MOPs & MOEs

MOPs & MOEs is powered by TrainHeroic, the best coaching app on the planet. ⁠⁠⁠Click here to get 14 days FREE and a consult with the coaches at TrainHeroic to help you get your coaching business rolling on TrainHeroic. ⁠⁠⁠ MOPs & MOEs delivers our training through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrainHeroic and you can ⁠⁠⁠get your first 7 days of training with us FREE by clicking here.⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.This week we're back for round 2 with Brian Carroll. You should definitely go back and listen to our first episode with him before you dive into this one. We brought Brian back to ask a variety of follow up questions, some our own and some provided by you guys in your responses to the initial episode. The most frequent piece of feedback we got was about his interpretation on MRIs. We get to that a little later in the episode, so stick with it.Other topics for this discussion include the psychology of recovering from injury, the complexity of the relationship between pain and injury, and for our video viewers he even breaks out some spine models to demonstrate a few of the concepts he discusses.He mentions Michael Shacklock and neurodynamics a few times, if you want to learn more about that check out their page. He also mentions a few videos they're making about MRI interpretation, here are links to the first two:"MRI Case Study: Why They Matter and Why They Don't Tell the Whole Story""Does Your MRI Tell the Whole Story?"Brian also asked that we include the following clarification in response to his exchange with Alex about Elon Musk's role in SpaceX engineering (this is copied directly from Brian's email): "Elon Musk actually does design rockets and create technology for various aspects of rocket science and aerospace advancement. He oversees engineering and development projects for SpaceX yet only holds bachelor degrees in both economics and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He began (but did not complete) a PhD program at Stanford before launching PayPal etc, he lasted 2 days in the program. He credits mentors and reading many books and studies, as have I with MRi's. "

MOPs & MOEs is powered by TrainHeroic, the best coaching app on the planet. ⁠⁠Click here to get 14 days FREE and a consult with the coaches at TrainHeroic to help you get your coaching business rolling on TrainHeroic. ⁠⁠ MOPs & MOEs delivers our training through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrainHeroic and you can ⁠⁠get your first 7 days of training with us FREE by clicking here.⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.This week's episode is a crossover with Ray and Travis over at Coaches' AAR. If you're in the tactical human performance space, they're much more focused on the practical aspects of coaching. Where we get into strategic, policy, and cultural issues, they keep it focused on the practitioner's perspective.Go follow Coaches' AAR on the following platforms!Coaches' AAR on InstagramCoaches' AAR on Spotify

Secretary Hegseth's recent address reveals significant policy reforms in the military, with a strong focus on fitness and grooming standards. Hosts dive deep into new fitness tests, health implications, and the cultural shift towards accountability. They discuss the impact of hazing policies, the balance between reward and punishment for civilian performance, and the controversial stance on obesity. With ideas like gamification to enhance fitness culture, this discussion challenges leaders to embody the fitness standards they set for troops.

MOPs & MOEs is powered by TrainHeroic, the best coaching app on the planet. Click here to get 14 days FREE and a consult with the coaches at TrainHeroic to help you get your coaching business rolling on TrainHeroic.  MOPs & MOEs delivers our training through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrainHeroic and you can get your first 7 days of training with us FREE by clicking here.To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.On this week's episode we're breaking down two recently released memos that establish guidelines for medical oversight of the Army's H2F teams. Across the military embedded human performance is becoming a bigger and bigger part of how we train and care for service members, but having so many medical providers operating outside the clinic creates some policy challenges. Whether it's "integrated operational support," H2F, or something else, policies like these are popping up across multiple services. The first memo is "Credentialing Policy for Certified Athletic Trainers" and it clears up some grey area about how ATs fit into the Army's medical system.The second is "U.S. Army Medical Command Responsibility for Clinical Quality Management of Holistic Health and Fitness Program" and it applies to all medical providers on H2F teams (not just ATs). It also has important consequences for facility standards in the spaces that H2F teams provide medical care.

MOPs & MOEs is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠powered by TrainHeroic!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.If you enjoy the discussion on stoicism, pre-order our guest's book now! On this week's episode we're diving deep (get it?) on an extremely unique corner of the military human performance world. Submariners operate in an environment unlike any other, and trying to maintain health and fitness under those conditions involves a variety of challenges. Our guest is uniquely qualified to provide insights about life in this world.Commander William Spears is a submarine warfare officer in the U.S. Navy. A native of Pineville, Louisiana, William enlisted in the U.S. Navy’s nuclear propulsion program after high school. Upon completing technical training, he was admitted to the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 2008 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and commissioning as an officer. Today, he also holds defense-related master’s degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School, the Air Command and Staff College, and the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy.William has served in nuclear-powered submarines across a variety of classes and mission profiles, including duty as the Weapons Officer of a fast-attack submarine and the Executive Officer of a Trident missile submarine. Ashore, he has served as a tactical evaluator on an inspection team responsible to assess the combat readiness of U.S. submarines, and he currently works in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD CAPE) in the Pentagon. He will return to sea duty in the summer of 2026.He has his own passion for exercise, which is not  always a clean fit with the culture of the submarine community, as you'll hear in this episode.He also writes on leadership, ethics, and military topics. His book Stoicism as a Warrior Philosophy releases in the US in November.

