From the Ground Up Athletic Performance Podcast

On Episode 24, I sat down with Ankoor Bhattacharjee of Fractal Biomechanics. Much of our conversation is centered around locomotion, so naturally we begin our discussion by talking about positioning and how joint angles encourage or hinder movement. Ankoor also discusses how breathing can impact the ability to effectively find differing ROM. Ankoor spends  much of his time picking through the area of the body between the pelvis and sternum, and examining how these different areas interlock and impact each other. Ankoor discusses the role of the sternum in proper posture and how perhaps on occasion prep coaches drive the incorrect sternum angle, which in turn puts the lumbar spine in a compromised position. The abdominals are another area of focus, we mainly focus on bracing and the impacts that it can have on various portions of the body as well as methods of locomotion. Ankoor discusses a more natural method to train the abdominals through more functional training. Most abdominal preparation is done in a compressive manner and in isolation, Ankoor's view  centers on training the abdominals  through a gait perspective. Utilizing a more gait centric method will allow for the natural occurrences of compression and expansion simultaneously throughout the abdominals. Many of the concepts on todays show are based around the PRI system, so Ankoor discusses the natural asymmetries that are present throughout the body and how to properly facilitate training that will allow for the body to organize in a dynamic manner similar to those found in sport. Ankoor discusses Hamstrings and the impact pelvic positioning can play in the role of hamstring recruitment. Akoor offers up several PRI influenced exercises that again consider the differing phases of gait and how they impact certain areas of musculature such as the hamstrings. The idea of driving competency in all planes for a given region is also another area of rationale in properly preparing dynamic movers. We end this episode by talking about thoracic mobility and how the idea behind many training concepts does not truly train the compression and expansion of proper areas. This naturally brings us to close by taking into consideration some of the differing demands on overhead sports participants.  Ankoor Social media Fractal.Biomechanics  Listen.Learn.Leverage Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/4Qi4zwm3hL1CXMqYuiv7SF 

On episode 23 I continue my conversation with Coach Banta by talking about the role of tempo training within his system and how he uses it to facilitate proper dosage of training especially after his day 1 high CNS session. Coach Banta discusses his rationale on including a high CNS day to start the week, and how tempos help to facilitate and builds towards desired adaptations for later periods of competition. Tempos help to build the buffering capacity and requirements for given competitions. They also allow recovery and help build resilient structures that are more likely to hold up to the demands of meets such as many different state track meets. Coach Banta talks about how he strategically adjust tempos to facilitate pace in his peaking phase for competition, he slowly slides the tempo out and brings in a second high CNS day later in training. He is able to accomplish this through the earlier use of tempos and their preparation of athletes for more rigorous demands in peaking phases for competition. I've really enjoyed Coach Banta's rationale on the role of recovery and keeping athletes active while facilitating means for them to work through minor issues. He shares some of the sources and inspirations for his recovery stations. He refers to the track side recovery like a F1 pitstop, race cars much like sprinters need tune ups and check ups and he shares how he facilitates that naturally. The role of the weight room in prep is also discussed and how he utilizes it to varying degrees throughout the year. Coach Banta shares that he believes it to be the second most important preparatory factor in track and field. He talks about how it is a major emphasis in the winter off season months to build resiliency in tendons and ligaments that will be required in track and field activities. We end our conversation by allowing coach Banta to discuss what he feels like are major areas of misconception within track and field. Coach Banta shares a great point, most people don't participate in track and field because they feel they aren't fast. That's a misconception, track has such a diverse offering of events that there is almost something for everyone. That also ties into another area that is often misconstrued in track and field, that there is only one profile or perhaps group that is successful in track and field. Speed can be trained and increased, and as coach Banta states you can get people much faster if you attack training properly. Coach Banta also discusses the areas that he feels track and field has grown in over the last few decades. He believes there are more reliable resources out there for people to follow and model. There is also much more sharing of information amongst coaches and this is facilitating growth and interest in the sport. Check out the links below for Coach Banta's social media, Book, and podcast.  Coach Banta Social media https://twitter.com/SprintersCompen Sprinters Compendium Book https://www.amazon.com/Sprinters-Compendium-Ryan-J-Banta/dp/1946208566 Companions of the Compendium Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/companions-of-the-compendium/id1551585024

