ASCA Podcast

In this episode, host Andrew is joined by Nathan Heaney, an accomplished strength and conditioning coach, lecturer, and founder of The Conditioning Consultant. With over 12 years of experience across the Victorian Institute of Sport, AFL Victoria, Adelaide Crows, and Xavier College, Nathan shares a rich perspective on designing and implementing effective conditioning programs across both elite and high school environments. The conversation dives into the common misconceptions around aerobic training, the cultural and structural challenges in youth athletic development, and the importance of data-driven, age-appropriate approaches to physical preparation. Nathan offers practical advice on building conditioning plans, navigating sport-specific demands, balancing participation and performance, and communicating with stakeholders—from students to parents to old-school coaches. Whether you're new to high school S&C or a seasoned practitioner, this episode delivers deep insights into conditioning across developmental stages.

Christopher Watts is currently the senior coordinator of the RECON unit in the NSW Police Force. Prior to this he was the Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Royal Australian Air Force – Human Performance Optimization (HPO) team and other positions include Athlete Development Manager at St Andrews Cathedral School and Strength & Conditioning Coach for Wests Tigers NSW Cup. He has a Masters in Data Science and a Masters in Strength & Conditioning from Edith Cowan University and is an Accredited ASCA Professional L2 S&C Coach. Alongside his civilian career, Chris maintains a part-time military career with the Australian Army Reserves. QUOTES “So my first goal when I arrived here in Wagga was to really make sure that the PTIs understood that I'm not here to do their job, I'm here to actually find ways to highlight the good things that they do” “We try not to use the word sport science or sports physiotherapy or sports nutrition in this tactical domain because there will be people that will automatically turn off and some of the early pushback we'd get is this isn't sport and we're not dealing with athletes, so don't talk to us about sports science. So we change the terminology and most of the time you'll hear us say it's performance science.” “if the PTIs can implement three tailored plyometric regressions and progressions for a group of 60 recruits, if they can do that comfortably with no logistical hiccups, the you can optimize the accuracy of how we are breaking them down into different groups.” “So our job is not just about improving what they do as a recruit, but it's really essentially providing more tools in the toolbox for the aviator. So human performance should be the responsibility of the individual and they (the aviators) should be taking full ownership of their own human performance.” “What we're trying to do is make sure that they're not just fit for service, but fit for life. And when they're finished with their Air Force career, whether that's four years or 25 years later, they have a foundation that can carry them long after their military career” SHOWNOTES 1) Christopher's background and journey in tactical strength & conditioning 2) What it looks like for an initial recruit coming into the Royal Australian Air Force 1RTU and how the performance staff that support the RAAF staff 3) The relationship and interactions between performance staff and physical training instructors (PTIs) 4) The evolution of gold standard and best practice in the RAAF 1RTU physical training 5) Using force plates to make data-driven decisions about training modifications for recruits 6) The role of education in improving RAAF employee's physical performance and “raising the floor” across the RAAF workforce 7) The importance of being able to simplify the complex with S&C PEOPLE MENTIONED Phil Moreland Steve Smith Scott Ryder

In this episode of the ASCA High School and Youth Podcast we sit down with Brett Robinson, a decorated sprint coach and founder of Viking Athletics. Based on the Gold Coast, Brett shares his deep expertise in developing speed and agility in youth and elite athletes across track and field, surf lifesaving, and field sports. Drawing from his journey as a world-class beach sprinter and a coach to Olympians, Brett reveals practical methods for improving sprinting mechanics, agility, and endurance. He offers invaluable insights for coaches working with limited time, emphasising efficiency, technique, and high-intensity training. Listeners will gain actionable strategies for enhancing speed, including key technical drills, strength and conditioning integration, and the importance of individualised, athlete-centred approaches.

Kelly Penfold is currently the speed and conditioning coach for the St George Illawarra Dragons NRL team and perhaps one of the first full-time female S&C coaches at first grade NRL level. She has previously been the Head of S&C at the Queensland Firebirds and a longtime coach at QAS with Olympic sports, and in particular field hockey. She is an ASCA Elite L3 coach and was also awarded the 2023 ASCA Coach of the Year Award. QUOTES “The off-feet conditioning piece for me is around the ability to add a style of energy system conditioning and potentially a tissue loading component when athletes are not able to impact loading” “For triathletes, you've got junior athletes that essentially have come out of probably a high school system or development system and they're going to the junior elite or elite phase and they might've been running 25-30kms in a week and they've got to up to 80-100kms for men and probably 40-60kms for women… so you want to let them plateau at a certain volume for a little while before you then try to bump them up to make sure they've really just adjusted to that load and the volume.” “It's actually probably the reason why I decided to pay more attention to this because I caught myself out just doing the old rinse and repeat of, I'm just going to give them a 20 seconds on 40 seconds off eight times over and then a 15 on 15 off six times over.” “If you truly trying to build out an athlete's lactate threshold or if you're trying to build out like their aerobic capacity or, you know, even working on getting them back to some high speed sprinting, you really need to make that just a bit more precise about what you're trying to achieve and how you're going to get there” “We'll look at heart rate and if it is reflecting the zone that athletes are supposed to be working in? And then can you consequently up your effort? And we can look at how your heart rate adjusts to that effort and build that across a six to eight week period to see if you're actually tolerating the session better than you have been previously.” “I probably steer clear a bit of zone 3 (70-80%) work, kind of in the middle of aerobic, kind of in the middle of working at really high intensities and that just seems to take an overall really high toll on people and trying to get the timing right of how long you actually get them to hold that for as well, it can be quite tricky. So trying to not totally burn them out and push them too far past that area is really quite hard to control in zone 3 so usually I'm trying to work at a base level up to a more of a top level percentage of heart rate.” “I think the big thing for me is if you have the time and the reason we have aerobic intervals is generally because we don't have as much time with the athlete to do like and hour to hour and a half long sessions. But ideally if you have the time, going up over that 45 minute mark for your total session is going to be optimal.” SHOWNOTES 1) Kelly's background and update since the last episode 2) What is off-feet conditioning and why S&C coaches should be experts in it 3) When to build and stabilize at certain training volume thresholds for athletes 4) Common issues with off-feet conditioning, ensuring the precision around getting the desired adaptations is as high as possible and basic rules around energy system development. 6) Using a conditioning needs analysis for training prescription and the interplay between heart rate and wattage 7) The nuances of using heart rate and measuring heart rate recovery based on time taken to get back to zone 2 8) Practical examples of conditioning sessions and making sure the rest periods are long enough for max efforts 9) Building precision around the adaptations you're getting with athletes

ASCA High School & Youth Podcast 2503 - Pyke & Mathews by Joseph Coyne

In this episode of the ASCA Women's Advisory Committee Podcast, we sit down with Sophie Dodd, Head of Athletic Development at Somerset College and a passionate leader in the school-based strength and conditioning space. Sophie takes us through her inspiring journey from high-performance dreams in rugby union to her current role shaping adolescent athletes, particularly focusing on female participation and confidence in the gym. With honesty, energy, and warmth, she dives deep into navigating co-ed training spaces, coaching through puberty, the power of presenteeism, and the real challenges and wins of working within school systems. A must-listen for coaches, teachers, and anyone passionate about youth development and inclusive training environments.