Brian Carroll, a world-class powerlifter and spine rehabilitation coach, shares his harrowing journey from severe back injury to becoming an advocate for recovery. He discusses the pivotal moments of his rehabilitation, including meeting Dr. Stuart McGill and the importance of tailored assessments. Brian highlights the balance between core endurance and maximal strength and critiques common injury prevention methods. He also delves into the psychology of performance post-injury and reforms needed in the healthcare system for better spine care.

MOPs & MOEs is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠powered by TrainHeroic!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.Drew is on a side quest to dive into niche areas of military human performance, and this episode is extremely niche. A few episodes ago we mentioned the fitness test for the Marine Corps Body Bearers (which includes bench press, squat, barbell curls, and behind the neck overhead presses). We got some of the details wrong, and thanks to the our audience we were put in touch with a former bearer to set the record straight.Billy Lashley served as a United States Marine and World Famous Body Bearer from 2019 to 2023. In that time, he performed 625 funerals — including high-profile state and joint services — and took part in Friday night parades and wreath-laying ceremonies at Marine Barracks Washington. His roles within the section included recruiter and instructor, giving him a front-row seat to both the weight of the mission and the responsibility of preparing others for it.This is small and extremely unique community that upholds some elite performance standards, and our conversation spans recruiting/testing standards, training protocols, and how leaders in the organization maintain the culture.Billy has much longer hair now, and is even more jacked. Follow him on Instagram at @blashley96.Here's some official Marine Corps media diving into the organization if you want more after listening to the episode:Marine Corps Body Bearers Part IMarine Corps Body Bearers Part II

On this week's episode we're tackling a topic we've been meaning to discuss for a long time: Despite being pervasive in both performance and medical spaces, SMART goals are no actually an evidence based way to change health and fitness behaviors. They may even, in some cases, be harmful.Our guest, Dr. Christian Swann, is a Professor of Psychology at Southern Cross University in Australia where he leads the Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Research (PASER) group.Christian's background is in sport and exercise psychology, and his expertise is in goal setting. His research focuses on how to set goals to increase and maintain physical activity, and he is particularly interested in how different goal setting approaches make us feel while we pursue them — as well as how they influence our mental health. As part of an international team of researchers he published ⁠"The (over)use of SMART goals for physical activity promotion: A narrative review and critique."⁠ This article aimed to answer a few key questions:Is the SMART framework based on theory? Is it consistent with existing evidence? Does it consider what type of goal is set? Is it applied consistently? Is it being used as originally intended? Does it carry any risks?Once you learn the history of SMART goals, some of the answers become a lot less surprising...

MOPs & MOEs is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠powered by TrainHeroic!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.In this week's episode we're breaking down some recently published research. Specifically, "Personalized, Evidence-Informed Training Plans and Exercise Prescriptions for Performance, Fitness and Health" by Henning Wackerhage and Brad Schoenfeld. Up front, the article itself is an opinion piece, but it's based on an extensive review of the literature, and provides thorough citations. It's a useful article specifically because it synthesizes so much evidence into some practical guidelines for coaches.The authors advocate for an athlete, client and patient-centered approach whereby an individual’s needs and abilities are the main consideration behind all decision-making. They also lay out a subjective, pragmatic six-step approach that details how to write a training plan or exercise prescription that is partially based on scientific evidence.

MOPs & MOEs is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠powered by TrainHeroic!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.Find ⁠Tactical Alpinism on Instagram here⁠You can find Mauri's podcast on ⁠Spotify⁠ or on ⁠Apple PodcastsWe recently had Mauri on to discuss his research on lactate threshold based training, but after he joined the conversation on our Discord we found out we missed an even more important topic. Fitness plays a huge role in ROTC cadets' ranking, and those rankings determine their choices of component and branch. As an instructor, Mauri's human performance focused approach dramatically enhanced his school's outcomes, so in the conversation we explore what worked.We discussed news of a cadet's death at Advanced Camp, you can find that story here.You can find coverage of the ROTC "rebalancing and optimization" (downgrading programs) here.