430: Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus on Elastic Athletes, Deadlifting, and the Path of Least Resistance

Today’s podcast features Seth Lintz. Seth (“Pitching Doctor”) is a pitching and athletic performance coach.  He was a second-round pick in the 2008 MLB draft, carrying a maximal fastball speed of 104mph.  Seth has trained over a dozen individuals to break the 100mph barrier, using a progressive training system that prioritizes neuro-muscular efficiency, human psychology/brain-science, and intuitive motor learning concepts. To understand the fullness of our potential in any athletic discipline, we need to know not only our primary skill but also similar movements that can teach us more about that skill (outward) and the inner layers of our body and mind that dictate our movement quality and potential (inward). Seth fuses both of these in his approach. On today’s podcast, Seth covers his recent work with sprinting, locomotion, and postural balance, and how it fits in with training pitching velocity. We also get into a variety of special strength-oriented movements for sprinting and related throwing aspects, and cover layers of both environmental and internal factors that drive athletic movement to its highest potential. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games. 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 TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 5:37- Links Between Sprint Speed and Throwing Velocity 8:34- Efficient Movement Patterns in Athletic Development 14:07- The Role of Intramuscular Coordination in Movement 21:27- Explosive Sprint Training with Squat March Lunge 31:23- Optimizing Sprint Mechanics Through a 45-Degree Start 41:50- Emotional and Physical Integration for Optimal Performance 44:35- Brain Coherence Through Meditative Breathing Technique 54:03- Work Capacity Development for Enhanced Performance Quotes (6:26) “I noticed that as individuals, gait improved, and really, first through myself, as gait improved, and I learned how with a sedentary posture, really, and one where individuals lack the ability to integrate their non dominant side fully, those postural tendencies that result are the same things that I started to see individuals really struggling with when it came to correcting things mechanically within the throw” (8:45) “It's really the intramuscular coordination aspect of it all, that the right parts of the body are working and communicating with other parts of the body in an efficient manner, and that you're not getting a bunch of interference whenever you're trying to throw the ball or walk or sprint or whatever” (14:50) “We can reconstruct that just simply by giving the athletes taking something away and then adding it back in and allowing them to feel the sensation of more power. Because when we experience less resistance and we experience less friction or interference or inefficiency within a movement, we immediately are going to gravitate toward it, because it does feel better for things to be more powerful and for us to put more intent into that movement” (19:20) "If you're doing altitude, drops, and lunge from any kind of height, the amount of force that you're absorbing upon landing far exceeds the amount of force that you're absorbing whenever you're taking a stride”- Seth Lintz (34:17) "It's all rhythms. It's just increasingly complex rhythms, the same way you would experience in music or anything else and dance." - Joel Smith (37:25) “And a five minute isometric lunge. Yeah. You got all your motor units turned on, trust me” (41:55) “Ordinarily the stimulus should create an emotion that recruits an adrenal response and the neurotransmitters necessary wit...

