296: The adaptation conversation (with Dan Cleather)

As coaches we like to think of the training process as predictable and controllable, but the reality isn't that straightfoward. As guest Dan Cleather explains on this week's podcast, we don't dictate training outcomes, we simply guide a conversation with the body. In the interview he looks at how to best guide that process, the role of overload, and rethinking recent trends in athlete profiling. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2026/03/gaincast-episode-296-the-adaptation-conversation-with-dan-cleather/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic:  The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more. Cleather was previously a guest on GAINcast 269, together with John Goodwin, where they discussed force and speed. Cleather's most recent book is The Practice of Change: The Art and Science of Training. This landed on Vern's top 10 list for 2025. Previous books include The Little Black Book of Training Wisdom (discussed here by Craig Pickering), and his series on force: Force: The Biomechanics of Training, Force 2: The Biomechanics of Sprinting, and Force 3: Strength Training for Endurance Performance. Vern's own new book was recently released. Learn more and order here: Building the Complete Athlete.

Vern is a prodigious reader. On this week's GAINcast he discusses what makes his top 10 books of 2025 stand out, as well as some additional reading recommendations. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2026/02/gaincast-episode-295-book-review/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic:  The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more. Vern's own new book was recently released. Learn more and order here: Building the Complete Athlete. Vern discussed his top books of 2023, 2022 and 2021 on GAINcast 277, GAINcast 259 and GAINcast 231. You can also read his book lists from 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

Southern California is known for its earthquakes, but it was also the epicenter of track and field during the golden age of the sport. On this week's episode, longtime coach and author Larry Knuth looks back at the coaching scene in that era, reflecting on his own path to coaching, as well as the big names he worked with along the way. This episode isn't just a walk down memory lane, but a look inside how some of the century's top coaches got their start and developed their broad skillsets. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/11/gaincast-episode-294-the-golden-age-with-larry-knuth/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic:  The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more. Pre-orders are now open for Vern's new book Building the Complete Athlete. Back in 2013, Vern wrote a review of Knuth's book Classic Track and Field Tales.

Hundreds of athletes, dozens of sports, and just one coach. Nick Garcia is a master of building an efficient and effective athletic development program. He joins us again on this week's GAINcast to walk us through his setup at Notre Dame High School, how he started the program, its critical success factors, and all the nitty gritty logistics of coaching. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/10/gaincast-episode-293-the-program-with-nick-garcia/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic:  The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more. Pre-orders are now open for Vern's new book Building the Complete Athlete. If you enjoy this topic, we have a lot more from Garcia in the HMMR Classroom. In GAIN Video 19 is his presentation from GAIN 2023 breaking down his training session structure and design. We also have videos of his warmup, med ball routines, jump series, and leg circuits. He also discussed the evolution of his program in GAINcast 209. Garcia has frequently been a guest in our year-end episodes to discuss trends in coaching in 2023 (GAINcast 258), 2022 (GAINcast 234), 2021 (GAINcast 206), 2019 (GAINcast 150), 2018 (GAINcast 98), and 2017 (GAINcast 46). Garcia will be hosting a shot put and discus clinic on December 27 in the Bay Area. You can learn more here.

Alex Hutchinson is well known for his writing on sport science, but his new books goes in a different direction by taking a detailed look at exploration: why humans explore, how much we should explore, and methods of exploration. The topic might not be directly about sports, but it is directly relevant to coaches. Coaches are often weighing the question of when to try something new, and when to keep with the old ways. Hutchinson joins us on this week's podcast to look at how some of the concepts in his book can apply to the world of coaching and high performance. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/07/gaincast-episode-292-explore-and-exploit-with-alex-hutchinson/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic:  The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more. Hutchinson was previously a guest on GAINcast 118, where we discssed research on how the mind and body control human performance. We recently reviewed his new book and wrote an article about our key takeaways on exploration. If you haven't already, pick up his newest bookThe Explorer's Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map or his previous book Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. You can also follow Hutchinson on Instagram @sweat_science. He also writes frequently for Outside Magazine and puts out a great newsletter which helps you follow all his latest writings.

