462: Matt Aldred on Advancing Athlete-Centered Training Concepts

Today's podcast features Matt Aldred. Matt is the head strength and conditioning coach for basketball at the University of Michigan. He has international expertise and a diverse background in sports he has worked with through his previous stops in NCAA strength and conditioning. In addition to his strength and conditioning experience, he is certified in fascial abrasion technique and Frederick stretch therapy, in addition to a sports massage background. Matt has also co-authored the Fascial Mechanics for Sport course alongside Danny Foley. In building a performance program, it must ultimately be centered around the needs of the athlete. Athletes need to be as ready as possible on game day. Some athletes need more mass and physical strength. Others need more conditioning and body composition management. Others need more fluid and adaptive movement capabilities. Many athletes enjoy and benefit from providing their input into the program. These facets of performance make athletic development more dynamic than just “get them strong and I did my job”. On today’s podcast, Matt talks about many aspects of building an athlete-centered program, highlighting training the spectrum of muscular strength and tissue quality, over to dynamic, high-velocity training with a priority on athletic qualities. He also speaks on training variability (such as “every rep different”), multi-planar training, basketball game demands, athlete autonomy, wearable resistance training, and much more. This show puts many pieces into place of a comprehensive approach to athletic development, encompassing so many facets of improvement in the field. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s GymStudio. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Main Points 3:41- Functional Training for Athletic Performance Enhancement 7:34- Peak Performance Training for Athletes 12:49- Position-Based Athletic Programming for Optimal Performance 18:14- Enhancing Athletic Performance Through Varied Training 22:39- Position-Specific Basketball Training Programs 25:04- Game-Specific Training for Peak Performance 27:25- Dynamic Training Approaches for Athletic Performance 37:11- Strategic Micro-Dosing for Athlete Performance Optimization 46:00- Sticking to Basic Exercises for Effective Training 47:46- Enhancing Athletes' Adaptability Through Varied Workouts 49:33- Tailored Training Zones for Athletes in Weight Room 51:13- Optimizing Player Performance Through Varied Training 55:28- Amorpho Gear Enhancing Basketball Performance Sessions 1:08:25- Functional Movement Training with Light Weights 1:14:54- Functional Movement Training for Athletic Performance Quotes (00:07:34) "The game is so intense and it's so movement-based. We have to replicate that in the weight room. We can't just be weight and warriors because we've all had that athlete that's super strong and looks amazing. And I'm looking at the opposition team in a warm up going, who is that!? And then they don't play." - Matt Aldred (00:13:50) "The longer I've done this, the more I really lean into an athlete's intuition." - Matt Aldred (00:20:40) "There are certain exercises like a chin-up we're probably going to want to go full range of motion. I want you to hold at the top with Tempo down. But if we're doing a horizontal row, man, I can be elbow wide. I can be really quick reps. I can hold at the top. I can do a split stance with an anchor on a Kaiser pull-down. We can make that horizontal roll whatever we want to do." - Matt Aldred (00:24:29) "I don't think that we put the athlete in the box like no man, like whatever you are, I'll program towards that." - Matt Aldred

Today's podcast features Bob Thurnhoffer, Assistant Track & Field Coach at the University of Louisville. Bob brings nearly two decades of NCAA Division I coaching experience, with past stops at New Mexico, Loyola Chicago, and UIC. His athletes have earned multiple All-American honors, NCAA qualifications, and school records. Bob is also known for his deep knowledge in training for jumps and is a respected voice in the track and field coaching community. On today’s episode, Bob speaks on the formative experience of his past work training speed and power at an NCAA DI school in the confines of a hallway. He also goes into plyometric training concepts, and acceleration development, as well as some of his key complex training methods in the weightroom. Bob also digs into the importance of general strength in his program, along with the nuts and bolts of his weekly training setups for sprint and jump athletes in this fantastic resource on speed and power development. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and the Just Fly Sports Online Courses. To learn more about the Sprint Acceleration Essentials, Elastic Essentials, or Speed ID courses, go to justflysports.thinkific.com Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to Lilateam.