Today’s podcast features Brady Volmering. Brady is the owner of DAC Performance and Health. He is continually evolving and refining core concepts of athletic development and walks the talk in his personal body transformation and practice. Brady leverages bio-psycho-social principles and intentions in his process of helping athletes become the best they can be. He has been a multi-time guest on this podcast. Exercise and physical training are usually discussed from the perspective of physiological changes. Rarely are the mental/emotional and learning aspects brought into the equation. On today’s podcast, Brady discusses a variety of speed and strength training means, and how he looks to program them, not only on a level of physiological adaptation but on a level of intention and total stimulation to the athlete. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games. 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 TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com To learn more about the Sprint Acceleration Essentials or Elastic Essentials courses, head to justflysports.thinkific.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 2:43- Origins and Benefits of Brady’s Impulse Training Methods 7:52- Creativity and Intensity Through Minimal Equipment Utilization 12:39- Shortened Time Windows and Training Intention 15:00- Descriptions and Intentions for Programming Athletic Movements and Exercises 26:18- Holistic Training Approach for Optimal Athletic Growth 32:54- Training Approach for Athletes Based on Superpowers 38:44- Jumping Games vs. Conventional Plyometrics 48:06- Simplifying Training to Limit Decision-Making and Focus Adaptation 52:55- Adductor Holds for a Comprehensive Isometric Training Approach 1:00:34- Moving Beyond “Canned” Arm Care Prescriptions 1:05:15- Advice Brady Would Give to His Younger Self Quotes 17:00 “If you have something, set something up that you can tackle it, right? You tackle it. You immediately get up into like a ten to 20 yard sprint. If you don't have something that you can tackle, like dive on the ground aggressively, just kind of work with what you have within your environment. But the overall goal is that we want you to feel, feel like you can aggressively tackle, hit something, get up and take that into the sprint, right? And so I'll use those words to describe this is what we're trying to get out of it. Like, you want to feel aggressive hitting something and then getting up and taking off into a sprint” - Brady Volmering 21:40 “I want to be able to stimulate someone maximally, like, for them to be able to take and direct every single ounce of their being into something without worrying about anything other than doing that. And with the weight, sometimes you have to worry about failing an impulse. You don't” - Brady Volmering 22:20 “What do you want your body to feel like? What do you want to get out of this? And so it helps them to. It helps them to start to fully invest, because when I talk about full investment, it's like, there it is” - Brady Volmering 26:08 “And full disclosure, like, I enjoy three sets of ten sometimes” - Brady Volmering 27:10 "Every new thing now that I come across, I'm just looking at, as, like, I myself need to take this thing to its absolute and extreme level, right, whatever that means, so that I know the impact and the benefit that I can get from it." - Brady Volmering 27:50 “Three by ten tool that I can use with other people. Setting up 20 minutes for someone to go explore. It's a tool that I can use. Impulses still fail tool that I can use. Impulses for three sets of 100. Tool that I can.

Today’s podcast features Flynn Disney. Flynn is a parkour athlete and human performance coach known for integrating mind, body, and environment in movement training. Flynn combines his history as an athlete with an intensive study of human psychology and experience training animals to provide a unique and insightful perspective on training. All too often, training is thought of on the level of machine-like qualities. Sets, reps, drills, and coaching cues. Rarely do we consider those processes by which children and animals learn, or how the consideration of the total human can change the process by which we coach. Much of this also involves looking at what makes animals and humans both similar and unique, in their movement strength, and abilities. On today’s show, Flynn digs into the key differences between animals and humans from a perspective of reflexes and internal wiring, the role of reflexes in training, and examples in plyometric, running, and dynamic “spinal-engine” activities (and the value of “the worm” breakdance move, from an athletic perspective). He talks about the role of attentional networks, and training implications, the impact of risk on our reflex loops in training, and more. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games. 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 TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 9:00- Key differences between human and animal movement, particularly on the level of reflexes 18:00- Attentional aspects of the brain and training implications 24:00- The power of subconscious processes and the relaxation/reflex action in humans 30:00- Playing with varying frequencies in running and sprinting situations 35:00- “The Hero’s Journey” of Coaching 50:00- The role and interplace of “Fixed” versus “Exploratory” aspects of training 59:00- Visual tracking and athletic human movements 1:10:00- Risk and reflex arcs in training Quotes “Animal movement is much more constrained by reflexes than human movement; if you take a rabbit and extend their back legs, their front leg will reflexively flex” “We (humans) have many more movement options (than animals)” “Taking small moments of rest (between main sets) is so profound that is so easy to implement; it seems to integrate learning at a deeper level, this cooling down process allowing new neural connections to form” “If you run with a more frequent step, instead of bounds or strides, it’s such a different quality” “We’re generally less happy when we are in (Default Mode Network) that state, we are more happy when we are task oriented, or sensory oriented” “When a reflex is terminated, it’s very satisfying; when you move away from it, it feels dis-satisfying” “If I experience something that is possible, but not completely unimaginable, I will get a surge of energy” About Flynn Disney Flynn Disney is a professional parkour athlete and coach, known for his innovative approach to movement and skill development. Based in London, his mastery of parkour fundamentals, coupled with a deep understanding of biomechanics, has made him a sought-after coach in the movement training community. As a coach, Flynn emphasizes an approach the integrates mind and body, helping athletes of all levels break through physical and psychological barriers. Flynn also contributes to the sport through workshops and content that promote parkour as a tool for developing adaptable and well-rounded athletes.