On Episode 22 I sit down with Coach Ryan Banta, Head Track and field coach, author, and podcaster. Coach Banta starts out by sharing his experiences in coaching , especially early ones and how they helped to set him up for growth down the road and ultimately becoming a better coach. Part I of my conversation really focuses on the Critical Mass system that coach Banta uses to prepare his athletes. Coach Banta provides the rationale behind the system and discusses how he divides workouts in what I would equate to a 2 week undulating microcycle. Coach Banta discusses the five different types of workouts or zones that would be present during that two week cycle and how he alternates between the two weeks to build a really balanced approach. Coach Banta takes us through a sample two week cycle and discusses how max velocity, acceleration, speed endurance, special endurance, and tempo workouts would be implemented. The Weight room, plyometrics, and prehab activities are all taken into account and how they fit within the context of the given stimulus desired. One thing that I was struck with as coach Banta and I recorded is how important variance is to him and how he really believes that proper variance of stimulus is a major driver of adaptations. A cornerstone of his system is that intensities of the activities remain close to the event that the person will be participating in always being slightly below or above the race distance they will face in competition. As Coach Banta discusses the different points it makes sense the variance of stimulus on distances, exertion, and other variables help to build the proper gears, speed, and staying power for a given race. One of the things that really stood out to me as Coach Banta closed out how he preps the sprint athletes are that he said he wants a global athlete, that is well rounded, and he justifies that by sharing that they are less likely to become injured and also to be more prepared for the rigors of multiple events in track and field. We end part I of our conversation by talking about the 800 and how it truly is a unique event 50/50 anaerobic to aerobic. Make sure to come back next week for part II of our conversation based around Tempos, how he varies them and utilizes them to build resiliency in athletes, The importance of the weight room for track and field athletes, and some other great topics. Check out the links below for links to coach Banta's social media, His book the Sprinters compendium, and his podcast Companions of the Compendium.  Coach Banta Twitter @Sprinterscompen Sprinters Compendium Link https://www.amazon.com/Sprinters-Compendium-Ryan-J-Banta/dp/1946208566 Companions of the Compendium Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/companions-of-the-compendium/id1551585024

On this episode I sat down with Cal Dietz, strength and conditioning coach at the University of Minnesota as well as author of Triphasic Training. I've mentioned many different aspects of Triphasic training on this podcast with other guest on the podcast and on today's episode Cal provides rationale for certain points within his preparatory methods. We start by discussing one of Cal's emphasis the floating heel and his rationale for utilizing different foot positions throughout prep. We discuss how foot placement may different between GPP and specific phases, as well as the idea behind the spring ankle model. Cal discusses the different levels of spring ankle and how to implement them into training, and why it is extremely important that athletes have strong feet and lower legs. Cal discusses the difference between implementing Triphasic in a bilateral and unilateral manner and how he deals with the negative feedback derived from bilateral movements. I was totally blown away a few months ago when Cal posted his video on performance cycling and I've referenced it on multiple occasions on the show. Cal discusses how he found the issue that can be created through facilitating workouts in a more traditional manner and the negative impact that can occur due to this. Triphasic is based around Block periodization, so naturally Cal discusses how block methods differ from mixed methods and presents reasoning for programming in a block system. I was interested to see what Cal's suggestions would be for speed and agility prep during the concentrated eccentric and isometric blocks within Triphasic, so Cal discusses a sensible manner to progress speed work during those concentrated strength blocks. We end the discussion by talking about the Goat Drill and how Cal stacks this agility as a natural mechanism for rest between sprints and to optimize skill uptake and learning processes. I have links below to several of the talking points, Cal's website, Manuals, Triphasic text, and social media accounts make sure to check the out if you've never seen them before.  Triphasic Training Book Link - https://www.amazon.com/Triphasic-Training-systematic-explosive-performance/dp/0985174315 Coachtube Manuals- https://coachtube.com/search?q=cal+dietz XLathlete webpage- https://www.xlathlete.com/ Safety Bar split squat presentation- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhXg9XgHTv Goat Performance Drill- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuEtPi-jwqU Performance Cycling- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaBrvTJwHnE&t=2s Cont. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O6xb355Qyo Cont. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FAJgWPQjMU Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/cal.dietz/?hl=en Twitter- https://twitter.com/xlathlete?lang=en