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Timestamps 6:02- Bob’s Early Experiences as an Athlete and His Early Mentors 18:55- Innovative Training Solutions for Limited Spaces 29:38- Enhancing Athletic Performance Through General Strength Training 34:55- Individualized Workouts for Optimal Athletic Development 39:14- Foundational Elements in Athletic Performance Training 41:41- Peak Velocity Training for Jumpers 56:44- Intensive Cycle Variation for Optimal Performance 58:51- Force Plate Metrics for Athlete Performance Tracking 1:05:43- Mentorship Impact on Athlete Training Mindset Quotes (17:21) "I do think it's like limitations breed creativity more than freedom of possibilities. Unlimited situations don't create creativity as much as limitations do." - Bob Thurnhoffer (18:05) “(Training in a Hallway) I can do acceleration, I could do plyometrics. I can get very strong in the weight room. And try to learn how to be truly great at these things that I can do. Because I knew that the things I could do I had to be better than everyone else at” - Bob Thurnhoffer (29:38) “I still work general training a very, very large degree. Probably more than most coaches even. Yeah, I remember Brooke, the pole vault coach at Louisville. She said to me at the start of the year how she really liked how much general strength I do. She's like, yeah, I don't know. Coaches never do that anymore” - Bob Thurnhoffer (41:00) “Interestingly enough, I actually, at New Mexico I almost entirely went to Monday, Tuesday neural, Wednesday, Thursday general, Friday neural. The whole two years I was there for everyone. And it worked great” - Bob Thurnhoffer (47:30) “I almost always finish a neural lift with med ball throws; to restore proprioception after heavy lifting” - Bob Thurnhoffer (49:13) "I think like long jump you gotta, it's all about displacement, smoothness, being a passenger, letting the natural inherent reactivity that you've developed in training and it's inherent in the human body do the jumping for you." - Bob Thurnhoffer (1:02:01) "It's the quick ground contact time with the vertical displacement. That's what I'm looking for." - Bob Thurnhoffer About Bob Thurnhoffer ​Bob Thurnhoffer is an accomplished track and field coach specializing in jumps, currently serving as the Assistant Coach for Jumps at the University of Louisville. He joined the Cardinals' coaching staff on July 31, 2023, bringing with him over 18 years of Division I coaching experience across multiple institu...

Today's podcast features Austin Einhorn. Austin is a movement specialist recognized for his pioneering work in athlete development and injury prevention. As the founder of APIros Performance, Austin's coaching philosophy emphasizes biomechanics, human function + evolution, and adaptability to build resilient athletes who can withstand the demands of high performance. He has worked with athletes across major sports leagues, including the NFL, MLB, NBA, and Olympic programs, and is continually pushing the boundaries of athletic performance and injury prevention systems for athletes. There are a wide variety of systems and available philosophies on athletic performance and injury prevention. With so much information available, assembling a human-centered viewpoint of how we innately move and adapt is a critical step in forming a better lens of coaching and training. On today’s episode, Austin discusses his first principles when it comes to athlete assessment and training intervention. He digs into aspects of athletic hip extension, pushup and overhead patterning, and foot motions, along with the variability concepts in training and performance. This was a thought-provoking podcast with one of the brightest minds in the industry and is a must-listen for anyone looking to build more robust, adaptive athletes for any discipline. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s GymStudio. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Timestamps 2:15- Influential Mentors in Problem-Solving Training 6:53- Optimizing Hip Extension for Athlete Performance 8:28- Optimizing Athletic Performance Through Anatomy Assessment 30:30- Muscle-Centric Approach to Musculoskeletal Health 35:10- Performance Optimization through Diverse Movement Strategies 45:56- Enhancing Tendon Resilience with Varied Loading 48:57- Enhancing Performance Through Varied Training Approaches 53:10- Enhancing Athletic Performance with Innovative Tools 57:25- Optimal Shoulder Blade Tilt for Push-Ups 1:01:15- Optimal Shoulder Blade Movement in Bench Press 1:03:25- Optimal Shoulder Blade Positioning in Movements 1:08:31- Enhancing Shoulder Strength for Overhead Athletes 1:10:00- Enhancing Shoulder Strength for Overhead Athletes Quotes (4:53) "A lot of the students that I teach, where they start with just imitating and imitation is such a great way to learn." - Austin Einhorn (11:19) "It's amazing what your brain can do to accomplish a task, but it'll use structurally different elements to do so." - Austin Einhorn (17:00) "One area that is neglected is the transverse interior arch, basically the arch that's underneath your knuckles and it's responsible for 40% of your foot stiffness. But what's more important there is where that stiffness gets created. And it's in that ground contact phase in dorsiflexion" - Austin Einhorn (19:17) "All non-contact injuries are preventable and solvable. And that just requires a little bit more critical thinking." - Austin Einhorn (48:57) "My maybe favorite way to get that long time under tension is put on a rucksack and go hike for three hours. Yeah, like the variable terrain is going to do a little bit more for the peroneals, the posterior tib, the in the toe flexors on the inside of the ankle than just a calf raise" - Austin Einhorn (51:32) "When you have a big, thick, cushy shoe, it's you think of as an exoskeleton. You can export the work to the foam. And so your leg doesn't need to bend as much. It's stiffer." - Austin Einhorn (57:25) "So push-up is a quadrupedal movement. We're gonna have to look at how quadrupedals do that. The other thing that I like to look at is break dancers.