Kaarle McCulloch is a former Olympic Track Sprint Cyclist with a 15-year career at the top of her sport including Olympic Bronze and 4 World Championships. Retired in 2021, Kaarle went on to coach the British Women's Sprint Team from 2022-2023 with great success and recently returned to Australia in late 2023 to fulfil the same role as Australian Women's Sprint coach and QAS coach. Kaarle has a degree in Health and Physical Education and is a former level 1 ASCA coach. David Watts has been preparing athletes for competitive success for well over 10 years. Beginning his career at the QAS between 2011-2016, David has since spent time at the Geelong Football Club as a rehabilitation coach and also at the Melbourne Demons as the head of strength and power. More recently he has returned to the QAS and is currently working with track and field, cycling and beach volleyball athletes. David is accredited with the ASCA as a Master L3 Coach and this will be his fourth time presenting at the ASCA international conference QUOTES “I am from a family of teachers and I believe really strongly that coaching is teaching and teaching is coaching. So a lot of my coaching philosophy centres around pedagogical practices and trying to create learning environments for athletes” “For track cycling, I feel very strongly that its foundation is in strength. So gym forms the first and probably the most important part of becoming fast and I work off a sort of a triangle model where strength is at the bottom. To be powerful, you need to be strong. And then to be fast, you need to be powerful.” “I don't like to call it taper because I think taper has some connotations around it and athletes think that they're going to feel good and that everything's going to go amazing but it never ever happens that way. And so, unload for me is all in its title. It's about taking out work as we get closer to the event.” “I'd say 90 % of time the gym and bike loading is aligned. So if we've got a de-load week or a low week, it's low in the gym as well.” “So in the team sprint cycling, we've got three types of acceleration, we've got low range, so from zero, we've got mid-range which is our high power and we've got, you know, high range acceleration, which is our speed. So that's how the week looks. Work high torque, high strength in the start of the week. We work high power midweek, and then we work that sort of back end speed at the end of the week. And that doesn't really shift through all of the periodized phases. What shifts is the specificity of it.” “We have a monthly catch up with my group and every month they have to present something back on what they've learned through the month and that gives them accountability and ownership over what they're doing.” SHOWNOTES 1) Kaarle and David's backgrounds as athletes and coaches 2) What type of collaboration is needed when developing athletes and Kaarle's philosophy on sprint cycling performance 3) Benchmarking events in sprint cycling and periodization approaches from the macro- to the micro-cycle 4) What base building, general prep, specific prep and unload phases can look like for athletes in sprint cycling 5) Different weekly structures and adapting the structure around different athletes and their experience and fiber typology 6) Physical benchmarks for athletes in sprint cycling and 220kg full squats 7) Pedagogical approaches to developing athletes and session planning considerations and creating conditions for athletes to both fail and play 8) One legged box jumps and the power of vulnerability PEOPLE MENTIONED Anna Meares Matthew Denny Brene Brown

Chris Bartels is currently the coordinator of health performance at the New South Wales Police and also works with the Sydney Roosters as head S&C for their Academy program. Previously he was a Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Royal Australian Air Force Human Performance Optimisation team located at RAAF Base Richmond. and supported the Australian Defence Force Diving School at HMAS Penguin. Prior to this, Chris had amassed over a decade of experience across law enforcement, educational and high-performance sporting organizations. Chris also hold's a Master's in High Performance Sport from the University of Technology Sydney and is an Accredited ASCA Elite Level 3 S&C Coach. Quotes “An explosive device might be identified as being on the side of the ship. And these divers will go down and instantly I'm thinking, all right, they're going to try and remove the mine off a boat. But it's not the case. They'll actually go down there and drill into the explosive device to try and flood the system so that it doesn't go off and these sorts of things can happen in the dead of night” “Senior instructors that were responsible for the phases of the divers would come to those meetings and get feedback around each of the divers, their readiness to perform, their fatigue, anything related to muscular soreness, and your basic five point wellness questionnaire.” “it's around about a million dollars to train one single diver. So if you're getting towards the back end of a course, and it's gone for 11 months and all of a sudden the diver succumbs to an injury, they'll have to repeat that phase, and that's money tied up or potentially and depending on the injury, that's money lost. “whilst we communicated jump height to the divers, we looked at our RSI as a readiness tool and we were actually testing at the back end of the week. Now gold standard would obviously be on the Monday, but we dealt with the dates that we were given... So the conversation always stemmed around, right, this was the cost of the week” “Pull -ups are a big cultural thing with the clearance divers.” “the PTI then came on this journey where they realized that if they were gonna introduce a session, there was obviously gonna be an increased level of soreness versus having a bit more of a consistent structure to the sessions on a more regular basis that soreness is going to go down and you're going to allow those divers to actually experience some improvement” “we can give them 10 minutes of what they want to then give them 50 minutes of what they need. It's a good trade -off” SHOWNOTES 1) Chris' background as a swimmer and progression in tactical strength and conditioning 2) Challenges faced by Navy clearance divers and addressing vocational drop-out 3) Implementing an athlete monitoring system with Navy clearance divers 4) Strength and power assessments relevant to clearance divers and categorizing divers in “force” or “fit” buckets 5) Traditional physical training for Navy divers, “finning” and influencing PTIs 6) Targeting shoulder and hip resilience and identifying high risk phases in navy diver training 7) Recommendations for using sport science technology in a new environment 8) The strategy of giving people what they want and the strategies of negotiating

The ASCA High School and Youth Podcast, sponsored by AlphaFit, features an in-depth conversation with Luke Edgell, owner of Edge Performance, Speed Academy, and Assistant Director of Athletic Performance at Shore School, Sydney. With over 12 years of experience in strength and conditioning, Luke shares insights from his career, including coaching Olympians and mentoring trainers. He discusses his transition from personal training at Fitness First to working in high school strength programs, highlighting the importance of communication, athlete development, and long-term training models. The episode delves into speed training, agility, and change of direction strategies, informed by Luke's apprenticeship at Altis with renowned coaches like Dan Pfaff and Stuart McMillan. Luke also provides practical advice for high school coaches on managing large training groups, collaborating with external clubs, and implementing effective speed and strength programs for youth athletes.

In this episode, Wesley College's high-performance manager, Dr. Daniel Hiscock, shares insights from his seven years at the institution, detailing how the school's long-term athletic development (LTAD) program supports students from pre-kindergarten through year 12 in building athletic ability, healthy habits, and life skills. Daniel highlights the program's three-tiered structure, which caters to all students, from general participants to elite athletes competing at state and national levels. He shares inspiring stories of student athletes with lofty goals, such as a badminton player aiming for the Commonwealth Games and a footballer pursuing an AFL career. These examples demonstrate the importance of consistency, tailored support, and collaboration with families to help students achieve their aspirations. The podcast also emphasises the inclusivity of the Wesley College LTAD program, which extends support to less advantaged students and those with disabilities. Programs like UniGym and early gross motor skill interventions are designed to foster lifelong habits of physical activity, ensuring that all students benefit, regardless of their athletic ability. Daniel further explains how the school integrates innovative training methods, such as isometric exercises, to enhance strength, accommodate injured athletes, and manage high training demands while minimising injury risks. A significant focus of the episode is the collaborative mentorship approach taken at Wesley College. Dr. Hiscock underscores the importance of open communication with parents, external coaches, and club programs to effectively navigate the complex needs of high-performing athletes. He also reflects on the challenges of balancing resources and scaling programs, sharing practical strategies to optimise outcomes for a wide range of students. Drawing from his diverse career, Daniel shares lessons learned, emphasising the value of foundational training principles, the need for athlete buy-in, and the importance of individualised programming. He explains how these principles have guided the program's growth and success while remaining adaptable to the unique needs of each student. The episode concludes with Daniel reflecting on the holistic value of sport as a means to build not only high-performing athletes but also well-rounded and resilient individuals.

