Just Fly Performance Podcast

Dr. Jarod Burton, a chiropractor and sports performance coach, dives into the intricate world of neurology-driven movement. He explores how the nervous system impacts athletic performance, emphasizing the use of flywheel training to teach rhythm and improve force transmission. Jarod sheds light on spinal mobility and ribcage expansion as keys to enhancing mechanics. He simplifies complex neurological concepts for coaches, advocating for quick assessments and targeted training to unlock athletes' potential. Tune in for practical insights on optimizing performance!

Reinis Krēgers, a former champion decathlete and innovative coach, dives into the world of play-based athleticism and movement literacy. He shares his inspiring story of overcoming a finger loss while training with his non-dominant hand. The conversation highlights the importance of creativity and curiosity in coaching, contrasting Eastern and Western approaches to athlete development. Reinis emphasizes pole vault and playful drills as essential tools for fostering long-term engagement and adaptability in athletes of all ages.

Austin Jochum, founder of Jochum Strength and former All-Conference safety, emphasizes the importance of playful, adaptable training. He critiques traditional coaching methods and champions athlete-driven learning, highlighting how play enhances performance. Austin dives into his Olympic lifting revival, sharing insights on how varied environments and competition can unlock athletic potential. He introduces the JST Olympics, a team-based initiative that boosts motivation and camaraderie in training. This conversation is packed with innovative ideas for enhancing athletic development.

Bill Smart, a sport scientist and elite fight-sports coach, reveals fascinating insights into performance training for combat athletes. He discusses the benefits of long isometric holds for building mental and physical resilience, and shares practical dosing strategies. Bill highlights the role of muscle-oxygen dynamics and how combining isometrics with conditioning caters to sport-specific needs. He also dives into flywheel eccentrics for enhancing power and sprinting's importance in maintaining elasticity, showcasing his innovative approach to athlete success.

In this discussion, Sam Elsner, a former NCAA champion thrower and motor learning educator, shares insights on athletic performance and movement learning. He emphasizes the importance of play and ecological dynamics over rigid drills, explaining how adaptability and creativity in training yield better results. Sam critiques traditional strength training approaches, highlights the value of a 'slow-cook' method, and discusses how training culture and environment shape athlete development. He advocates for integrating games into practice to boost confidence and skill.

Ben Simons, a British performance coach and two-time Olympic bobsledder, dives into the intricacies of speed training and explosive longevity. He discusses the importance of athlete adaptability and when to correct asymmetries in sprint mechanics. Ben shares insights on shifting from heavy lifts to yielding isometrics and med ball throws for enhanced longevity. He emphasizes playful, multidirectional movement and the benefits of pool work for recovery, showcasing how these methods help athletes stay reactive and pain-free.