Today’s podcast features Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus. Bill Hartman is a physical therapist and in-demand educator with his modern approach to human mechanics and training. Bill has been an influential figure to many guests on this podcast, as well as my own views on training. Chris Wicus is a health and performance professional with 15 years of experience, a former professional ultimate frisbee player, and a 2nd degree black belt in karate. He has coached a wide variety of athletes across 17 sports and has been mentored by many top experts in the field. Bill and Chris host the “Reconsider” podcast together and speak on various cutting-edge approaches to human movement in a way that prompts thinking on existing processes in the field, and how to move forward with current understandings of training and biomechanics. So often in physical training, athletes are told to master the basics of “Squat, Hinge, Push, Pull, Etc.”, but unfortunately, within this framework, there is little to no consideration of how various body types have the capacity to carry out those lifts, and what impact intensifying those movements will have on indivdiuals. On today’s show, Bill and Chris speak to the nature of the big lifts (squat, bench, deadlift), and how both “Narrow” and “Wide” ISA athletes (elastic and muscular) will be able to process those movements. We talk about the helical nature of our human design, and how it impacts movement preferences. We also discuss specific strength strategies for athletes who are more narrow and wide, and how to better tailor one’s overall strength program to one’s athletic needs. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games. 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 TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 6:49- Optimizing Fitness Training for Personal Strengths 13:20- Structural Archetypes: Impact on Athletic Performance 20:32- Helical Influence on Exercise Selection 21:17- Helical Design Influence on Exercise Selection 23:32- Optimal Deadlifting Structure for Performance Success 27:06- Optimizing Performance Through Helical Angles 30:30- Optimizing Force Production for Athletic Performance 31:42- Enhanced Performance Through Strong Grip Training 48:52- Structural Bias Optimization for Deadlift Stance 1:07:54- Optimizing Squat Training for Structural Archetypes 1:12:42- Optimizing Squat Variations for Body Structure 1:18:28- Tailoring Exercises to Individual Constraints for Performance 1:20:14- Archetype-Based Training Support Network and Resources Quotes "The more I lifted in the gym, the worse I felt. So then I start just running more. And by the end of my athletic career was just mostly sprinting and running and not so much of, like, the slow grindy stuff." – Chris Wicus "You look at the difference between 100 meters sprinter, an 800 meters runner, and then a 5K runner, and you're going to see this progressive difference in body type – Bill Hartman “At all measures of scale in a human, all levels of scale. So down to your DNA. So DNA is structured helically. A collagen fiber is structured helically. All of your joints move on helical pathways. So we are helically designed” - Bill Hartman “And so it's not, that narrows can't do deadlifts, but we're going to make modifications that are going to make it more ideal” - Bill Hartman "Too much force production because of the way that we produce force takes away something else that I needed." - Bill Hartman “The best, the most athletic I ever got, I had, like, a 38 inch vertical at one point,

Today’s podcast highlights coach, author, and educator Dan John. A best-selling author in strength training and fitness, including works such as “Never Let Go”, “Mass Made Simple”, and “Easy Strength Omni-Book.” Dan excels at transforming complex concepts into practical insights and has been a frequent guest on the show. He is one of my most significant influences in how I approach coaching and training. As I move forward in my coaching and training journey, I increasingly appreciate Dan’s methods and wisdom in deeper and more impactful ways. If you want to excel at athletics, then you can never, ever, get too far from the actual day-to-day and week-to-week process of training that unfolds over time. On today’s episode, Dan talks about navigating the peaks and valleys of performance along with managing daily training and competitive expectations. He also touched on the importance of athlete autonomy, and “figuring it out”, and trends in sports training. Ultimately, Dan speaks to the heart of that consistent, long-haul process by which champions are made, which is the core message of today’s episode. Dan is a legend, and it’s always fantastic to have him on the show. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games. 