Dr. Jamie Tallent is the Director of the Human Performance Research Group at the University of Essex, previously holding the position of Associate Professor in Strength and Conditioning at St Mary's University. Jamie earned his PhD from Northumbria University, UK, focusing on corticospinal adaptations from eccentric and concentric resistance training muscle actions. Jamie has worked in professional sport, as the lead strength and conditioning coach at Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Jamie has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications and numerous book chapters. His research, a mixture of applied and mechanistic studies, includes leading various projects in collaboration with International Cricket Teams, Premiership Football clubs, International Rugby Teams, and world-leading ballet schools and companies. Recently, Jamie has also begun to explore the role of strength and conditioning in children with cerebral palsy. QUOTES “Micro-dosing is just splitting up your training sessions, your volume of work into small manageable chunks” “I'm better putting in small doses that are going to enhance an athletes performance over long periods of time, rather than that scheduling in longer sessions that could affect their training in the subsequent days” “I think the recommendation for micro-dosing I'd almost give is that go to higher rep work as with lower rep work, maybe that's not as easy to microdose in time constrained situations because you're going to have to spend so much time warming up'” “What we've shown in ballet is that the groups that are training three times a week of 15 minutes versus 1 time a week of 45 minutes are getting slightly greater adaptations in strength, in jumping ability, in counter-movement jump.” “I think it's important how we package things as S & C coaches and I think it's important that the athletes are aware that micro-dosing is still going to help them. The narrative to athletes is even if you do one set, even if you do two sets, it's still a positive kind of thing for your sport.” SHOWNOTES 1) Jamie's journey into sport science and strength and conditioning 2) The definition of microdosing and its use to reduce risk of injury or soreness 3) The philosophy of getting as much work as possible into athletes and how microdosing aligns with this 4) How time constraints influence microdosing sets and rep schemes 5) The timing of microdosing S&C around sports training sessions and “clustering” sessions in a training week 6) Examples of microdosing in cricket and ballet and the benefits of microdosing for training absenteeism 7) Managing your communication in different environments and the future of data analytics PEOPLE MENTIONED Glyn Howatson Nathan Spencer Duncan French Jess Turner

Dr Gareth Sandford has a consulting business that helps Olympic, Pro & College coaches with individualized conditioning. Recent consulting clients include: Manchester City Football Club (EPL), England Football Association (International Football), Australian Institute of Sport (Olympic/Paralympic Sport), Melbourne Football Club (AFL), Kerry GAA (Gaelic Football). Prior to this, Gareth has worked for 14+ years across individual and team sports within three Olympic and Paralympic systems (UK, New Zealand and Canada) and three professional sports leagues (English Football, Cricket and Rugby), supporting over 450 athletes that achieved 23 Olympic, Paralympic and World Championship medals, and one world record. He was also scientific lead for the Canadian Olympic marathon and race-walk athletes at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. He holds a PhD in sport physiology and running performance from the Sport Performance Research Institute at AUT University in New Zealand and a ‘mini' MBA from Simon Fraser University in science innovation and technology commercialisation. QUOTES “There are a number of things that we should be looking for. The first thing is the athlete profile. So that is where all your sub-disciplines come in, from a medical standpoint, what are we talking about? From a biomechanical, psychological standpoint, which type of personality are we dealing with? From a physiological standpoint, are we talking about a speed profile, hybrid or endurance profile?” “So a common question you hear often is should conditioning be more sport specific or should it be more targeting the physical capacities underpinning the sport? But the reality of the matter is that physiology exists, whichever sport you're playing.” “It is a very rare occasion in a team sport where you are short on the sport-specific exposure of chemistry” “Sprinting speed is scaffolding for team sports. We can't build it and then let it go, because if we let it go, then the percentage we're working at when running goes up” “The three metrics alongside team sport key training metrics I'm looking at are where's the sprinting speed? where's the MAS? where's the critical speed?” “Athletes need to be exposed to all the stimulus, from low intensity to sprinting speed, probably for 18 months, two years at the low end, for us to be confident, this is the type of profile an athlete is.” “The key metric for low and moderate intensity work is the effort, the internal effort, not the external speed and the answer is whatever speed elicits a five or six out of 10 feeling” SHOWNOTES 1) Gareth's exploration of the anaerobic speed reserve which has taken him from the UK to NZ to Canada 2) The framework for conditioning and importance of athlete profiling 3) The relevance of middle-distance track events and their training for field sports 4) Getting a clear characterization of what is happening in technical-tactical training sessions and unlearning “classical” physiology 5) Assessing the anaerobic speed reserve in athletes and the practical application of profiling 6) The interplay between critical speed and maximal aerobic speed or velocity VO2max and Gareth's preferences for measuring both 7) How to use the ASR ratio as a screen of “spread” and benchmarking sprint and endurance physiology 8) Principles versus models and the value of holding principles as loosely as possible until you understand exactly what type of athlete you are dealing with PEOPLE MENTIONED Peter Weyand Phil Bellinger Veronica Billat Phil Scott

The ASCA High School and Youth Podcast, featuring Rob Le Guen, explores his journey as an S&C expert and his role at Maribyrnong Sports Academy. Rob's career includes key positions at the University of South Florida, Manchester City Football Club, and as England Girls Youth Physical Performance Coach. At Maribyrnong, he focuses on integrating athletic development within the school environment, providing students with structured programs tailored to their growth and performance stages. The academy's unique setup emphasises individualised athlete progress over team results, offering a comprehensive approach from foundational skills in younger years to elite-level preparation for senior students. Rob highlights the importance of planning, simplicity, and engagement in youth S&C. Testing and programming are vital components at MSA, with quarterly assessments to track physical performance and growth. He also discusses the challenges of managing training loads, collaborating with clubs, and keeping youth athletes motivated. By blending structured training with fun, Rob ensures that students stay engaged and avoid burnout throughout their development. Rob emphasises the value of long-term athlete development and mastering fundamentals before progressing to advanced techniques. His advice for coaches includes meticulous planning, fostering relationships with stakeholders, and maintaining a balanced approach that prioritises the individual athlete's needs. The podcast, supported by AlphaFit, provides practical insights for coaches working in youth sports.

This episode explores the vital role of strength and conditioning in youth athletic development, featuring insights from experienced coach Justin Blee. With a career spanning roles at the Melbourne Storm, Melbourne Rebels, VFL, and now St. Kevin's College, Justin shares his philosophy on long-term athlete development, emphasising foundational physical literacy, strength, speed, and agility in age-appropriate and tailored programs. He details the structured progression of St. Kevin's strength and conditioning framework, from foundational movements in younger students to advanced training for seniors, while addressing challenges like balancing workloads for elite athletes across multiple commitments. Drawing from his diverse professional background, Justin highlights the importance of communication, collaboration, and holistic athlete management to prepare students for success in both elite sports and lifelong physical activity. The episode also discusses transferable traits across sports, strategies for dealing with parental concerns, and the evolution of school-based athletic programs, offering valuable insights for coaches, educators, and the broader athletic community.

Cohen Crispin is the QRL Sport science coordinator and former strength and conditioning coach within Surfing Australia's high-performance program. Cohen is an ASCA Elite L3 elite coach and holds a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science. In addition to his commitments in surfing, Cohen is also an assistant strength and conditioning coach and sports scientist for the Queensland women's State of Origin team. With a multifaceted background, Cohen is dedicated to optimising athlete performance and giving back to the S&C industry. QUOTES “My footy coach at the time, Frank Baker, was Dan Baker's brother and he was talking to me one afternoon about what I wanted to do after school and he started telling me about what his brother did, working at the Broncos, strength and power coach. And I was like, is this a job?!” “So when I started at sprint kayaking, Worko gave me the opportunity to write a program for Kenny Wallace. And I remember I spent all night and I was reading all the research and then I've delivered it to him and he's gone, no, I don't do those exercises. So I've walked away from it, just defeated! And Worko has gone to me, did you talk to him before you wrote that program or did you just go to the theory? So that was a perfect lens for why the practical experience was so important.” “So it really makes our job about the need for engagement with the athletes. Engagement's our biggest currency and that engagement allows us to educate them and then a lot of our job is educating and giving these athletes all the tools that they need to be successful wherever they are, whether they're local or they're on the other side of the world.” “I've found that athletes that are proficient in the counter movement jump, have the ability to generate more speed and are getting good scores in smaller waves” “Whenever I'm writing programs, I'm always thinking what's the best exercise for the athlete, or what's the exercise that I can easily implement into their travel program. So we'll have a Monday, Wednesday strength and power session planned at the gym but if that doesn't work out, they'll then go to their body weight sessions that could easily be done in a hotel room using their bags and bands.” SHOWNOTES 1) Cohen's journey from becoming a sparky in a small QLD mining town to a strength & conditioning coach for Surfing Australia 2) The balance between practical and theoretical experience in learning the S&C craft 3) Understanding surfing as a sport and the role strength & conditioning has to play in a surfers development 4) The nature of working with surfers and the industry and the importance of athlete engagement and education in surfing 5) The key strength & conditioning focuses for performance in surfing and how this may be manipulated based on different wave profiles 6) The importance of paddle speed and conditioning for surfers and key tests and test standards for surfing athletes 7) Why having a plan A, plan B and plan C in S&C programming is essential for surfers and the programming template at Surfing Australia PEOPLE MENTIONED Dan Baker Deb Savage John Mitchell Glen Workman Ken Wallace Nick Winkleman

