action. I always have fantastic conversations with Angus; this talk was no exception. Today’s episode is brought to you by Lost Empire Herbs, TeamBuildr and the Plyomat. TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software at https://teambuildr.com. For 15% off your Lost Empire Herbs order, head to lostempireherbs.com/justfly. To try Pine Pollen for free (just pay for shipping), head to: justflypinepollen.com. The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at www.plyomat.net View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Angus Ross Main Points 3:00- Comparing “Rotational” and “Linear” Events in Track and Field 11:20- Loaded Mobility for Athletic Performance Enhancement 18:24- Enhancing Connective Tissue Quality Through Loaded Stretching 31:45- Heptathlon Training Impact on High Jump Success 35:28- Rotational Movements in Multiplanar Athletic Training 43:03- Elasticity's Role in Athletic Performance 46:26- The Role of Elasticity in Athletic Performance 54:53- Enhanced Athletic Performance through Speedball Training 58:19- Spinal Engine's Role in Speed Enhancement 1:06:03- Enhanced Performance Through Muscle Control Adaptations 1:09:23- The Role of Long Isometrics and the Nervous System 1:11:49- Enhancing Physical Strength Through Structured Workouts Angus Ross Quotes "I just think it's interesting how these different qualities degrade at different rates. And in terms of trying to maintain your athleticism, probably that elasticity, ability to bounce is probably something that we should be thinking about." - Angus Ross" “I talked at a high jump mini conference we had in New Zealand a little while ago. Made the analogy that it's really interesting, too, that the high jump + heptathlon is a really good combination. There's a lot of world class heptathlon athletes (who are really good at high jump). "With the decathlon. I kind of have this idea in my head, like the decathlon principle, in the sense of what could be applied for any event. Like almost this catalog of same but different skills to be good at if you want to be good at one thing." - Joel Smith" “But in contrast, volume of work probably is really good for your connective tissue and your fascial stuff and your tendons. And so perhaps the multi event is. And this is one of the things I was writing a couple of notes when you had some of those ideas to talk about. It's fascinating to me that we have now, we've got decathletes on the scene that can run 10...

Today's podcast features Paul Cater, a seasoned strength coach with extensive experience in both professional and private realms. Beginning his journey in collegiate football at UC Davis, Paul later ventured into international professional rugby with the London Wasps for seven years. Following his rugby career, he spent a decade innovating strength and conditioning systems in professional baseball with the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Angels. With a research focus on performance and injury reduction in Seville, Spain, Paul now optimizes training methods for the tactical community and is designing "The Lab Monterey," a premier 'smart gym' in the USA. While training is often regarded as both an art and a science, the majority of time and resources are allocated to the scientific aspects, leaving the artistic elements overlooked. The art of training extends beyond communication with athletes, delving into the intuitive process of session unfolding and the natural processes of learning, movement, and community engagement. In today's podcast, Paul explores the alignment of performance with natural learning, emphasizing challenge and mimicry over verbal statements and rote recital of patterns. He details how to create an environment that breathes life into training sessions, fostering engagement, enhanced learning, and improved results. The discussion also covers the role of science in the context of "smart gyms" and how technology can liberate coach resources for more creative investments. In a rapidly evolving world, this podcast is a landmark exploration of understanding athletes and fostering a meaningful coaching process. Today’s episode is brought to you by Lost Empire Herbs, TeamBuildr and the Plyomat. TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software at https://teambuildr.com. For 15% off your Lost Empire Herbs order, head to lostempireherbs.com/justfly. To try Pine Pollen for free (just pay for shipping), head to: justflypinepollen.com. The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at www.plyomat.net View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 2:30- How athletic dance movements fit with culture, and how it works into Paul’s training ideas 12:30- Priming the environment of the athlete for better results, with the influence of music selection 19:00- Key exercises and “attractors” to help drive flow states and learning via mimicry in training 27:00- How to manage structure and basic coaching guidelines, along with creating space for