According to coach Dale Stevenson, technique is overrated. Technique is a tool, just like strength is a tool. We need tools, but we can't forget that tools are there to help us accomplish a task. On this week's podcast Stevenson joins us to look at his approach to technique in training, how that translates into session design, and much more. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at:  https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/06/gaincast-episode-291-tools-vs-tasks-with-dale-stevenson/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic:  The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more. HMMR Media members can hear Stevenson discuss technical development and technical models in the new Video Lesson 43. You can read our notes on the above presentations here. Coach Stevenson also presented Video Lesson 37 in the HMMR Classroom where he draws parallels in 3 key areas: orbit, rhythm, and posture. Stevenson was also a guest previously on HMMR Podcast Episode 66 and Episode 121. Matt Denny's technique was also discussed with the thrower himself on HMMR Podcast Episode 309 and we broke down his technique in more detail in this article.

What are the demands of modern high school coaching? John Larralde calculated that he has just 43 training days to prepare his track athletes this year. Add to that a small student population, multi-event athletes, a young coaching staff, and little connection to the daily campus life. Some might see these as problems, but for Larralde that's no big deal as he describes himself as a problem solver. On this episode of the GAINcast Larralde talks about how he approaches high school track coaching. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/05/gaincast-episode-290-high-school-coaching-with-john-larralde/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic: The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more For more from Larralde, listen to our interview with him about endurance training on GAINcast 95. Larralde shared examples of how he has used different methods with different athletes from different athletes can produce top results. For another perspective on high school coaching, check out GAINcast 69 with high school coach and athletic director Patrick McHugh. Some discussion points in this episode included The Russell Cup and training by design (covered on GAINcast 285).

Lachlan Penfold has worked with some of the world's most successful clubs across numerous sports from rugby to the NBA to water polo. While he is an innovative physical performance coach, one theme keeps emerging to him: the most successful clubs are built more on the strength of connection as the strength the body. On this episode of the GAINcast he looks at how to build a culture starting with a foundation of joy, monitoring athletes through personal interactions, and more lessons from some of the world's best coaches. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/04/gaincast-episode-289-coaching-and-connections-with-lachlan-penfold/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic: The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more Penfold has won a title with the Melbourne Storm, but years ago he also led the Sydney Roosters to championships. He broke down his approach with Sydney in GAIN Video 4: Lessons from the Sydney Roosters available for HMMR Plus members to stream. Penfold was also a guest on GAINcast 184, GAINcast 131 and HMMR Podcast 62. We've also done a written interview with his colleague at the Storm, Dean Benton, as well as had him on GAINcast 227 and GAINcast 186. Monitoring was also a topic covered on GAINcast 192 with Aaron Coutts and Franco Impellizzeri. It is also a topic covered frequently in our Sports Science Quarterly research reviews.

Last month we hosted the GAIN Coaching by Design Workshop. A recurring theme in the workshop was process. Coaching by design requires process. On this episode of the GAINcast, Vern Gambetta dives into his process which starts with defining what he calls the six abilities: trainability, adaptability, recoverability, durability, availability, and coachability. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/01/gaincast-episode-288-the-six-abilities/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic: The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more. For regular updates from us, you can sign up for the GAIN Newsletter and HMMR Newsletter.

The GAINcast is back. To kick off the New Year, Vern Gambetta shares some lessons and reflections on the current state of training. On this episode he covers topics like the erosion of fundamentals, load management, strengths and weaknesses, innovation, and searching for questions. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/01/gaincast-episode-287-new-years-lessons-and-reflections/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic: The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more. For regular updates from us, you can sign up for the GAIN Newsletter and HMMR Newsletter. We recorded similar episodes to kick off 2024 (GAINcast 278), 2023 (GAINcast 258), 2022 (GAINcast 234), 2021 (GAINcast 206), 2019 (GAINcast 150), 2018 (GAINcast 98), and 2017 (GAINcast 46).