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 TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 4:09- Exploring Diverse Fitness Trends 11:42- Efficient Power Curl: Simple Strength Training Boost 18:50- Enhancing Grip Strength with Sandbag Cleans 23:41- Navigating Progress Peaks in Strength Training 25:45- Unexpected Strength Breakthroughs in Weightlifting Journey 30:21- Five Sets of Five 33:47- Navigating Peaks and Valleys in Training 40:28- Navigating Ups and Downs in Training Journeys 43:24- Transition from Functional Movements to Bodybuilding 47:54- Foundational Principles for Enhanced Athletic Performance 51:03- Evolution of Training Methods in Athlete Development Quotes (00:16:47) "I think the overhead squat and the power curl are probably two of the best discus throwing exercises there are. Power curl, I can teach you in seconds." - Dan John (00:20:34) "One of the problems, at least in my world, is that we often think that, you know, if a leads to b and b leads to c, then, well, let's drop b and just go a to c. And it doesn't always happen. Sometimes when you're trying to accomplish something, you still have to stick with all the steps in the system." - Dan John (00:27:46) "George Sheehan in his run, in one of his books, Doctor Sheehan on Running, I think it is. You know, he talks about how athletes live in the pure present. We have no past, we have no future. They're like. And he equates poets, artists, children and the elderly. They all live in the pure present. There is no, there's no yesterday, there's no tomorrow." - Dan John (00:32:57) "Those workouts that are the, you just get in, you do your sets and reps, you walk out the door, you salute yourself for that effort. I actually think those are the ones that make champions." - Dan John 01:00:45 “One of the things a lot of athletes start to do is they turn off. Because if I give you everything, then I'm your wizard, I'm your Gandalf, your Merlin, I'm your Moses, I'm your prophet, I'm the answer to all your questions. But what makes an athlete great is when they go, what made Dick Fosberry great in the high jump? What made him great? Well, he thought for himself to the point that his coach at Oregon State, Frank Morris, did everything he could to stop Fosbury from drinking, from jumping that way. And then later, of course,

Today’s episode features Lee Taft, a leading expert in sport speed development. Lee has accumulated wisdom, not just in sports performance, but also in physical education, and sport coaching.  Lee has been a multi-time guest on the podcast and is a regular consultant and mentor to many professionals in the field. We regularly consider building speed and athletic movement on the individual level, but there is often a gap when it comes to determining how to use that speed in context of other players, decision-making capabilities, and in the game itself. Lee is not only a leader in building individual speed components, but he also zooms out to engage athletes on those levels of basketball skill through his sport coaching expertise. In today’s episode, Lee emphasizes the importance of speed and movement for team coordination, focusing on burst training, fast breaks, and press situations. He gets into partner competitions and multiplane movement drills while honing decision-making exercises to improve overall performance. He also discusses creating environments that encourage aggressive play and empowering athletes to take risks with the removal of external judgment. Finally, we cover practical tools like sprint workouts, partner drills, and resistance bands to help build athletic skills and confidence. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games. 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 TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 1:45- "Enhancing Basketball Team Coordination through Speed" 15:27- Game Simulation Speed Conditioning for Basketball Players 21:35- Conceptual Training Method for Effective Coaching 23:58- Dynamic Speed Training Through Competitive Drills 26:10- Competitive Backpedaling and Shuffling Drills Strategy 32:59- Dynamic Sports Training: Speed and Decision Skills 39:03- Embracing Risk-Taking Mindset in Sports 43:36- Fostering Athlete Development Through Judgment-Free Practice 48:15- Enhancing Sports Performance Through Resistance Bands 50:03- Enhancing Agility Skills with Band Variation 1:00:28- Band-based Skill Development for Athletes Quotes (00:04:17) "We got to play as, kind of one brain, and it's the idea of, can we see something together? Do we see what's going on together? And now, once we start moving, can we move on a string, and we all move together?" - Taft" (24:30) “The partner closest to the basket does a hip turn and sprints past the person at the foul line. The person at the foul line immediately starts backpedaling as fast as they can, as far as they can, until they get past. So we compete players against players, and the goal is to see who can get the furthest backpedal. And I try to partner them up with even speeds or as close as I can, and then we'll do the same thing with a shuffle” -Lee Taft (00:29:58) "You get two minutes to figure it out in a game. You'll know who you're guarding. Can you dominate them physically or is it even, or are they going to physically dominate you? Either way, you got to make a decision to make your adjustment." -Lee Taft" (34:34) “We have all these words for speed, right? In track and field, we eliminate a lot of those words because the goal is to reach your maximal speed for that event and try to finish first or the best time you can get. But in basketball, soccer, these other sports, now, the words like change of pace, directional speed, or angular speed starts to enter into the conversation” -Lee Taft (00:40:15) “when you're holding back and just getting rid of the ball because you don't want to make a mistake, now,