Overview This podcast features Marco Mastrorocco, a highly experienced strength and conditioning coach originally from Italy, now working in Australia. Marco is the director of his own gym, Athletix, and holds various roles, including consulting for the Queensland Bulls and coordinating strength and conditioning at Villanova College. He recently became the head of performance for the Italian cricket team. Marco discusses his career journey, starting from his passion for combat sports to developing a niche private practice focused on youth athletic development. He emphasises the importance of long-term athlete development, injury prevention, and fostering mental resilience and independence in young athletes. Marco shares insights on balancing structured programming with fun in-training sessions and offers advice for gym owners, stressing the importance of building a strong, knowledgeable team and staying true to one's business vision.

Paul Comfort is a Professor of Strength and Conditioning at the University of Salford (UK) and an adjunct professor at Edith Cowan University (Australia). Paul is a founder member and accredited member of the UKSCA and was a board member of the NSCA from 2020-2023. He regularly consults with numerous team sports and has authored / co-authored >150 peer reviewed journal articles. His research focuses on training methods to enhance sports performance and the assessment of force production characteristics to monitor acute and chronic changes in neuromuscular function. Paul is also co-editor of the textbooks, ‘Advanced Strength and Conditioning: an evidence-based approach', ‘Performance Assessment for strength and Conditioning', ‘Laboratory Manual for Strength and Conditioning' and recently edited the 2nd edition of the ‘Developing Power' for the NSCA QUOTES “So one of the things we need to know is not just the what's the maximum force generating capacity, but how quickly can you produce that?” “Normally we do some form of maximal isometric test and we'd also do a ballistic test, something like a counter movement jump, and then a reactive or rebound type test, whether that's a 10-5 test, a drop jump, counter movement rebound jump. They've all got some limitations with them, but we'll do some form of plyometric and reactive tests so that we've really tested across that breadth of force production capabilities that people might get within sport” “If you've got velocity at take-off, that determines your jump height so you don't need to report velocity at take-off if you're got jump height” “Power doesn't determine jump height. It only explains around about 50 to 60% of jump height and it can change. You can actually have a decrease in power with an increase in jump height, which sounds really counterintuitive.” “Look at the published data but also then make sure, right, did they use the same force plates? Did they use the same software that you're using? With the software set up have they analysed the data in the same way?” “Biggest thing is make sure that whatever you're doing, you're standardising what you're doing and you're trying to compare to data, which is as close to what you do in terms of your testing protocols, so how you cue the athlete, how you coach the athlete, but also how the data is analysed” SHOWNOTES 1) Paul's background in strength and conditioning and update since last episode 2) The basics of measuring force production in athletes 3) Upper body options for force production assessment including the ASH Test 4) Paul's preference of the more common lower body force plate assessments like the IMTP or IsoSquat 5) The best metrics to use across isometric, ballistic and reactive force production assessments and the importance of understanding net vs absolute force 6) Considerations around contact/contraction time in different jump assessments 7) Paul's thoughts on the use of force production tests for fatigue and readiness to train measures 8) The importance of starting simple and basic with testing and monitoring PEOPLE MENTIONED Greg Haff Tudor Bompa

Coach John Hofman is the Strength and Conditioning Specialist for the Guardian Resilience Team at LA Air Force Base where he oversees the strength and conditioning protocols designed to enhance improve muscular resiliency, cardiorespiratory fitness, and reduce musculoskeletal injuries in the operational environment. Prior to joining United States Space Force, Coach Hofman spent over 15 years as a Tactical Strength and Conditioning Specialist for both Law Enforcement and Fire / Rescue. In 2021 Coach Hofman was a member of the State Officer Wellness team where they were awarded an Emmy for Branding Content.In addition, Coach Hofman was the 2018 recipient of the National Strength and Conditioning Association Tactical Practitioner of the Year Award. QUOTES “Listening to the firefighters tell me all the things, regardless of it was good or bad, I actually had to open up my ears and listen to them and understand their fears and understand that, you know, I'm not here to hurt you, but actually help you overcome those roadblocks.” “Really what tactical strength and conditioning is the ability to understand that yes, we want them to think and b like athletes, but 99% of them are not athletes” “When I left Sacramento Fire Department, I asked a deputy chief who was a good friend of mine, what did I do right? And he just laughed and he goes, you gave us the option to make the best decision for ourselves.” “With tactical S&C, you have got to have a giant toolbox. You have to really know and master your basics because you'll use them predominantly all the time” SHOWNOTES 1) John's journey from sprint kayaking athlete to over 15 years in tactical strength and conditioning 2) Getting embraced by the tactical populations in different environments 3) Improving overall health in firefighters and balancing training with the need to be able to do occupational tasks on a moments notice 4) The giant toolbox needed to work in the tactical strength & conditioning space 5) Culture change tips from John's experience with firefighters and law enforcement officers 6) John's biggest lessons of working in a tactical strength and conditioning space including the 48 hour rule 7) Being “fit for duty” and managing musculoskeletal injuries in the tactical populations given the demands of the job PEOPLE MENTIONED Mick Stierli Rob Orr Tyler Christensen Jay Dawes

James is currently the Head of Talent Identification & Athlete Development at Elite Sport UAE and a Visiting Fellow at Northumbria University. James brings a unique blend of skills and experience as an accredited S&C coach, physical education teacher, sport scientist and researcher. His current research is focused on the effect of growth and maturation on performance in youth track and field. Previously he worked at the Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar as the Head of Talent Identification and Development, a senior strength and conditioning coach and performance support lead for Track and Field during his time there. In 2020, he was awarded the ASCA Senior Research Award on behalf of the Aspire Academy research team and James was also awarded the UKSCA's S&C Coach of the Year Award for Youth Sport in 2017 for his work in the school setting. QUOTES “When I used to speak to the athletics coaches about maturation, I'd say, yeah, he's an early maturer and they were like, so what? How much difference does that make?” “The mean maximum velocity for the approaching peak height velocity (PHV) group is 7.1m/s and the max velocity for the post-PHV group is 8.5m/s… So, in those situations, when you put them on the track, you can imagine how that extrapolates out over 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 meters” “So 87-88% of predicted adult height is typically the takeoff point for the growth spurt and we start to see a big increase in growth with the peak of growth being typically between 91-92% of predicted adult height.” “The best approach is to keep as many athletes as possible in your (TID) programs for as long as possible” “If we're applying these correction procedures to athletes, we're still talking about early maturing athletes that are running 7.5s for 60. They're still not world beaters at this point. They all still need support, but it's not to say we should exclude the early maturer either. We need to keep the people in the pipeline, keep giving them what they need in terms of strength and conditioning, and great coaching.” “Actually, being an early maturer for girls can be a disadvantage because of the fat mass gains that occur post-PHV versus a girl who is pre-PHV who's still relatively lean, not carrying fat. And in my experience, most of the girls will jump their highest CMJs pre-PHV and then it all flat lines” “There's certain sports where if you haven't accumulated training by a certain age, then, you know, the really skill -based sports, it's probably going to be harder to get there to an elite level” SHOWNOTES 1) James' background in both strength & conditioning and PE teaching and his journey to talent identification in elite sport in the Middle East 2) Why interpreting performance through a lens of maturation is important and how to track physical performance metrics around peak height velocity (PHV) 3) The continuum of maturation in young athletes from pre-pubertal to post-PHV 4) Different methods of predicting adult height in youth athletes and their respective strengths and weaknesses 5) Optimizing talent ID programs to enhance retention and the psychosocial aspects of these programs 6) Correcting track & field performance based on maturation to get closer to be able to compare youth athletes of the same age but different maturation levels 7) Potential differences between boys' and girls' physical performance measures around PHV 8) Strategies for working with sports coaches in the TID space to allow for maturation-based evaluation and adjustments for open skill sports 9) Managing training around PHV to help reduce injury risk and the typical pattern of growth and injury site location in youth athletes PEOPLE MENTIONED Ed Archer Alex Natera Amanda Johnson Marco Cardinale Phil Kearney Craig Pickering Shaun Abbott Stephen Cobley Tom Maher Matt Jordan Mike Young Jeremy Sheppard Dan Baker Boo Schexnayder

