From the Ground Up Athletic Performance Podcast Andrew Bolter Vital Pursuit Athletics Episode 33 " Holistic training of the body, providing variance to build competency and keep things fresh"
On Episode 33 I Sat down with Andrew Bolter of Vital Pursuit athletics. Andrew's preferred training methodologies tend to be heavily focused on movement competency and building effective movers. Throughout the conversation we make several stops to talk about different manners, in which Andrew attempts to build effective movers ranging from foot considerations to other Isometric means or perhaps building different areas of a given sprint profile ( accel, max V, Decel). Andrew starts by discussing why he prefers a more holistic approach to movement rather than exercises that target isolated areas of the body. Andrew also discusses how Gait informs much of his decision making as walking and running are central tenets of life and our survival. We discuss some of his baseline metrics and Andrew shares how breathing, resting posture, and myofascial efficiency are things that he prizes. Andrew shares how he would go about regressing someone with major limitations or compensations and how he would attempt to advance them overtime. A major talking point that we discussed multiple times throughout the conversation is how Andrew attempts to avoid an overreliance on Cues. Self organization and allowing the constraints of given activities seem to be a guiding principle in Andrew's training philosophy.
We Discuss Isometrics and how Andrew attempts to build and potentiate movements based upon a given sessions or cycle's goal. We discuss the different variations of Isometrics and the different benefits that can be derived from utilizing Isometrics in training. Andrew shares how he analyzes running patterns for any issues or compensations. Andrew likes to use the support of slow motion video and Kinegrams to help with his video analysis. He discusses some of the things he is looking for in each phase of the run. We discuss how over cuing really simply leads to the over loading of athletes and drives them further away from natural solutions. We discuss some of the methods that can be utilized to build more effective movers and sprinters. We discuss the importance of understanding intent and intensity for a given exercise, which I believe to be of pivotal importance in completing proper repetitions for a given activity.
I've noted that Andrew utilizes the Arion Insoles and couldn't pass up the opportunity to ask about the different metrics he is able to get from utilizing them. We discuss how they have the potential to display foot strike patterns as well as many other metrics and how these may very well inform programming considerations. I've noted that Andrew programs a lot of decelerations and wanted to make sure that I took the time to discuss the importance of building the breaks in athletes and clients. Reflexive training is another thing that I have noted while following Vital pursuit athletics, he employs a lot of creative means for weight room exercises, plyometrics, and agilities. We discuss the switch based movements I've seen him utilize often and his rationale for including them. Variance is key to drive adaptations and build a greater movement profile in clients, it makes athletes or clients solve different problems and keeps the brain engaged. We end the show by discussing when to keep things general and what are some of the tell tell signs that its time to get more specific with individuals. I really enjoyed this weeks show please check out the links below for Andrew's Instagram as well as website!
Vital Pursuit Webpage
Vital Pursuit Instagram