2522: Athletic Training Secrets With Alex Whitehair

71 snips

Jan 30, 2025

Alex Whitehair, an expert athletic trainer with a rich background in hockey and martial arts, shares his innovative training approach grounded in physics and biomechanics. He discusses the importance of individualized training, the challenges of maintaining athletes' timing, and the unique demands of different sports. Alex highlights the effectiveness of isometric exercises and the relationship between strength, mobility, and recovery. He also dives into lessons learned from Bruce Lee, the intricacies of athlete communication, and navigating the business challenges of social media.

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ANECDOTE

From Injury to Inspiration

Alex Whitehair's back injury led him to self-educate in training and physics.
This sparked his passion, leading him to help others and transition into training full-time after his hockey career.

INSIGHT

Physics-Based Training

Alex's training approach is self-taught, starting with physics to understand forces in sports.
He then connected physics with anatomy to develop unique, effective exercises.

INSIGHT

Beyond Replication

Traditional training often replicates on-field movements with added resistance, which can hinder performance.
Alex focuses on strengthening the muscles primarily responsible for the action without disrupting timing.

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Athletic Training Secrets with Alex Whitehair

His background in the fitness and training space. (1:57)
Where did he get his inspiration? (6:32)
Translating application to action. (7:41)
How he assesses an athlete. (12:48)
The challenge of working with an athlete and not disrupting their timing or technique. (15:21)
How athletes are SO different from sport to sport. (18:16)
The difficulty in communicating recovery to his athletes. (20:23)
The various training modalities and how he would use them. (21:25)
Why if you’re going to add in one area, you need to dial back in another area. (24:10)
Risk vs reward. (27:03)
Why training cycles are important. (29:17)
The tools he uses and why. (33:05)
Exercises with the most value. (35:08)
A sports connoisseur. (42:43)
The most difficult athlete to train. (43:54)
Proud athlete comeback story. (48:29)
Lessons learned from Bruce Lee’s training. (52:31)
How he uses isometrics with his athletes. (58:09)
The differences between training men and women. (59:48)
Plyometrics AREN’T meant for conditioning. (1:03:37)
What does his business model look like? (1:10:00)
Downsides of building a business on social media. (1:11:19)