Dr. Max McKenzie Max is a S&C Coach with the QAS Swimming Hub on the Sunshine Coast. Max has worked with elite swimmers for almost a decade across three Olympic/Paralympic cycles. Working within a multidiscipline performance support team servicing several swimming programs and coaches has shaped Max's philosophy on the physical preparation of swimmers. In 2024, Max completed his PhD which investigated the impact of land-based warmup strategies on subsequent swimming physiology and performance. Dr. Mark McKean Mark started his career as a Physical Education teacher and still uses these teaching and coaching skills he learnt in many of his current coaching roles. Mark is a Master S&C Coach and completed his PhD in Sport and Exercise Science at UniSC. Mark has 30+ years of experience in various sports, including Sprint Kayak, Tennis, Swimming and Netball. Mark is a Senior S&C with the QAS Swimming Hub on the Sunshine Coast and is Head of Physical Performance in High-Performance Sport at UniSC. Mark has worked with UniSC's High-Performance swimming program since its inception in 2011 and has more than two decades of experience working with Olympic and Paralympic swimmers. QUOTES “One of our biggest concerns is swimmers, and it's like in any sport, their sport age is very different to their S&C training age, so you get swimmers that have been in the pool for five, 10 years, but when they come into our environment, they've got less than one year of good experience” “If you ever spend any time around swim coaches, you'll hear the word connection probably on a daily basis and my interpretation of what swimming coaches are talking about is how efficiently are they sequencing together movements of their joints through water.” “It is very common to hear swim coaches and swimming athletes talk about “what can you pull up?” but one of the things we are interested in is an athlete's ability to pull their own body weight up as fast as they can for as many repetitions without a certain drop of velocity” “So within about six weeks of major competitions, we're going through a set testing battery, which includes bench press velocity and bench press maximal strength, pull up maximal strength, pull up velocity and counter movement jump and squat jump performance” “I've always believed one of the strength and conditioning coach's biggest weaknesses is their general anatomical knowledge” SHOWNOTES 1) The back stories of Max and Mark including Max's PhD research on swim performance and land-based interventions in the warm up 2) The basics of athletic movements for swimming like streamlining and rotation control, and the importance of connection 3) The adaptation of common traditional exercises like the pull up and reverse hyperextension to be more swim specific 4) The importance of monitoring vertical pulling speed and drops in speed in swimming 5) Swimming strength and power profiling before major competition 6) Strength ratios between upper body exercises and their influence on programming 7) A look into the day-to-day process and weekly periodization at UniSC swimming program 8) The power of the mind and influence of pre-competition lifting on swimming performance 9) The importance of knowing anatomy as a strength and conditioning coach PEOPLE MENTIONED Scott Pollock Dan Howells Dr Mark Burnley Adam Peaty

In this episode of the ASCA high school strength and conditioning podcast, Sean O'Connor, S&C coach at St. Lawrence's College, discusses the comprehensive athletic development program implemented at the school. The program caters to students from year 7-12, focusing on movement competency and holistic long-term athlete development (LTAD). With a mix of foundational training for younger students and sport-specific programs for senior athletes, the college promotes flexibility to balance school and athletic commitments. O'Connor highlights the importance of proper movement training, regular testing, and data-driven progress tracking to support athlete growth across multiple sports, including a notable collaboration with Manchester City's football academy. With thanks to our Official Equipment & Flooring Partner and Podcast Sponsor AlphaFit https://www.alphafit.com.au/fitouts/schools-universities/

Dr Steven Duhig is Senior Lecturer and Researcher at Griffith University and an ASCA Elite L3 Elite Strength and Conditioning Coach who has demonstrated significant expertise in both academia and practical aspects of sports performance and coaching. His career encompasses recent roles as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at Burleigh Bears Rugby League Club, Strength Coach with Michael Bohl's swimming squad, and Rugby 7s Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Griffith Sports College. His experience extends to roles including Physical Preparation Coach and Academy High Performance Manager for the Gold Coast Suns Football Club, Rehabilitation Coach for the AFLQ State Team, and Sports Science PhD scholar affiliated with Gold Coast Suns. Previous positions also include Athletic Development Coordinator at Morningside Panthers Football Club and Powerlifting Coach, leading a novice powerlifter to three Australian records. Dr. Duhig's current research involves exploring the connections between muscle architecture and injury risk, as well as performance enhancement and injury prevention in various sports, including Australian rules football, soccer, rugby league, swimming, track and field, and surfing. The overarching goal of Dr. Duhig is to provide practical applications in the field of sport and exercise that directly improves practice and athlete outcomes. QUOTES “Sleds, particularly in the football codes, are so powerful as a training tool” “The more weight on the sled, the less distance you'll sprint” “I think we first have to run fairly well without resistance before we start adding in sleds” “I think another great exercise for hamstring besides the Nordic is the seated leg curl, especially when consider specificity and transference” “When starting to use sleds with athletes, I always go light to start, around 15-20% bodyweight” “The two, five and ten meter distances are so important for the court based sports with sled sprinting” SHOWNOTES 1) Steve's journey in strength and conditioning from Cert III qualifications all the way through to a PhD 2) The use of sleds for sports and the beneficial effects on acceleration 3) The key findings from the research on resisted sprinting and the differences between pulling a sled at waist or shoulders and pushing a sled 4) Using a contrast sled loading system with athletes prescribed from percentage of bodyweight or velocity decrement 5) The optimal distances when using sleds at different loads 6) Practical considerations and basic strength requirements to be aware of before using sleds with athletes 7) How Steve implements sled work into existing rugby league speed/gym sessions and technical training 8) The ACL bracing protocol and the prerequisites for successful outcomes 9) Steve's latest research on tendon health in hamstrings and shoulders PEOPLE MENTIONED Tony Shields Josh Secomb

Today, we're diving into the world of youth athletic development with Brad Lawton, a passionate strength and conditioning coach with a rich background in exercise science. Starting his career as a personal trainer, Brad discovered his love for strength and conditioning, working with various clubs such as Bond University, Griffith Rugby Sevens, and the West Wales Raiders in Wales. He pursued further education with a master's degree in strength and conditioning, which propelled him into a full-time career focused on youth athletic development. Currently, Brad extensive experience sees him working as a strength and conditioning coach to many youth athletes. Join us as Brad shares his journey, insights, and the innovative approaches he employs to enhance youth training programs. Highlights: Career Beginnings and Development. Educational Background. Experience with Youth Athletic Development. Current Role and Responsibilities. Program Structure and Philosophy. Challenges and Solutions. Importance of Facility Rules and Expectations. Engaging Students. Special Programs and Achievements. Advice for Aspiring Coaches. Learn More about our Official Equipment, Flooring and Podcast Partner AlphaFit: https://www.alphafit.com.au/asca