Today’s guest is Cody Hughes. Cody is a strength and performance coach at Farm & Forge in Nashville, blending over a decade of collegiate and private-sector experience into a practical, athlete-centered approach. His work bridges foundational movement with modern tools like VBT and GPS tracking, always anchored by the belief that health drives performance. With the rising influence of technology in training, it can become more difficult to look clearly at the core facets of athletic force production, as well as how to optimally use technology to fill gaps, inform decisions, and even motivate groups. On today’s episode, Cody traces his shift from heavy-loading bias to a performance lens built on force management, eccentric RFD, and training that actually reflects sport. We unpack depth drops vs. “snapdowns,” why rigid “landing mechanics” miss the mark, and how movement literacy, variability, and velocity drive speed and durability. On the tech side, we get into velocity-based training (VBT) as a feedback and motivation tool, using it to gamify effort and auto-regulate load, and knowing when to remove the numbers to protect recovery and intent. Leaderboards, incentives, and smart stimulus design all matter, but Cody keeps it clear that data supports the human element that produces real power. Today’s episode is brought to you by Hammer Strength and LILA Exogen wearable resistance. Use the code “justfly20” for 20% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to Lilateam.com Use code “justfly10” for 10% off the Vert Trainer View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Timestamps 0:00 – Early lifting story and the hip replacement turning point 5:31 – Coaching development, biases, and error-driven learning 19:29 – The snapdown debate: context, progressions, and purpose 25:44 – What eccentric RFD tells us about athletic durability 30:42 – Strength as expression: assessments and force-plate logic 42:31 – Movement literacy and using competitive, decision-rich drills 49:30 – VBT explained: feedback, governors, and gamification 56:50 – When to hide feedback: elite athletes and psychological load 1:01:35 – Where VBT shines: youth and early training ages 1:25:28 – Wrap up and where to find Cody Actionable Takeaways 0:00 – Early lifting story and the hip replacement turning point. Cody’s early heavy-loading bias led to a total hip replacement and changed his training philosophy toward stability and movement quality. Reassess program priorities after a major injury: shift emphasis from maximal compressive loading to single-leg work, mobility, and stability. Use your injury story as a guardrail: design training that preserves life-long movement and allows play with family. Teach athletes the why: heavy strength is useful, but it must be paired with tissue resilience and mobility to avoid long-term breakdown. 5:31 – Coaching development, biases, and error-driven learning. Cody stresses that coaching wisdom grows from coaching people, making mistakes, and combining mentorship with hands-on experience. Get "skin in the game": coach real athletes and collect mistakes that refine your practice, not just textbook theory. Seek mentorship and internships to accelerate learning while still accepting the value of self-discovery. Avoid premature certainty: test provocative ideas and be ready to change your mind when evidence or outcomes demand it. 19:29 – The snapdown debate: context, progressions, and purpose. Snapdowns can be either a motor-learning tool for hinge/positioning or a low-value, non-stimulating ritual depending on context. Use snapdowns as a micro-dose progression: for young athletes, combine unweighting, pelvic control, and velocity to teach hinge and pretension. Do not use snapdowns as a one-size-fits-all landing mechanic; if the only goal is "landing mechanics," favor exposing tissues to a range of velocities, angles, and vectors instead. If snapdowns are used with elite athletes, ensure they serve an explicit force- or RFD-related progression, not just a warm-up checkbox. 25:44 – What eccentric RFD tells us about athletic durability. Eccentric rate of force development strongly correlates with sports performance and longevity; capacity to handle rapid braking is crucial. Include progressive eccentric exposures (depth drops, drop jumps) to train braking RFD, using force metrics when possible. Teach athletes both options: hard, stiff contacts for quick reactivity or yielding strategies for impulse extension depending on the task. Combine eccentric work with decision-making drills so athletes learn to anticipate and pretense contact in sport contexts. 30:42 – Strength as expression: assessments and force-plate logic. Strength is task-dependent expression; force plates can reveal propulsive power, braking power, and RFD in meaningful ways. Use force-plate metrics to profile athletes: concentric power, eccentric RFD, and MRSi reveal different capacities than a 1RM. Prefer task-specific assessments over global 1RMs when the sport requires velocity and elastic qualities. Interpret strength as what athletes can express in context; design training to improve the expression that matters for their sport. 42:31 – Movement literacy and using competitive, decision-rich drills. Velocity and decision-making make drills stimulating and transferable; gamified constraints produce higher engagement and better transfer. Replace rote, low-stimulus drills with short competitive tasks that require decision making and speed under load (medicine-ball throws for distance, target throws). Use velocity and competitive constraints to drive intent and motor learning rather than static, pre-planned movement only. Track whether the stimulus actually pushes sport expression; if not, rework the drill into a more game-like challenge. 