This week’s podcast features Dr. Pat Davidson, an independent trainer and educator based in NYC. Pat is the creator of the "Rethinking the Big Patterns" lecture series, a former college professor, and one of the most insightful coaches in fitness and human performance. With a diverse athletic background that includes strongman competitions, mixed martial arts, and various forms of weightlifting, Pat brings a wealth of experience to the table. He has been a guest on several previous episodes of this series. We live in a world of total information overload. We are continually given “10 drills” and “3 tips” but without a greater framework of understanding the complex system of the human body. Training in the modern age can be seen, in a way, as a swamp of methods, as well as lots of noise with various attention-grabbing headlines and social media posts. Having the principles and framework for what is important and how it fits into one’s worldview or training model is a shining light through that swamp, and it is one we must develop as we grow in our coaching and movement journeys. Today’s podcast with Pat digs into the story of training and motivation. We discuss the hero’s journey in training and cover decision-making, learning, and mastery in coaching. We then discuss the model by which Pat has evolved to understand the complexity of the body in motion. This episode finishes with a great continuing discussion on the principle of “ground” in athletic movement at development at the end of the episode. Pat is a deep thinker, and you always walk away with concepts to help you evolve your own process on a more profound level. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games. 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 TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Timestamps and Main Points 6:03- Dopamine's Role in Motivating Physical Activity 9:30- The Integration of Knowledge for Personal Growth 11:51- Mastering the Hero's Journey in Storytelling 14:50- Narrative Influence in Coaching Dynamics 22:35- Ego's Influence on Coaching Effectiveness 31:22- Movement Enhancement Through Strategic Coaching Adjustments 41:05- Muscle and Skeletal Characteristics in Exercise Selection 45:18- Optimizing Movement Efficiency Through Individual Constraints 59:55- Adaptation of Athletes to Environmental Constraints 1:12:00- Ground Continuum Categorization for Optimal Performance 1:17:05- Pendulum Squat for Muscle Imbalances 1:23:49- Graceful Resilience: Lessons from Martial Arts 1:29:27- Emphasizing Perseverance and Composure for Success Quotes “I think that Rocky four was my first exposure to, like, a training movie, like anything, actually. The karate kid when I was five was the first one. And I love that. I was obsessed, and that movie got me into karate, and I did that for years. And all I'm saying is, like, the stories from that period probably are the reason that I got into this in the first place and, like, created this drive that keeps me going” "The story always comes first. That's always the first and most important piece of it all." - Joel Smith “Having kids is actually pretty helpful on that because you're like, why is this so boring and taking so long? And I'm like, okay, like, thank you actually for that feedback. Now I know I was just talking and it was just me blowing hot air at a certain point” "When you finally work with the person that is actually truly knowledgeable in an area, boom. They have the simple right fix that quickly captures the idea and lets you do it in a much better way… They'll go in,