Shane Lehane currently works as Athletic Performance Coach for the Sydney Swans Football Club in the AFL. Prior to this Shane worked in professional Rugby Union for 12 years in both Europe and Australia with Leicester Tigers, Melbourne Rebels, and the Wallabies. Shane graduated from Loughbough University in Sport & Exercise Science and is currently a PhD candidate at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Shane's studies are focused on Decision Making and the application of Systems Thinking for Strength & Conditioning Practitioners in the Team sport setting. Shane is also an accredited Elite Level 3 Coach with the ASCA. QUOTES “I definitely caused more problems than I solved by taking the performance model from Leicester straight to the Rebels” “Rather than being solely a S&C coach tasked with manipulating physical variables, I see our role as being an assistant coach with job of managing the physical dimension within context of team environment” “What differentiates practitioners is the understanding of the context of the environment they are working in” “It is ok to embrace something that is less objectifiable and be comfortable in the fact that this physical quality will transfer across to the sport” “Coordinative exercises and drills are a bridge between traditional strength training and a technical aspect of the sport” SHOWNOTES 1) Shane's non-traditional start to a S&C career in the football codes 2) The role of the S&C coach in modern team sport setting and “well-intentioned reductionism” 3) Optimizing versus maximizing physical qualities in team sport athletes and how that fits with tactical and technical aspects of the game 4) The factors that positively and negatively impact team sport performance from a S&C perspective and the point of diminishing returns on physical traits 5) The balance between subjective and objective information with coaching vision and feedback for different players 6) Reflective practice, its role in other health sciences and importance for S&C coaches 7) Coordinative exercises and drills, dynamic correspondence, transfer and Frans Bosch 8) The different characteristics between rugby union vs AFL athletes and systems thinking PEOPLE MENTIONED Bryce Kavanagh John Pyror Lachlan James Fergus Connolly Russell Ackoff Dan Howells

In this episode of the ASCA High School and Youth Podcast, the journey of professional surfer Sophie McCulloch is highlighted, showcasing her triumph in the 2022 Challenger Series and subsequent injury setback, which she overcame to return to the World Surf League in 2024. The episode features an in-depth interview with her coach, Kerry Keightley, a renowned ASCA Accredited strength and conditioning expert, who shares his long-term athlete development strategies, emphasising individual needs analysis, evidence-based training, injury prevention, and holistic approaches like breathwork. Kerry also discusses the importance of building empathetic, respectful relationships with adolescent athletes, fostering their emotional and cognitive development alongside physical training, and the value of patience and community in coaching.

Simon Harries is an accomplished performance coach, holding a PhD in Human Physiology from The University of Newcastle and accredited as an ASCA Elite L3 S&C coach. He currently serves as the Head of Strength & Conditioning at the NSW Institute of Sport, where he leads a team of Strength & Conditioning coaches to develop and deliver world-class performance support to Olympic sport athletes. With over 15 years' experience in high performance sport across strength & conditioning, rehabilitation and sports science positions, Simon has coached elite athletes and teams across multiple sports, including AFL, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Rugby Sevens, Water polo, and a range of individual event sports. QUOTES “Depending on your context, different rehabilitation models will suit and be more applicable than one or another” “The roles in rehab are dependent on the people in each discipline, not necessarily what disciplines are involved” “The main friction point in any working relationship is who is prescribing, who is coaching it and who makes the changes if they need to be made so to establish that at the onset helps a lot.” “Rehab drivers are often the unsaid reasons why certain decision are made in rehab” “Obviously when people talk about week-to-week change and acute to chronic ratios, that almost goes out the window in early parts of rehab otherwise the athlete would come back in 3 years' time.” SHOWNOTES 1) How Simon's career has progressed from PE teaching to the head of S&C at NSWIS 2) The emerging role of a rehabilitation strength & conditioning coach 3) Using the RACI model (responsible, accountable, consulted, informed) to get all staff involved in a rehabilitation of an athlete on the same page 4) Examples of KPIs across different stages in rehabilitation 5) The four rehab drivers: load, performance, medical and logistics 6) End-stage rehab KPIs and volume benchmarks for running based field sports 7) Shared decision making and communication with coaches 8) Different rehab models and their suitability in different environments 9) The importance of biomechanics for S&C coaches PEOPLE MENTIONED Tim Rogers Dan Cleather

Dan is an Accredited Strength & Conditioning Coach with the UKSCA. His experiences spans Professional, Olympic and Paralympic sports in both the UK and the USA, working in sports such as Rugby Union, Rugby 7s, and Major League Baseball. His work with the Team GB Rugby 7s teams took him to Rio in 2016 where the team placed Silver, and Tokyo in 2021 where the team placed 4th. Between these Olympics, he worked for the Houston Astros where he was part of the staff that went on to win the American League. In recent years, Dan has founded Collaborate Sports, which aims to provide practitioners personal development and mentorship opportunities as well as consultancy services to clubs and organizations. Dan currently works with around 60 coaches across the world to help target their personal development, provide network opportunities with other practitioners and mentor them through their careers. Dan is also a senior lecturer at the University of Brighton. QUOTES “As an industry we seem to be a big S and a little c… and this is probably an indication of where our S&C industry is at right now" “Energy system development is very specific to adaptation but general to task, whereas conditioning is the use of energy systems within a task, very specific to task but general to adaptation" “I would want my athletes to earn their seat at the table in terms of basic aerobic physical qualities, much like strength qualities” "Energy system development doesn't necessarily help us in the task, it also helps us just as much between tasks, especially with aerobic qualities” “There is a double bang for buck with aerobic work especially if you take it off feet, we know it has little to know cost off feet and it can also promote some recovery as well” “Sometimes we can't get an athlete where the need to be in any given season and we need to be comfortable with that" SHOWNOTES 1) Dan's journey and update since our last episode (#72) 2) The differences between fitness, energy system development and conditioning 3) How to establish training residuals for strength and endurance with your athletes 4) Key principles for energy systems development and the importance of developing a general base 5) The periodisation of energy system development and an example from Team GB 7s 6) Modifications in energy system work based on individual abilities, anaerobic speed reserve considerations and return on training investment 7) Direct and indirect benefits of energy system work and comparison between energy system assessments and sports performance 8) Task specificity in around energy system development, limitations in oxygen uptake versus oxygen muscle saturation and future research in near infrared spectrometry 9) The benefits of understanding how to visualize data and pedagogy for S&C coaches PEOPLE MENTIONED Nathan Heaney Gareth Sanford Andrew Usher

Ben Norcott is an ASCA Level 3 Elite coach specialising in Human Performance. Ben's career spans various industries, including Rugby Union, League, Defence and Law Enforcement. He has worked with numerous organisations, including the Australian Federal Police, Royal Australian Air Force, Rugby Australia, ACT Brumbies, and Vikings Rugby. He is currently Head of Physical Performance for Specialist Operations at the Australian Federal Police, and is responsible for the physical performance and training of personnel in various specialised areas. He also works as the Physical Performance Coach for NRLW & SG Ball teams for the Canberra Raiders. QUOTES “The basics of a coaching philosophy is it is a way for to get information, filter it down, make your decisions and planning and interact with others… and that has to grow and change as you grow and change” “I like to think of a coaching philosophy as a tree, it gets planted in the soil of the environment, it gets enough sunlight and water and it grows to the environment it is in and if you go and try and grow something artificial that is not right for that environment, it is going to die” “The worst place to work is where the senior coach micromanages the developing coach so they can't understand and have their own philosophy” “if you can influence the intent of a group, and players have good buy-in, you can change a program significantly” “The best way to think of it is performance is like you are in a boat, experience is your captain, and sport science is your navigator“ SHOWNOTES 1) The back story to Ben Norcott and his journey in S&C 2) The in's and out's of having a coaching philosophy 3) The importance of creating a coaching philosophy that allows different people to contribute to success 4) Why you should treat your coaching environment like growing a tree 5) The optimal interaction between senior and junior coaches for coaches to develop 6) The optimal frequency to reviewing your coaching philosophy 7) Examples of when and why Ben has changed his coaching philosophy including a decreased reliance on GPS and increased focus on running technique 8) Practical strategies to help embed and develop your coaching philosophy 9) Key learnings from working with the AFP special ops program 10) The program set up at AFP special ops and how to integrate athlete choice into programs 11) The importance of setting boundaries in the S&C profession and multipliers and diminishers as managers PEOPLE MENTIONED Chris Hickey John Mitchell Ash Jones Mike Anthony