freedom of movement and exploration 37:00- The nature of how children play, and their background, and implications for training and performance 43:00- Paul’s process of teaching, and education for mentors and assistants 53:00- How upbeats, and downbeats fit with rhythmic movement flow and athleticism 1:07:00- What the ideal world is in training and coaching, in regards to the balance of technology and sports performance Paul Cater Quotes “To really understand a culture, you have to understand their dancing culture and their music integration” “I believe right now in America, we are establishing a culture that is devoid of identify and basic movement patterns” “Dancing is ingrained in battle, and in sport you are mirroring movements, mimicking movements” “I want to have young athletes be more readily available to accept challenges, versus seeing things as threats” “Music, and the opening salvo of exercises can (engage an athlete) on both levels (of challenge and innate movement patterning)” “Birds mimic the sound, and then they vary it” “Choosing a song, mimicing beats and rhythms, within a drill, with peers” “I think if we teach young athletes to memorize drills, or plays, we take away that creative inhibition”

Today’s podcast is with Alex Kanellis. Alex is the founder of Landmine University. He is a former state champion wrestler, Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year (Football), and University of Iowa football player. He has been a scholastic strength coach, wrestling and football coach, as well as having spent time as a performance coach for Weck Method. Currently, Alex’s focus is on training youth wrestlers, as well as his work with Landmine University. Strength training for athletes is fundamentally basic. The powerlift variations, as well as Olympic lifts recruit a large amount of muscle mass and are fundamentally stimulating. At the same time, with the potential to be over-used, “functional” training has emerged, offering light-weight movements with high demands for balance and coordination. Landmine oriented training movements offer a happy medium in a high potential for force application, a rotational and arc-like orientation, as well as short learning curves (unlike the longer learning curve of the Olympic lifts). On today’s podcast Alex goes into his experiences that brought him into landmine training, and how he uses the method with athletes. He also gets into the advantages and unique aspects of the method, and touches on the transfer points to a number of athletic movements and practices. Alex touches on isometric landmine variations, as well as gets into GPP methods for young athletes in general, and what we can learn from the athleticism of wrestling and combat sports. Today’s episode is brought to you by Lost Empire Herbs, TeamBuildr and the Plyomat. TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software at https://teambuildr.com. For 15% off your Lost Empire Herbs order, head to lostempireherbs.com/justfly. To try Pine Pollen for free (just pay for shipping), head to: justflypinepollen.com. The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at www.plyomat.net View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Timestamps and Main Points 4:39- Enhancing Athletic Performance Through Rotational Core Movements 10:12- Rotational Landmine Training for Athletic Performance Gains 17:50- Rotational Landmine Exercises for Explosive Athletes 21:23- Spinal Engine Theory for Athletic Performance 32:00- The Role of Fat Grips and Unilateral Landmine Lifts 43:50- Rotational Resistance Training with Landmine Exercises 49:41- Building Athleticism Through Wrestling Movements 55:57- Focused Training for Elite Performance in Gymnastics 57:49- Enhancing Athlete Skills Through Wrestling and Free Play Alex Kanellis Quotes "Landmine lifts too is you really do feel the load go from one glute to the other glute and you can feel, and that's something that is really powerful and also just safe because they're just limited in a way that I like." - Alex Kanellis" "Your spine is the primary engine for locomotion, as opposed to bracing your spine to neutral and powering locomotion with your hips and legs." - Alex Kanellis "What if it's not an argument? What if you just started with more stuff like landmine cleans, or it's a lower bar to jump over, it's more athletic then maybe in high school or later (bring in Olympic Lifts)." - Joel Smith "If we are going to spend those skill points as a coach who's not their sport coach, it does feel really satisfying when just at least a couple of those skill points overlap with what they're working on in their sport." - Alex Kanellis" "Yeah, but it makes you play differently, and it gives you something. And so much. I think a lot of times we almost find things by accident that are because of these constraints." – Joel Smith “And you could ask Donnie Thompson or any of the guys that are into the fat grip stuff. But for me, I remember with even bench press, but deadlift,