Today's podcast features Laurent Meuwley. Laurent is the Head Coach for sprints, hurdles, and relays for the Netherlands. A former Swiss national coach and European Athletics Coach of the Year, he’s known for guiding world-class athletes like Femke Bol and Dutch relay teams, pioneering the “Flyers vs. Diesels” sprint-type analogy and his comprehensive approach to training. Often in sprinting and speed training education, we get a small piece of the equation based on our social media algorithms or our immediate training culture. To fully understand speed training, we must look at both speed and environmental coaching concepts that span cultures. On today’s podcast, Laurent discusses speed building on the level of the weight room, overspeed, speed endurance, and individual training factors. Laurent also talks about building a relay-based culture and a powerful training environment, along with many more nuances of building elite sprinters. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s GymStudio. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Timestamps 2:31- Team Dynamics and Specialties in Athletics 21:15- Enhancing Speed with Rear Leg Propulsion 24:43- Efficient Cluster Training for Hypertrophy Goals 29:54- Explosive Training with Kaiser Machines and Variations 31:59- Individualized Sprint Training for Speed Development 35:12- Speed Reserve Optimization in Sprint Training 41:44- Individualized Training Approaches for Sprinters' Profiles 52:37- Aerobic System Impact on 400m Running 54:38- Optimizing Nervous System through Training Schedule Quotes (4:50) "In the second phase of the preparation, athletes are working more on individual exercises. And those are based on a test they do called the tensomeography test, where we check all the muscles individually and see how fast or slow they are, how strong or weak they are, how quickly they react, they can be activated or not." - Laurent Meuwly (13:14) "Because a lot of strength program are thought in terms of which muscles are specifically used for the movement. But we also have to think in which kind of muscle contraction, what kind of Muscle contraction is then used and for different muscle groups it's a different contraction. It might be concentric for some, eccentric for others, isometric for some muscles. So in the specific work this needs to be taken into account." - Laurent Meuwly (16:37) "If I take a hamstring exercise, when someone has struggled to activate the hamstrings quick enough, they might have an exercise where they are standing, laying on their shoulders up, one leg on the skateboard, the other leg in the air and they have to bring the skateboard back and forth under their butt as fast as possible." - Laurent Meuwly (22:07) "The propulsion phase is really important in running and especially in sprinting." - Laurent Meuwly (23:43) "The individualization in the gym is more to the way athletes are reacting in terms of hypertrophy. Some athletes would go a bit quicker away from max strength exercises, hypertrophy to be more in a velocity-based training, more in power than in strength development." - Laurent Meuwly (33:00) "I think in Europe we are using overspeed quite more than in the US at least in track and field, I would say every 10 to 14 days." - Laurent Meuwly (42:20) "A “flyer”, an athlete who is more speed based needs to be fast. And because speed is his or her strength, they also are going to recover from speed or even strength or whatever stimulates highly the nervous system quicker than athletes who are more endurance based and who are less talented for speed." - Laurent Meuwly

Today's podcast features Anthony Cockrill. Anthony is the Director of Volleyball Sports Performance and Assistant Director of Olympic Sports Performance at SMU. Previously at the University of Houston, he’s coached athletes across multiple sports and has a strong focus on explosive strength development, getting notable vertical jump training results with volleyball athletes. There are different layers to the strength equation, and not all types of lifting will offer equal adaptation for athletes. In understanding key differences between full and partial ranges, as well as a focus on the concentric, isometric, and eccentric adaptations to the lift, we can better design a program that allows athletes a maximal bandwidth to adapt to the demands (and chaos) of their sport. On today’s podcast, Anthony discusses the nuts and bolts of his training program, with a specific focus on squatting methods, range of motion concepts, and building strength, particularly through the eccentric phases of a lift. He also covers yearly planning, plyometrics, gymnastics, in-season training, and the physiology concepts behind his methods. This was an informative, and incredibly practical podcast on all things vertical jump and explosive strength development for athletes. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s GymStudio. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Timestamps 11:30- Enhancing Squat Mechanics with Zercher Squats 17:07- Heel Elevation for Enhanced Squat Performance 19:32- Enhancing Back Squat Performance Through Torso Training 29:00- Eccentric Overload Back Squat Training for Volleyball 31:23- Deep End Range Exercises for Volleyball Performance 38:05- Optimizing Strength Through Deep Range Training 40:58- Enhancing Strength Through Deep Range Isometrics 44:33- Deep Squat Training for Enhanced Strength 46:26- Enhancing Strength Through Deep Squat Positions 55:29- Enhancing Athlete Performance Through Gymnastic Movements 1:06:05- Utilizing Muscle Spindles and Titan for Power 1:06:05- Eccentric Emphasis for Enhanced Athletic Performance 1:09:21- Enhancing Performance Through Deep Range Plyometrics 1:21:56- Optimizing Performance: Athletic Training Strategies Quotes (13:00) "The torso is always the limiting factor when trying to load the legs." - Anthony Cockrill (14:30) "I've moved away from a ton of front squatting. I do do it, but only maybe for a three-week period. I used to do it like exclusively instead of Zerchers, but It's a little more technical than a Zercher as far as like getting kids into that front rack position." - Anthony Cockrill (15:58) (For Zercher Squats) "The fat bar is obviously like the more surface area, the more you're touching it kind of dissipates that pain in the elbow from the thin bar. But if you don't have fat thick bars. Yeah, we'll just use fat grips." - Anthony Cockrill (21:00) "Within the Zercher and you're like protracting those shoulder blades out and the amount of like stress you get within the upper back and in the rhomboids, that's probably the area most kids like feel it the most within those first three weeks. Because again most people are really underdeveloped between the shoulder blades." - Anthony Cockrill (31:30) "We do a ton of single leg as we get in season." - Anthony Cockrill (35:50) "The biggest range of motion movements that are probably gonna, from A structural standpoint involve the most amount of contractile tissue." - Anthony Cockrill (40:40) "The idea is to have a massive bandwidth to handle chaos. So I think if you can get into those deep end ranges and not just produce force, but various forces, whether it's leveraging,

Today's podcast features Bren Veziroglu. Bren is a movement educator, blending scientific principles with personal exploration in his teaching. He has studied globally with top instructors across disciplines, emphasizing scalability, engagement, and physicality in his approach. Bren is an outspoken proponent of the constraint-led approach to sport, particularly in the martial arts. In many sports and strength training programs, skill development is often reduced to rigid drills and dry repetition. While foundational qualities like strength and endurance can be trained straightforwardly, complex skills require a richer, more dynamic approach—one that embraces the full range of movement our bodies are capable of. Research consistently supports a learner-centered, constraint-led method as being more effective for long-term learning and performance. In this episode, Bren dives into the integration of traditional strength and mobility work with dynamic movement and motor learning concepts. He shares practical insights on skill acquisition, mobility, jump training, and the role of partner-based work in foundational strength exercises—offering a fresh perspective on how we can build more effective and engaging training environments. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s GymStudio. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Timestamps 2:00- Bren’s Background in Athletics, Strength Training, and Movement 15:50- What “Movement” Concepts Can Offer a Traditional Sport or Sports Performance Practice 22:18- Levels of Richness and Time-Efficiency in Standard Training Exercises and the Impact of Movement Games 30:57- Dynamic Target-Reaching Exercises for Enhanced Mobility 34:37- Dynamic Partner-Assisted Exercises for Injury Prevention 45:16- Dynamic Jumping Training for Enhanced Athletic Performance 45:16- Dynamic Warm-Up Challenges for Better Athlete Engagement 46:00- Movement Variability, Differential Learning and Improved Athletic Outcomes 1:00:14- Partner Training Strength and Performance Concepts Quotes (7:00) "The whole paradigm of you just build your physical attributes, and you can use them on the field in sport, was so clearly not what I was experiencing." - Bren Veziroglu (20:00) "On one end of the polarization, you have FRC, you are going to lock everything down… it’s great, but it takes an enormous amount of time, versus mobility games are the total opposite of that." - Bren Veziroglu (46:06) "What are compensations if not the skill of self-organization?" - Bren Veziroglu (50:19) "There's one speed skating study he did and one of the variations is literally listed is like, do a pirouette before the start. Like they're doing a sprint. Do a pirouette. And so that's how wide these variations can be." - Bren Veziroglu (1:00:30) "Those (partner guided) mobility tasks. I think those are enormous when we're getting more out of it. Should be easier to recover from. Should be lower injury risk, should be more fun. I mean, big wins." - Bren Veziroglu (1:02:46) "If you're just developing the strength and you're never applying it to like, how do I lift another person? Not so useful maybe." - Bren Veziroglu About Bren Veziroglu Bren Veziroglu is a movement educator with over 11 years of experience teaching in both private and group settings. He utilizes a unique interdisciplinary approach that blends modern scientific understanding with personal exploration and constant refinement and testing. He has traveled the world to study intensively with many of the world’s greatest teachers in a wide variety of disciplines. His academic and physical practices inform his teaching style,

Today's podcast features Mike Bruno. Mike is the Assistant Director of Olympic Sports Performance at Clemson University. Mike has both a sports performance and massage therapy background, with an approach influenced heavily by Bill Hartman’s biomechanical model. He has worked with a wide variety of sports, including track and field, and currently oversees golf and tennis at Clemson. Human movement is composed of more than just muscle and neural signals. It is also heavily influenced by athletes’ strategies to move pressure through their unique skeletal structures. By understanding the role of structure on speed and movement abilities, we can also better understand ideal training modalities and progressions for each athlete. On today’s episode, Mike speaks on speed and power training through the lens of pressure management and skeletal structure. He talks about different structural archetypes and their needs in the weightroom, as well as how these archetypes lend to various performance outputs on the field of play (focusing on track speed and performance). With many anecdotes from the world of track and field, this episode draws numerous links between strength, speed and individual training factors. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Lila Exogen Wearable Resistance Gear. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Timestamps 2:01- Optimizing Athletic Performance through Biomechanics 8:19- Optimizing Speed Through Internal Body Dynamics 11:33- Dynamic Insights from Athlete Force Plate Analysis 16:48- Optimizing Jumping Performance with Pressure Techniques 25:34- Optimizing Athletic Performance Through Heavy Bilateral Squatting 27:47- Structural Analysis for Tailored Athletic Training Programs 30:09- Track and Field Performance Based on Pelvic Adaptations 39:21- Infrastructural Angles Influence Athletic Training Specialization 40:53- Structural Archetypes: Tailoring Training for Performance 48:18- Individual Structure Influence on Training Optimization 1:01:33- Enhanced Athletic Performance through Triphasic Training 1:09:03- Long-Term Physical Qualities Enhancement in Athletes 1:21:26- Managing Pressures and Gravity in Track Training Quotes (12:19) "(In a vertical jump) The faster they drop, the quicker it would pop up." - Mike Bruno" (14:04) "If you take it like five singles, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop is going to be different on the pelvic floor and give you a different output than a banded oscillatory squat." - Mike Bruno" (19:20) “The higher your VO2 max, the thinner your diaphragm, which I thought was a very interesting thing, but it lends on the like. Wrestlers are the highest. All they're doing is pressurizing and they're playing like hand fighting. That's all they're doing is being. Judo was the second one. Sprinters were the third one” - Mike Bruno (31:34) "Your structure dictates quite literally everything." - Mike Bruno (37:06) "The fluid hit the top and it suspended them. So if you ever watch someone jump and they jump unbelievable, it looks like they just kind of get suspended up there. It's like, oh, that's the fluid hitting the top." - Mike Bruno (00:37:19)" (46:33) "One of the best things, you know, is if you don't do complexes, especially with an indicator or something where you're seeing the result, you miss the opportunity to get a lot of connections." - Joel Smith (1:00:40) “A lot of times in my setting, I have athletes that come in, they have their, their connective tissues too stiff and it doesn't store at all. And so you're like, you're really powerful, but we can't get into good positions on the track or we can't...