On Episode 21 I sit down with Troy Mchugh of TMAthleticDevelopment to discuss a variety of topics mostly centered around the neurological approach to training, speed development, and Triphasic Methodologies. We start our conversation with one of the guiding Principles of Troy's development system Neurological considerations. This naturally steers the conversation to how he effectively utilizes RPR to help prepare athletes for the rigors of training and their sport. One of the things that stuck out to me early on is how Troy elaborated the two variables that he is constantly monitoring, these are if the training puts athletes into a sympathetic or parasympathetic state. Troy elaborates on why this is such a major consideration in his examination of programming and preparation. We detail other recovery methods that he utilizes to make sure his athletes stay, happy, healthy, and fast. We spend a good bit of time talking about the foot and ankle methods that he utilizes and Troy talks about two major pieces of equipment that he utilizes to build not only the foot and ankle complex but also potentiate speed. The K box and the run rocket are two important pieces of equipment in Troy's preparatory methods. Troy discusses his unique approach to potentiation cluster, I believe he also refers to them as speed clusters where he utilizes the run rocket in a manner similar to Dietz's potentiation clusters. Troy also talks about the rationale behind utilizing this machine and how to take into account force velocity decrements to best load the exercise. We close out the conversation by talking about the general or globalized approaches that he takes in working with such a wide profile of athletes ranging from professionals, to collegiate athletes, all the way down to adolescents. A few factors flow throughout the conversation, one is viewing the body through a neurological lens and utilizing that to help drive home the most important factor the facilitation of max Velocity sprinting. Troy also provides a unique perspective on some of the Triphasic training methodologies that many are familiar with. Make sure to give Troy's Instagram account a check to see some of the methodologies discussed today in action. 

On episode 20 I sat down with the assistant director of sports performance at UMass Joel Reinhardt. We start our conversation by examining Joel's views on athletic development, this provided a really nice summary of what the remainder of the conversation would focus on. Joel immediately emphasized the importance of understanding the needs of sports, and how he spends as much time as possible at the practices of the sports that he serves. A really good line of logic that he presents is that if the sport can build a certain capacity let it do so, if it does not adequately address a certain factor that's when constraints may be used in practice or within a prep area. We discuss some of the main metrics that he utilizes to examine the needs and overall readiness of his athletes. We spend some time on GPS data and the main metrics that he is able to utilize through GPS tracking. Joel also talks about the importance of getting the true max velocity profile of given athletes. He also talks about some of the newer technology that he is beginning to implement such as force plates and some of the different methods he plans to measure on the plates. Joel discusses how he naturally builds up the energy system demands of his athletes, through thoughtful tempo prep but most importantly simulations of games as they progress through the preparatory phase. We spend some time talking about how to deal with different reflexive issues in sprinting and how he would best attempt to facilitate and correct some of the more neurological/reflexive patterns of locomotion. We end our conversation by talking about a variety of factors centered around the use of isometrics. Joel talks about the importance of bodily awareness and feeling the movement in order to drive correct patterning in athletes. He also discusses how isometrics can be beneficial to tendon health and be a great complimentary method when paired with sprinting methods. Joel has a great podcast and website, make sure to check out the links for his podcast, website, and twitter.  Sprint,jump,throw.com Sprint.Jump.Throw Podcast  Joel Reinhardt Twitter

On Episode 20 I sit down with The assistant director of Strength and Conditioning at TCU baseball Zach Dechant. I was really excited to get someone on from a baseball background to hear some of their rationale behind building effective players and in my opinion Zach is one of the best. Zach has a great book out titled "movement over maxes" and we begin our conversation by discussing why he prizes movement over maximum intensity firstly. Zach Highlights how plyometrics or jumping is a quality that should be prized by all athletic populations. Zach emphasizes that he trains baseball players to be athletes and he really drives home the dangers of prizing specificity especially early on within development. Zach present a really great rationale  speed, power, and an overall base should be emphasized prior to specificity. Zach has a great program out on warmups and we discuss the role of the warmup, Zach discusses the RAMPS protocol with the S equating to skill. Zach discusses how the warmup can be utilized as an effective method to build skill year around be it coordinative or speed and power related. Baseball trainers can be extremely polarizing with their upper body methods of training so I was keen to get Zach's take on upper body training. As we go through the conversation Zach reiterated the idea that there are no or very few bad exercises, it all depends on the athlete. Zach discusses how he utilizes Screening to effectively cater athletic development on an individual basis. We discuss isometrics and how they can facilitate highly prized athletic qualities and allow positional awareness as well as rapid relaxation in their oscillatory form. Baseball is an extremely rotational dependent sport, so naturally we discuss rotational work and med ball throws with Zach and he discusses how he has moved towards stability training rather then rotational work and he presents a really good reasoning for that shift. We end our conversation by discussing how Zach develops speed and the necessary energy systems for the sport of baseball. Zach starts out by present a great fact, baseball is almost completely alactic; therefore, speed is the game. Zach stated " he wants his athletes to be fast, powerful, and explosive with everything that they do, there is rest between every play." Zach states that speed is the highest on their priority list therefore, it is the skill they chase most frequently and firstly in their weekly progression. Based off of GPS data collected by Zach, baseball may involve much more max effort sprinting then one would be led to believe. Zach runs a high/low system, so we discuss what the low days look like and the overall benefits of tempo running and how he specifies tempos to better prepare positional players as they move closer to competition.  Movement over Maxes text https://www.amazon.com/Movement-Over-Maxes-Developing-Performance/dp/173102424X Movement over maxes website including 3 d movement prep https://www.movementovermaxes.com/# Zach Dechant.com https://zachdechant.com/ @ ZachDechant(twitter) https://twitter.com/ZachDechant?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zachdechant/?hl=en Simplifaster Articles https://simplifaster.com/articles/author/zachdechant/