This week’s podcast is with Ken Clark and Cory Walts. Dr. Ken Clark is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at West Chester University, specializing in the mechanical factors of athletic performance and injury prevention. With over a decade of hands-on coaching experience across various levels, Ken also teaches Biomechanics, Kinetic Anatomy, and Motor Learning. Cory Walts is the Director of Strength & Conditioning at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has led successful sports performance programs since 2019. A finalist for the NSCA College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year Award, he is highly certified and experienced in the field. Speed training, for team sports in particular, is an evolving method, specifically in how athletes are profiled and bucketed into training needs. There are more and less complex ways to do this. With the increased emergence and leaning into technology-assisted models, starting with a basic understanding of speed development principles across groups is essential. On today’s podcast, Cory and Ken discuss speed training for team sports in light of "low-tech" solutions and simple bucketing systems. We discuss critical differences between team sports and track and field athletes and the appropriate expectations for technical models. Ken and Cory discuss various speed training methods, including mini-hurdles, resisted sprint variations, stride frequency variations, environmental training considerations, and more. This was a great, practical show on developing methods in sprint development. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games. 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 TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com To learn more about the Sprint Acceleration Essentials or Elastic Essentials courses, head to justflysports.thinkific.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 11:32- Optimizing Speed Training for Team Sport Athletes 17:40- Gamified Speed Training for Athletic Motivation 22:05- Tailored Training through Sprint Profiling Analysis 24:02- Optimizing Performance through Lumbo Pelvic Control 35:37- Dynamic Resistance Training with Bullet Belts 53:37- Enhancing Athletic Performance with Wearable Resistance 54:37- Angular Velocity Enhancement Through Flex Leg Training 56:41- Movement Variation for Optimal Running Mechanics 1:01:00- Balancing Intervention for Effective Coaching Results Quotes (12:00) “So the slow track and field athletes were still kind of like, you know, pretty front side, pretty short contact times and contact lengths, etcetera. But the team sport guys were not. They had longer contact times, longer contact lengths, like less, you know, more backside thigh, less frontside thigh mechanics. And so kind of the really cool thing that emerged from this data set was like, hey, our fast team sport guys can hit really fast top speeds as fast as some of the slower track guys, but with a different strategy. And frankly, a strategy that makes sense from a team sport standpoint” Ken Clark 22:25: “We just looked at relative to the others, the first zero to ten versus the 30 to 40, and then we bucketed them, and we had an acceleration group that needed to work on acceleration. We had a top speed that needed to work on that, and we had a balanced. So if you just think of a bell curve, majority of the team was in this balanced, and then the certain amount was in the other two” Cory Walts 40:00: “We're not going to be able to set up like individualized sled loads, which I think is great, but, you know, just was not, and I've done it with other teams, Corey and I both have,

This week’s podcast is with David Durand. David is a coach and author of "B.E.T. On It: A Psychological Approach to Coaching Gen Z and Beyond." He combines his expertise in coaching, strength and conditioning, and psychology to help athletes achieve their full potential. Through his company, Real Development LLC, he provides insights that address athletes' physical, mental, and personal growth, mainly focusing on the challenges faced by Gen Z. David advocates for a holistic approach that emphasizes the nervous system's role in enhancing performance and mental well-being. As technology and social media have facilitated a drastic change in the world, along with the prevalence of mental health issues, coaching athletes in Generation Z (currently ages 11-26, or under age 27 for current coaches in most situations) demands that we understand how stress impacts the training process. On today’s podcast, David speaks on aspects of the nervous system in light of modern life and technology and how we can use ideas based on Polyvagal Theory to help athletes have a training experience that gives them maximal benefit in their athletic journey. David’s concepts are a must-understand for those who work with young athletes, but the same concepts resonate with humans of all ages. In this show, David specifically covers how breathing, vision, and touch can drive beneficial responses from the body to the brain, providing mental and emotional benefits to the athlete. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games. 