Balancing Pressure and Enjoyment in Athletics

My guest is Stuart McMillan, a renowned track and field coach who has trained dozens of Olympic medalists, professional athletes, and team coaches across a diverse range of sports. We discuss how to use plyometric work to improve mobility, strength, posture, and overall health.

We emphasize the enormous benefits of skipping—a form of plyometrics—for joint health, aerobic conditioning, and coordination, as well as its advantages for people of all ages and fitness levels. We also explore the expressive nature of human movement, highlighting how certain movements reveal and can evolve one’s unique personality and abilities.

Stu explains how resistance training, skipping, and striding can improve movement efficiency in all aspects of life. Anyone who exercises, as well as serious athletes, will benefit immensely from Stu McMillan’s knowledge of human mechanics and the practical tools he generously shares in this discussion.

Read the full episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.

Thank you to our sponsors

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Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman

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Timestamps

00:00:00 Stuart McMillan

00:02:27 Running, Sprinting, Event Distances

00:09:01 Sponsors: Our Place & Wealthfront

00:12:13 Natural Sprinters, Kids, Sports Specialization

00:17:00 Athletes, Identity, Race Selection

00:23:38 Walking to Sprinting, Gait Patterns, Tool: Flat-Foot Contact

00:30:35 Visual Focus, Body Position, Running, Lifting Weights

00:36:00 Tool: Skipping & Benefits

00:42:18 Sponsors: AG1 & Helix Sleep

00:45:01 Tools: Skipping, Beginners, Jogging Incorporation

00:49:50 Transition Points, Tool: Skipping, Maximum Amplitude

00:53:03 Concentric & Eccentric Phases, Running

00:55:32 Transitioning to Striding, Posture, Center of Mass

01:03:11 Older Adults, Eccentric Control, Tool: Skipping

01:08:00 Naming Importance & Public Health; Skipping, Plyometrics

01:12:18 Sponsor: Function

01:14:06 Cross-Body Coordination, Rotation, Gaits; Phones & Posture

01:22:27 Expression Through Movement, Playfulness, Confidence

01:28:53 Being Yourself, Expression, Essence & Movement

01:36:39 Connecting with Movement, Building Cues, Mood Words

01:45:05 Pressure & Peace; Exercise, Movement & Age

01:51:39 Music, Art, Rhythm, Coaching; Soccer, Greatest Players & Countries

02:00:25 White & Black Athletes, Genetics, Environment

02:08:27 Running Form, Tools: High Knees, Stiff Springs, Hip Extension

02:17:21 Skipping Rope, Aging; Protocols & Rigidity, Principles Alignment

02:22:12 Resistance Training to Improve Movement, Sprinting Kinetics, Individualization

02:32:29 Transferring Weight Room to Track, Staggered Stance, Stretching

02:36:52 Performance-Enhancement, Elite Athletes, Androgen, Reputation

02:46:45 Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT), Age; Pharmacology vs. Training

02:52:14 Single Physical Metric & Sprinting; Pressure & Peace

02:58:34 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

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