On Episode 19 I sat down with Markus Schreyer of Neuroperformance academy. The episode offers a lot of great insights into different input systems, their role, and how they can affect performance. We begin our discussion by examining the eye and discussing its role in performance, Markus also details convergence and Divergence as well as methods for testing these vital functions. Markus discusses the role of different muscles in the eye and gives reasoning for often finding irregularities in different quadrants of vision. We shift our focus to the two other major input systems the vestibular and proprioceptive. Markus discusses the anatomical structure of the vestibular and the functions of the different parts of the system. He also details why a compromised vestibular system could lead to less then stellar performance metrics. We discuss proprioception and how he really pushes for proper proprioceptive capabilities at a skin level and a joint level, especially if a client is coming off of an injury or certain trauma. Markus details the function of the frontal lobe and the role of variance in excitation of the brain and as a driver for overall health. Static stretching in warmups is also addressed and Markus details his rationale for having a distaste for non specific static routines. He details how he likes to give the body different dynamic coordinative elements while varying head and eye position to excite and prime the body for a given task. The different areas of the brain are addressed and Markus details the areas in which certain areas of the brain would be important for daily functions as well as dynamic movements. We end our conversation by explaining pain and how past traumas and other factors can have a major impact of our perception of well being. We often have a misconstrued concept of pain and have blinders on that only look at the said area of unrest, this is often actually far removed from the factors that the body deems to be a treat or that drive the experience of pain. This was a real treat and a great episode for individuals that want to understand the brain and its role in daily life and sports performance. I feel like there's a little something for everyone in this episode. Markus puts a lot of the great concepts discussed in todays episode on his social media accounts, so make sure to check out the links below to his two Instagram accounts and his personal website for seminars and other offerings.  Markus.Schreyer.Performance Neuroperformance.academy BrainBasedPerformance.com

On Episode 18 I sat down with the head coach of Stewartsville Football Garrett Mueller. We begin our discussion by examining the biggest shifts in philosophy he has had during his time as a coach. We discuss the areas that he feels are important to start with in regards to athletic development, this lends itself nicely to most of the remaining conversation as Garrett points out the development of speed, coordination, and spatial awareness are important early metrics for his program. We discuss the different measurements he utilizes in his outside programming such as the 10 M fly, 40, 10 yard starts, and the truck stick. We discuss why he includes each of these measurements and the rationale of the truck stick measurement and how it relates to momentum and the game of football. We spend some time discussing how he would stack his speed development and outside work in an offseason setting, and again we see thoughtful consideration of driving the proper metrics and methods for a desired outcome. We end by examining how he prioritizes speed year around and this leads to his explanation of how they set up their weekly schedule in season. Overall this is a great conversation based around the facilitation of speed in a sustainable and complimentary manner for the sport of football. Make sure to give Garrett a follow on twitter, he post a lot of his data metrics for all to see. 

On Episode 18 I Sat down with Mark Hoover Director of Strength and Conditioning at York Comprehensive School. Mark first shares his background and in doing so shares many of the ways in which he has grown and adapted over time. One of the main areas that was covered in almost every conversation piece was utilizing evidence based practices and knowing your why behind everything that you prescribe in training. Mark does a great job of describing that evidence based could mean research or anecdotally based. Personal reflections and the observation of your athletic population are what lend them self best to the service of the athletes before you. We discuss some of his ideas and methodologies based around Game day lifts and how he would stack it given differing scenarios. We spend the majority of our conversation centered around VBT and the V max pro. We discuss the different metrics that the device offers and how he utilizes it to not only observe the bar path of his advanced athletes, but how it has become a powerful tool for the betterment of his block 0(fresh) athletes. We discuss the different measurement metrics and how they can help regulate and build intent into given methodologies. We discuss the zones he roughly likes to stay around based upon the given focus(max strength, speed strength, peaking, etc.) We discuss some of the better exercises choices for differing adaptations, such as elevated trap bar pulls, clean pulls, the jerk, speed squats, etc. We also discuss some of the bumps that a first time user might encounter such as the need to set proper displacement measurements to ensure reps are counted accurately. As well as some of the issues that can go on with calibration of the device and how to ensure that it is properly calibrated. Mark's a great coach very giving of his time as I am writing this coach has sent me some of the parameters for the eccentric portion that we discussed on the episode. Give Coach Hoover a follow on twitter and also check out some of his writings on the simplifaster blog.