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 TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 1:47- Holistic Approach to Athletic Performance Enhancement 5:58- The Impact of Social Media on Generation Z's Mental Health 10:02- Optimal Performance through Autonomic Nervous System Balancing 14:41- Behavioral Indicators of Athlete's Action Mode 17:07- Athlete Well-Being: Social Media Stress Impact 21:45- Nurturing Growth Mindsets Through Positive Training 25:57- Nurturing Intrinsic Motivation in Sports Coaching 32:58- Impact of Everyday Gamification on Generations 36:47- Balancing Data Insights with Present-Moment Engagement 46:02- Enhancing Performance Through the Bet Method 1:01:43- Enhancing Sports Performance Through Vision Engagement 1:13:38- Enhancing Team Performance Through Physical Interactions 1:16:14- Team Bonding Through Physical Gestures in Sports Quotes (15:17) "In action mode, I typically look for an athlete. You know, if it's before a competition, it's pretty easy to see it sometimes. Maybe their eyes are kind of darting around all over. Maybe they're looking into the stands a lot. They're kind of feeling a little tense or jittery" (25:57) "Sometimes, however, when that becomes like your tactic day in and day out where you're trying to motivate by yelling or fear-based tactics, It's like putting gasoline on a fire. You may get a big blow up, which is probably why coaches do, but again and again because they feel like it gets a rise out of players and helps. But at the end of the day, it's not sustainable and that fire is going to burn out." (33:35) “When I talk about gamification, I'm not talking about games like basketball and football and not talking about competitions and track and field more. So just like how our modern culture with social media and just media in general has really latched on to gamification because, you know, humans are the product.” (47:15) "If you extend your exhale longer than your inhale, you're engaging the brake, you're accessing the parasympathetic,

This week’s guest is Rick Franzblau, Assistant AD for Olympic Sports Performance at Clemson University. Rick has a tremendous understanding of athletic movement, both from the technology and biomechanical aspects of the human movement equation. He has worked with a wide variety of sports and athletic movement patterns and has a unique understanding of the specific demands sport requires. Sport performance has been anchored in strength training via barbells or dumbells since its inception. The addition of needed muscle mass, power production, and slow-speed injury resiliency is a key aspect of improved performance. At the same time, each added modality to the sport movement equation has a trade-off to it. Where heavy squats, presses, and deadlifts improve one’s general force production capabilities, they have the trade-off of various skeletal restrictions and compensations that may not be in an athlete’s best interest at some point. On the show today, Rick speaks on biomechanical concepts, such as skeletal compression, orientation, reciprocal motion, and pressure dynamics, and how they relate to what he sees in their on-field performance. He then goes into training concepts related to squatting, Olympic lifting, waterbag training, and more, and how strength means can become an ideal fit for an athlete’s structure and needs in their sport movement mechanics. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games. 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. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 4:35- Sport-Specific Structural Attributes in Athletes 11:03- Tailoring Sprint Variations for Optimal Performance 20:16- Enhancing Athletic Performance through Internal Rotation 24:39- Optimizing Athletic Performance through Body Mechanics 38:05- Enhancing Athlete Performance with Water Resistance 48:44- Enhancing Performance Through Relative Motion Training 57:47- Anterior Pelvic Orientation Impact on Athletes 1:03:16- Pelvic Pressure and Box Squat Performance 1:06:54- Late Bias Development in Single Leg Position 1:13:57- Targeting Weaknesses for Effective Strength Training 1:16:18- Pelvic Pressurization for Enhanced Weightlifting Performance 1:17:26- Seated Squat Jump for Targeted Strength Quotes (8:50) "There are no solutions. There are only trade offs."(Bill Hartman) - Rick Franzblau (19:31) "It's just understanding, like, there can be more low-hanging fruit in terms of trying to achieve a shape that will help you either with power production or distributing load a little bit more evenly." - Rick Franzblau (33:56) "That is something to be careful of, too. Is like, oftentimes people look at the example of the best in the world and the adaptations that they developed, but the other million people that try to do it that way, they broke along the way in the process." - Rick Franzblau (38:24) "Player development is not matching the hardware with the software." - Rick Franzblau (52:38) "Everything is just kind of dumping forward because of the shapes that they've created." - Rick Franzblau (1:00:39) “So because they're not going to have the ability to descend that anterior (pelvic) outlet. So you work foam, rolling techniques, stuff like that, to reduce some of the areas of the muscle, the muscles that are holding the anterior orientation. If it's bow legged representation, you may have to, you know, be very specific of that in terms of undoing some of the muscle tensions and all that. But then eventually you may be working to like a. A really high box squat at first.