In today’s solo episode, I break down 10 essential keys to building a well-rounded athletic performance program. These programming elements are often overlooked or omitted in favor of a more "machine-based" training approach. I’ll cover both the specifics of sets, reps, and training structures, as well as key principles that enhance stimulation, learning, engagement, and focus—crucial components for an athlete's overall experience. By refining both stimulation and the athlete’s attentional "spotlight," we can create training that feels more dynamic, engaging, and effective. The keys to a more complete program, are as follows: Embrace Constraints and Limitations Study Physical Education (Instead of only “Sport Science”) Integrate Rhythm and Music Work Polarities and Waves Use Complexes Embrace Uncertainty Understand the Performer Environment Relationship Test and Use Leaderboards Use Risk Train Yourself Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and the LILA Exogen Wearable Resistance Training Sleeves. Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage at https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/ Timestamps 2:00- Embrace Constraints and Limitations 7:45- Study PE (Movement and learning-driven vs. output and data-driven) 13:30- Incorporate Rhythm and Music into Training 18:00- Work Polarities/Waves (Jay S) 28:00- Use Complexes 39:30- Embrace Uncertainty 44:30- Performer environment relationship 50:00- Test and Use Leaderboards 56:30- Use Risk 1:02:30- Train Yourself About Joel Smith Joel Smith is the founder of Just Fly Sports and is a sports performance and track coach in Cincinnati, Ohio. Joel hosts the Just Fly Performance Podcast and has authored several books and coaches in both the high school and private sectors. Joel was a strength coach for 8 years at UC Berkeley, working with the Swim teams and post-graduate professional swimmers, as well as tennis, water polo, and track and field. A track coach of 17 years, Joel coached for the Diablo Valley Track and Field Club for 7 years and also has 6 years of experience coaching on the collegiate level, working at Wilmington College, and the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse. He is currently coaching high jump at Milford High School. Joel has coached 4 national champions, multiple All-Americans, and NCAA record holders in track and field. In the realm of strength and conditioning, his programs have assisted 5 athletes to Olympic berths that produced 9 medals and a world record performance at Rio in 2016.

Today's podcast features Steffan Jones. Steffan is a trailblazing fast-bowling coach and ex-pro cricketer, known for his integrative, creative, data-backed training methods. A former Somerset and Kent bowler with over 200 wickets, he’s the last dual-sport pro from English cricket and rugby. With degrees in Sports Science and coaching certifications, Jones founded Pacelab, blending biomechanics and constraint-led training. He’s coached for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and joined Ludimos in 2024 as Strategic Advisor, pushing fast bowling into the future. Among the various training sub-modalities, isometric work stands out as a low-risk, high-reward method that minimally interferes with an athlete’s high-speed capabilities on the field. In today’s episode, Steffan explores a range of topics related to isometric training and athletic performance, with a special focus on fast-bowling velocity. He discusses both long-duration and overcoming isometrics, offering insights on how to incorporate these techniques into sport-specific training programs. Additionally, Steffan delves into complex training methods, pre-fatigue strategies for elastic output, and collision-based training concepts. This episode emphasizes key principles for blending general strength with elite sport performance. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and the LILA Exogen Wearable Resistance Training Sleeves. Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage at https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/ Timestamps 5:46- Enhancing Fast Bowling with Isometric Exercises 7:21- Enhancing Performance Through Isometric Exercises 14:09- Balancing Specificity and General Strength Training for Athletes 18:39- Optimizing Recovery with Long Isometric Holds 28:12- Optimizing Performance Through Isometric Training Fundamentals 34:17- Optimizing Performance Through Tailored Bowling Training 40:32- Isometric Training for Enhanced Joint Stiffness 54:30- Integration of Strength and Conditioning in Coaching Quotes (15:36) "The only true specific thing you can do is your skill itself." (18:41) "A lot of people don't understand that the long isos, when you get fit enough, strong enough, resilient enough, they're actually recovery." (23:11) "Anything below 80% intensity, the brain sees as a different skill." (37:34) "But my