Nathan Spencer is an innovative and passionate practitioner with over 10 years experience developing and coordinating cutting edge strength and conditioning, sports science support and end stage rehabilitation service to elite athletes across the world at the professional level. Currently the Strength & Power Coach at the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL, Nathan has worked extensively in both rugby league and basketball both domestically and internationally. Nathan has held roles at the Wests Tigers, Illawarra Hawks, New South Wales Institute of Sport and Orlando Magic. QUOTES “It was an epiphany moment when you think back to what we are taught and it is a bit more old school periodization; whereas the influence of CBAs, 3 games a week, TV deals etc, our ability to make decisions on training periodization are dictated by schedule which is dictated by money” “In the professional basketball environment, frequency of strength and power work wins out so the initial method was to try and get 2 sessions in a week in season” “The luggage crews with the airlines did not like us when we would travel with around 400kg of weight and bars when we went on the road” “We used CMJ eccentric peak velocity as a marker of whether the athletes were putting in and jumping with intent” “When you are measuring things with force plates, you always stick to the source of truth which is force and time” “Most of us would assume that after an activity that is high intensity in nature, it is fatiguing, not potentiating, but the fatiguing response typically occurs a day or two later so how you capitalise on that potentiation is the next question” SHOWNOTES 1) Nathan's journey from UNSW undergrad to the NBA and back to professional rugby league 2) Strength and power periodization and programming in a heavily congested competition schedule 3) What to focus on after games in NBA for strength and power work and what these sessions would look like at the Orlando Magic 4) Monitoring neuromuscular responses to games from a CMJ and how these responses changed strength & power prescription 5) The metrics to focus on when using the CMJ and force plates to monitor neuromuscular response 6) The differences between pushing isometrics (overcoming) and holding isometrics (yielding) and their use in the NBA strength & power work 7) Adapting and taking what worked in the NBA to an different sport like Waterpolo 8) How to make this model work of monitoring responses and adapting strength & power work for athletes if you do not have force plates PEOPLE MENTIONED Alex Natera Julian Jones Beau Ryan Caitlin Foord Terence Ross Aaron Gordon

Tim Suchomel has a PhD in Sport Physiology and Performance from East Tennessee State University. He is currently an associate professor of exercise science and the program director for the Sport Physiology and Performance Coaching graduate program at Carroll University. In addition to his teaching, Tim is the Director of the Carroll University Sport Performance Institute (CUSPI) and works as a human performance coach with several teams. He has published 1 book, 10 book chapters and over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles on topics that include weightlifting movements and their derivatives, strength and power development, and athlete monitoring and was named the 2022 National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Terry J. Housh Outstanding Young Investigator of the Year. Tim is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction (CSCS,*D) and Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (RSCC) through the NSCA and a Level I Performance Coach through USA Weightlifting. QUOTES “Accentuated Eccentric Loading (AEL) is prescribing an additional load that we can handle in the eccentric load before removing it in the concentric phase, and the other thing that has to be involved is pairing the eccentric and concentric phase so there is no delay between them” “The eccentric duration makes a big difference in the adaptation you will get with AEL” “If you were chasing strength from a loading standpoint, the gap between what is on the bar and what is on the weight releasers should be relatively small; however if I have a wider gap, that may favor RFD and power production” “With AEL, I would question is does the individual have the capacity to do it and do you need AEL on every repetition?” “One of things I would tell people first and foremost is when you are going to implement AEL 1) you don't have to do it with everything and you shouldn't be doing it with everything and 2) you're probably not going to be doing this over consecutive training blocks for a long period of time" SHOWNOTES 1) The update on what Tim's has been up to since our last episode (#31) 2) The ins and outs of Accentuated Eccentric Loading (AEL) and the benefits of using AEL 3) Why it is not always necessary to go supramaximal with athletes doing AEL and maintaining natural movement speed 4) The pros and cons of increasing the eccentric contraction duration e.g., tempo during training 5) AEL programming recommendations to target different training goals (e.g., hypertrophy, strength) 6) Practical advice for implementing AEL with weight releasers, dumbbells or other tools and the best upper body exercise variations for AEL 7) Different repetition schemes for AEL, moderating the influence on fatigue and why flywheel training is not necessarily AEL 8) Key aspects to programming AEL for athletes and factors that influence the time course of recovery for AEL 9) The benefits of keeping training simple for the vast majority of athletes and understanding the underpinning characteristics of how athletes achieve physical performances PEOPLE MENTIONED Jeremy Sheppard John Wagle John Hughes

Brendan Inkster obtained a Masters degree from the University of Technology – Sydney researching applied biomechanics and then went on to work with the Manly Sea Eagles (NRL) in rehabilitation and sports science. After a stint with the New Zealand Warriors (NRL), Brendan is now working for the Parramatta Eels (NRL) where he has gone from the rehabilitation space to heading up their pathways and women's performance programs. Brendan is an accredited ASCA Elite L3 S&C Coach. During his 16 years in the NRL his passion for rehabilitation has never ceased, always looking for ways to improve player outcomes. When not training the Eels, Brendan has a keen interest in baseball & soccer and helping schools with their high-performance education programs. QUOTES "The basic model of rehabilitation has evolved for me from just supporting a physiotherapist with some running outside of the gym" "When resources are not available, do you need a scan? No, but from an NRL perspective, I believe there is merit to it on almost all occasions" "At the end of the day, the athlete is very accountable for the part they play in their own rehabilitation" "I am a big believer in that you should do at least a week and preferably two weeks of normal training before you start of playing again" "What does the normal week look like? Because if that is what they are used to doing they can probably do that in a rehabilitation schedule" "You can have a high load metabolically and a high load neurally and the main thing you have to remember is just don't put two high load days back to back” SHOWNOTES 1) Brendan's back story and how he got his start in professional rugby league 2) The evolution of the rehabilitation model in the NRL, interaction between different staff and the scan or no scan debate 3) The good and the bad of current return to play systems in rugby league 4) Roles and responsibilities in the rehabilitation and the interaction between a general S&C and a rehabilitation S&C 5) Consulting and including athletes in developing a rehabilitation plan 6) Roadblocks and traps in a rehabilitation process, including managing coach expectations, fast-tracking players and one person having to do it all 7) The most challenging rehabilitation in Brendan's experience 8) Setting up a rehabilitation program for players, high-low days and aligning the program with the NRL squad 9) Balancing out physiotherapy exercises with performance programming 10) Metrics and data to focus on during a rehabilitation and appropriate exit criteria to return to play, including advantages to giving the player the final say PEOPLE MENTIONED Aaron Murphy Donny Singe Balin Cupples Roger Tuivasa Sheck

Gavin Pratt is currently the Director of Strength & Conditioning for the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. He is an accredited ASCA Elite L3 coach and holds a Masters in Exercise Science (Strength & Conditioning) from Edith Cowan University. Prior to this role, he was the Performance Manager at EXOS in Shanghai, China. This involved working with multiple Olympic sports in preparation for the 2018 National Games, after which he then focused on assisting in the development of the country's surfing program in preparation for the Asian and Olympic games. Gavin was also awarded the ASCA “Mentor Coach of the Year” in 2021 for his work with ASCA L1 & L2 coaches around the world. QUOTES “If we miss training the neck, we miss training a whole part of trunk-neck-head coupling” “We are not just giving any random neck exercises, it is actually in the force vector they are deficient in” "In MMA, strikes happen in around 300ms and as fast as 100ms with forces up to 10-40g” “We have something called an MMA warm up: movement, mobilisation, activation” “Another reason we use static neck exercises to start is to reinforce good posture” “If we have them twice a week, we need to accumulate at least that average force in a fight absorbed across the week” SHOWNOTES 1) Gavin's journey from TV to strength and conditioning at the UFC 2) The benefits of neck strength for injury prevention in grappling and the trunk-neck-head couple 3) Different force vectors coaches should be concerned with neck strength and the neck strength matrix 4) How to test neck strength with a fixed frame dynamometer, and benefits and drawbacks of different body positions when testing 5) Practical examples of applying the neck strength matrix with a flexion deficiency 6) Reverse engineering neck strength from force absorption in MMA fights and differences in typical wrestler and striker neck strength profiles 7) Other assessments used by the UFC Performance Institute to determine athlete needs 8) The benefits of athlete feedback to improve your performance as a strength & conditioning coach PEOPLE MENTIONED Bo Sandoval Brett Grelle