49:30 – VBT explained: feedback, governors, and gamification. Velocity is a real-time metric that gives context to load and can be used as feedback, an auto-regulatory governor, or a target for progression. Use VBT as a governor for youth and novices: set minimum velocity thresholds to preserve technique and avoid grindy lifts. Turn VBT into gamified progression: allow athletes to increase weight when they exceed a target velocity, creating clear incentives. Combine velocity rules with technical constraints (range of motion, sequence) so numbers reward quality, not sloppy reps. 56:50 – When to hide feedback: elite athletes and psychological load. Feedback can over-intensify ultra-competitive athletes; sometimes removing numbers preserves performance and mental stability. For elite, highly competitive athletes, selectively hide feedback during heavy phases or pre-competition to avoid harmful intensification. Monitor athlete psychology: if feedback creates anxiety or counterproductive competition, reduce or remove it. Let tools be optional; coaching art decides when to give feedback and when to protect athlete readiness. 1:01:35 – Where VBT shines: youth and early training ages. VBT is especially useful for high-school and early-college athletes to build intent, maintain quality, and teach progression. Apply VBT to 14-18 year olds as a way to teach velocity thresholds and encourage technical integrity. Use a three-level VBT approach: simple feedback, a governor to enforce minimum velocity, and targets for competition. Include VBT even with youth to keep training engaging and to prevent excessively heavy, low-quality loads. 1:25:28 – Wrap up and where to find Cody. Cody recommends practical systems that combine measurement and human coaching, and points listeners to his resources. When building a program, combine objective metrics with careful observation and athlete buy-in. Use tools to reduce guesswork, but always interpret them through athlete readiness and context. Find Cody on Instagram @clh_strength and at clhstrength.com for programs and resource sheets. Quotes from Cody Hughes “People have to be able to handle eccentric forces. Eccentric RFD is an extremely important metric for all field and court sport athletes.” “If you use a snapdown as a micro-dose progression to teach hinge, pelvic control, and velocity, it can be useful for young athletes.” “Strength is not an attribute, it’s an expression. You evaluate strength based on the task it’s being observed in.” “Velocity is just another metric that gives context. It’s real-time feedback rather than operating off old percentage information.” “Get it outside of coach’s judgment and let it be a number on a screen. Now I cheer you on instead of guessing.” “Use VBT as a governor: set minimum velocity thresholds so athletes don’t grind through sloppy reps.” “For elite athletes, sometimes you have to take numbers away. The hyper-competitive athlete can get destabilized by constant feedback.” “Movement efficiency is everything. You challenge it with velocity and with a variety of options where the athlete has to make a decision.” “Don’t keep chasing a strength stimulus if it’s not helping the expression you want. Do the thing at the velocity you need to transfer.” “Make training stimulating and measurable. If you can gamify the system, athletes will want to push the bar and engage more.” About Cody Hughes Cody Hughes, MS, SCCC, CSCS, PSL1, is a strength and performance coach at Farm & Forge in Nashville, Tennessee. A former collegiate athlete with more than a decade of coaching experience across NCAA Division I and II programs, high schools, and the private sector, Cody brings a practical, athlete-centered approach to performance training. His work focuses on building strong movement foundations,

James de Lacey, a professional strength and conditioning coach and founder of Sweet Science of Fighting, delves into the nuances of athletic strength and performance. He emphasizes the importance of rhythm and reaction in training for combat sports, linking Olympic lifting to real sport actions. Topics like oscillatory work and flywheel training show how movement quality can enhance athletic performance. James also discusses the effective mass in striking, relating these concepts to speed and power training, and practical drills that keep athletes game-ready.

Manuel Buitrago, PhD and founder of MaStrength, dives into the intricate world of Olympic lifting and muscle dynamics. He discusses how breathing and body shape differentiate Olympic from powerlifting techniques. Manuel reveals the importance of connective tissue for performance and shares insights on squat variations that influence lifting outcomes. With practical advice on form and training adaptations, he offers listeners a fresh perspective on maximizing athletic movement and explosiveness.

Jack Barry, founder of JB Performance and former college baseball player, dives into the world of athletic performance. He discusses how confidence can be cultivated through visualization and targeted self-talk. Barry highlights the importance of balancing effort with recovery and developing a unique identity in sport. He shares insights on using 'pattern breaks' to conquer the yips and enhance mental resilience. The conversation also touches on the benefits of cross-training and how mindset and mechanics should work together for optimal performance.