back foot contact, because that's a long ground contact time, my back foot contact around the ankle is short duration." (39:02) "That's the problem with isometrics. Unless you've got a sort of a dynamometer or a force deck, You have no knowledge of results. So it's pretty boring and the brain switches off as such. But yeah, obviously I use different stuff. I use G Strength and Remaker and all those (to measure force)” (47:30) "And collisions are not going to be improved by doing concentric work. Collisions are going to be improved by doing eccentric and isometric work." (52:35 "If I have a knee-dominant bowler who's who takes a long time to get warm, who's who's fast twitch or their intermediate fibers do most of the work. They never get to their fast twitch fibers. So then a pre fatigue complex would be great for them. And they go really do a, do a set of 10 squats and then expect them to bowl. Yeah, it works. Do us do a 200 meter run and then expect them to do an explosive bowl. But have you tried that? That is such a great feeling." About Steffan Jones Steffan Jones is a globally renowned fast-bowling coach, celebrated for his innovative, science-driven approach to cricket performance. A former professional cricketer, Jones played as a fast-medium bowler for Somerset, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, and Kent,

Today's podcast features Jeremy Frisch. Jeremy is the Director of Athletic Performance at Teamworks Sports Center in Acton, Massachusetts, specializing in youth athletic development. The former owner of Achieve Performance Training, Jeremy is a field leader in youth movement, physical literacy, and long-term athletic development. Jeremy has been a frequent podcast guest and is a source of constant inspiration for training not only younger athletes but those of all ages. We live within a broken modern sports system (in most countries). Much of sports performance, and athletic development follows suit. Formalized speed training designed for older athletes tends to get pushed down on children far too early. Athletes are continually denied the chance to be athletes, to be autonomous movers, decision makers, and experience the full joy of sport. Not only this, but in that deprivation, we cut ourselves off from the fullness of what we could consider speed training, for any athlete. On today’s episode, Jeremy speaks on key principles to driving intent and multi-lateral ability in speed training for young athletes, and as they progress through their careers along with the pitfalls of early intensification and “speed training” kids like adults. He also covers many elements of athletic development, such as rhythm, crawling, rolling, strength training, and the development of aerial ability. All this, along with a discussion on the motivation factors of 80’s training movies, was an enjoyable conversation with Jeremy Frisch that is fundamental to the long-term development of athletes. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Timestamps 1:59- Enhancing Athletic Performance with Powerball Game 7:01- Engaging Youth in Interactive Speed Training Exercises 9:33- Developmental Progression Through Play and Training 14:53- Innovative Solutions Through 80s Constraints 17:00- Fundamental Elements for Speed in Children 28:46- Fundamental Movement Activities for Youth Athletes 39:29- Joyful Motivation: Igniting Passion in Youth Sports 46:59- Engaging Athletic Training with Interactive Games 49:32- Engaging Activities Enhance Training Intent 54:04- Adapting Techniques in Enhanced Relay Races 56:58- Foundation Building Through Early Clean Technique Practice 1:05:24- Foundational Movements for Effective Athlete Development 1:10:20- Enhancing Athletic Skills Through Varied Drills 1:21:12- Intrinsic Satisfaction in Physical Training Journeys 1:25:10- Enhancing Athletic Performance Through Rhythmic Coordination 1:31:27- Interactive Body-Scanning Dance Game for Xbox Quotes (12:37) "Expand their movement bandwidth. And the only way you can expand their movement bandwidth is by immersing them in as much movements as possible in as many ways as possible." (29:00) "If you look in like the Russia, like everyone thinks like the Russians had this like big secret, but if you look at like, you know those eastern block training, you see all the videos of black and white, like those guys are doing gymnastics and wrestling and climbing on things and doing pull ups and like just all like out in the, out in the mountains running over like jumping over rocks and stuff. It's like that's just GPP." (29:55) "If you really want to develop an athlete, it's gotta be age-appropriate and you gotta get them excited for what they're doing." (49:50) "Like everyone's, everyone's involved (in speed development) Everyone. It's just not one kid alone running on a treadmill, right? Everyone's activated, everyone's excited, everyone's laughing,