More Train, Less Pain; Engineering the Adaptable Athlete

Tim and Michelle countdown their TOP 3 exercise concepts to maximize adaptive upside in the context of persistent pain clients. How best can we create system changes and manage trade-offs in our training programs? Find out in this episode. In this episode, we discuss movement quality as an adaptation, what the upside is to alternating reps, progressing volume with timed sets, why medicine ball throws are awesome, why sleds are the most useful thing in the gym, and how walking is not conditioning. Listen, download, subscribe, and tell your friends… Contact Michelle: https://www.michelleboland-training.com/ or @dr.michelleboland Contact Tim: https://www.timrichardt.com/ or @tim_richardt_dpt

Bill is a Physical Therapist and, together with Mike Robertson, founded Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training, known as IFAST, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over the past decade, IFAST has quietly become one of the predominant hubs of education in the industries of PT and S&C. Former Bill mentees include Zac Cupples, Mike Camporini, and what feels like 25% of medical and physical prep staff in the NBA and MLB. This past January, Tim had the pleasure of going out to Indy for 3 weeks to learn from Bill. This upcoming January, Tim will be heading back out for 3 months to continue his study as he and Bill attempt to improve Tim’s movement profile enough that he may be able to avoid hip surgery. Bill’s a fiercely independent thinker, and one of the most intellectually honest individuals on the planet. As such, his style of communication may not be FOR everyone. But, as you’ll hear from him, that’s kind of the point. In this episode Tim and Bill touch on Bill’s ability to continue training in the weight room despite middle age, numerous surgeries, and nagging pain, how he approaches restoring comfortable movement with his clients, and some uncommon considerations regarding total hip replacements. Listen, subscribe, and tell your friends! Contact Michelle: https://www.michelleboland-training.com/ or @dr.michelleboland Contact Tim: https://www.timrichardt.com/ or @tim_richardt_dpt

Tim and Michelle reunite for a mid-point check-in for season 3. In this episode we talk about, our current training status, monitoring movement KPIs, connecting with the body on a more frequent basis, reframing pain as information, pushing into and pulling away from exercise during times of psychological stress, the value of just listening, engaging physically with life, and much, much more. Listen, subscribe, and tell your friends! Contact Michelle: https://www.michelleboland-training.com/ Contact Tim: https://www.timrichardt.com/

Both Tim and Michelle would never miss an opportunity to spend time with Dr. Seth Oberst. Seth is a hidden gem who doesn’t do much posting on social media but has an incredible reputation both personally and professionally as a physical therapist. In this episode, we discuss regulating tactics, the illusion of infinite progression, developing a sustainable movement practice, being a guide to your client’s process, projecting uncertainty, tactical urgency, phases of the learning process, and when to bail if an approach isn’t working.  Listen, subscribe, and tell your friends! Strategy Course Group Classroom & to Contact Michelle: https://www.michelleboland-training.com/ Contact Tim: https://www.timrichardt.com/

Michelle sits down with Mike Boyle, co-founder of Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning…like you didn’t know that already. In this episode, we talk about why assault bikes are awesome (duh), training adults while managing pain, exercise selection with an adaptive upside, the “orthopedic cost” of some exercises, how to keep people training while dealing with an injury, creating hospitality in your business, and much, much more.  Listen, subscribe, and tell your friends! Contact Michelle: https://www.michelleboland-training.com/ Contact Tim: https://www.timrichardt.com/

Today’s guest is friend of the podcast David Grey. David last visited Michelle and Tim back in February of 2022, where they discussed feet “out” during running, the merits of sensorimotor training, and the hilariousness of dachshunds or, as David calls them, sausage dogs. Hopefully you started following David thereafter, because he has simply blown up since then. Numerous product launches, delivering seminars, and growing his Instagram following to a staggering 135,000 as of this recording. If you’ve consumed any of his content, you hopefully understand why. In Michelle and Tim’s estimation, there is no one currently in the industry doing a better job of breaking down posture, gait, respiration, and movement in a way that’s possible to understand without becoming derivative or algorithmic. David is a thought leader in our field, which is why they were stoked to get him on to discuss various topics, such as, the utility (or lack thereof) of movement KPIs, negative transfer of barbell training, leading versus lagging measures of pain and performance, his work with an Olympic endurance athlete, biomechanical determinism versus nihilism, and much, much more. Listen, subscribe, and tell your friends! Contact Michelle: https://www.michelleboland-training.com/ Contact Tim: https://www.timrichardt.com/

Michelle sits down with Dan Sanzo in a context-driven conversation to discuss working together and the consequences that come with high performance. Michelle sought out Dan’s help with her ultra running ‘performance induced discomfort consequences’ (that is copyrighted my friends) and you can hear all about their teamwork and training strategies! Dan Sanzo lays out his biomechanical lens as he dives into his assessment and interventions during each session with Michelle. They discuss the management of movement restrictions and reducing performance barriers to allow Michelle to run marathons, 50 milers, and upcoming 100 mile races. Listen, download, subscribe, and tell your friends... Contact Michelle: https://www.michelleboland-training.com/ Contact Tim: https://www.timrichardt.com/

Tim sits down with Sam Leffers, a licensed mental health counseling associate based in Indianapolis, IN who helps clients with a broad variety of psychological ailments, including those suffering from anxiety or depression related to chronic pain. Additionally, he’s a runner who “walks the walk” in managing training, life, and his movement practice in the setting of fairly persistent left Achilles issues. Although not a household name in our industry, Sam is a wealth of knowledge- acquired both personally and professionally- and together Tim and Sam dive into topics such as, why “tension” is the root of suffering, physical pain versus suffering, “fixing” someone versus establishing a therapeutic alliance, acceptance strategies, meditation and stimulus/response unpairing, and learning to appreciate and, dare I say “love”, your idiosyncratic movement and psychological compensations. Listen, subscribe, and tell your friends... Contact Sam: https://www.samleffers.com  Contact Michelle: https://www.michelleboland-training.com/ Contact Tim: https://www.timrichardt.com/

Michelle sits down with Justin Rabinowitz to discuss learning from failures, setting expectations with clients and patients, and the importance of messaging. Rehab Chiropractor, published author, and entrepreneur, Justin Rabinowitz, is an encyclopedia for fitness and rehab professionals, teaching us all how to build world-class clinical excellence and business skills. Listen, download, subscribe, and tell your friends... Contact Michelle: https://www.michelleboland-training.com/ Contact Tim: https://www.timrichardt.com/

In this second episode, Tim sits down with Jon Pope, founder of Building the Elite, a company with the sole focus of preparing military and tactical athletes for selection programs using the most up-to-date and effective training strategies possible. At first glance, this may seem like an odd conversation to have nested in a season that’s about chronic and persistent pain. However, the intent for having Jon on was to show just how much connective tissue exists between the strategies that tactical athletes employ to get through grueling physical tasks and the strategies athletes in chronic pain can leverage to get through life, training, and continue to push the boundaries of their fitness and physical existence. They discuss mindfulness, segmenting, compartmentalizing, self-talk, and learned optimism all in a quest to leave YOU with an improved understanding of what military preparation has to offer athletes of all types. Contact Michelle: https://www.michelleboland-training.com/ Contact Tim: https://www.timrichardt.com/