Dr Lachlan James is a Senior Lecturer, Sport Scientist, Course Coordinator of the Master of Strength and Conditioning degree at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, and an ASCA Professional L2 coach. He has published over 40 peer reviewed articles including 25 as first or senior author. Lachlan currently supervises 7 PhD students with research projects in the AFL, Super Rugby, Queensland Academy of Sport, the A-League and with VALD Performance. Prior to entering academia, he spent 10 years in professional practice as a strength and conditioning coach and applied sport scientist. QUOTES “The problem we are trying to solve is reducing the vast array of metrics we have available to us from technology down to just a few key ones” “Choose the metric in any cluster that is more reliable and is most interpretable by the end user” “Whatever variable we can get reliable at 100ms in the IMTP, which is typically force at 100ms, is the one I will take” “The reality is force at a certain timepoint, RFD and impulse all contain the same information but the reliability differs markedly” “If isometric strength doesn't track heavy dynamic strength changes, and you are trying to use it to inform more heavy dynamic strength interventions from something like the DSI, then it might not respond in the way you think” “You have to give feedback on contact time after each rep if assessing reactive strength with a drop jump or 10-5” SHOWNOTES 1) Lachlan's pathway to becoming a world leading strength researcher at LaTrobe University 2) Strength and power assessments and the vast array of metrics available for practitioners 3) Dimension reduction and making sense of the various clusters of metrics available 4) Picking between the Iso Squat and IMTP as the test of choice for lower body maximal isometric strength and the advantages of looking at net force 5) The importance of set up in the maximal isometric strength tests 6) Choosing between net force at 100ms, RFD or impulse? 7) Key metrics in the countermovement jump, unilateral variations and eccentric measures 8) What strength domains or qualities actually exist? The 5 strength qualities and their relationship to one another 9) Issues with the Dynamic Strength Index 10) Feasibility of assessing the different strength qualities and solutions with large squads of athletes 11) The effect of initial strength on strength training adaptations and the merging of strength qualities in weaker athletes PEOPLE MENTIONED Vince Kelly Warren Young Greg Haff Chris Bishop

Mike McGurn is Head of Athletic Performance at Queens University in Belfast. He has a BSc in Sports Science from Temple University in Philadelphia, U.S.A. and an ASCA Professional L2 accreditation. Mike has worked for over 20 years in Professional Sports as a S+C coach preparing athletes and players for 3 World cups, 3 Olympics, EPL, Commonwealth Games, Boxing, and many other sports. In that time winning 2 World Titles in 2 different sports as well as having the prestigious honour of training 3 National Senior Irish Teams in 3 different codes. His area of speciality is Olympic lifting and strength development in the gym along with energy system development on the pitch. Mike presents ASCA courses in Ireland, Malta and Poland as well as delivering lectures and talks in the USA, UK, Germany, and wider Europe. QUOTES "All they had was rugby league, tattoos and weight training” “Firstly, what does an athlete need to be fit for purpose? Then what does the sport demand?” “We need to look at the three P's in athlete preparation: position, pattern and power” “You can't fake fitness and you can't fake strength” “Look at what is happening in the sport and in hard training blocks and stay away from that in your strength work” “Don't set your athletes up to get gold medals in the gym and then a bronze on the weekend in competition” SHOWNOTES 1) Mike's journey from Ireland to US collegiate running to elite S&C in field sports 2) The myth of sport specific training and differences between considering strength and energy system specificity for sports 3) Building athletes to be fit for purpose based on demands of their sport 4) The difference between sport specific and sport relevance with case studies of surfing and sprinting 5) Dynamic correspondence, force vectors and understanding what the sport is giving the athletes to be able to “fill in the blanks” 6) Periodisation differences between general and specifc prep 7) The importance of being comfortable with all the training you prescribe as an S&C 8) The influence Dan Baker has had on Mike's coaching career PEOPLE MENTIONED David Boyle Kelvin Giles Yuri Verkoshansky Dan Baker Dan John Joe Kenn Paul Sculthorpe

Leading a multidisciplinary team at the Australian institute of Sport, Ross has over 25 years strength and conditioning experience working across multiple sports and organisations. Since 2004 at the AIS working with development and elite athletes across sports including netball, boxing, taekwondo, judo, athletics, cycling, rowing, basketball, modern pentathlon, water polo, winter sports, gymnastics, artistic swimming, and part of the leadership team in the AIS intensive rehabilitation program. He has also work with the Australian armed forces and lectured ASCA courses in Australia and overseas. Throughout his career coaching Athletics, sprint and agility and S&C the ability to tell a story and build athlete understanding has been an integral part of optimising outcomes. QUOTES “As an S&C coach we are highly time limited and time poor and sometimes our intervention with athletes doesn't resonate” “So that understanding of what that data means is important and the last piece for is how to apply that data” “If I can make myself redundant on the basics, on the low level stuff, it gives me an opportunity to work on the high level stuff with athletes” “That separation between technical training and the gym is too large alot of the time with how we coach” “Anything high velocity, high speed, I want to do it in as fresh a state as possible and this also applies to the cognitive state, like teaching somebody something new.” SHOWNOTES 1) Ross' update since the last episode and background 2) Concepts for S&C coaches to understand to maximize interventions with athletes 3) The first things to focus on when setting up strength & conditioning programs for athletes 4) Athletic models of movement and magnification of error learning techniques 5) Themes in warm ups and drills and how to link sessions together 6) Building the cognitive transfer between technical training and strength & conditioning sessions 7) An optimal structure and sequence of strength & conditioning within a head coach's plan 8) Purposefully making yourself redundant with athletes 9) Do athletes have the capability to apply force and more importantly, the rate of force? 10) Barefoot work and core training with Kosta Tszyu PEOPLE MENTIONED Craig Purdham Kosta Tszyu Johnny Lewis Kelly Penfold

Sarah Hervert has a PhD in Sport and Exercise Science from James Cook University and is an ASCA Associate L2 Coach. She specialises in strength and conditioning for team sports, injury prevention and rehabilitation and has a keen interest in advocating for S&C in the wider community from adolescents through to older athletes. Following the completion of her PhD, Sarah co-founded Foundations Performance & Rehab with the aim of creating a safe and welcoming environment for athletes and the wider community to undertake S&C and rehabilitation services. Currently, Sarah is also a Lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland. QUOTES “Even simple things like financial projections, which you sound so boring, but at the start you need to have that stuff to have an idea of where you are going and what you need to put into action” “If you are trying to pump through a lot of individual clients, and that's your only source of income, you'll probably struggle to pay a lot of bills” “So if you're going to open a business with a partner, you need to be really aware that if something did happen down the line, you need to have those back up plans with what you are going to do” “Have a plan but be flexible with that plan is a big thing in business” SHOWNOTES 1) Sarah's journey from James Cook University to owning a private S&C facility 2) Advice for S&C coaches looking to open a private facility 3) The recommended model for private S&C facilities and setting up client agreements 4) How to implement service fee rises 5) Deciding when the right time is to bring on more staff in a business 6) The pros and cons of owning a business with a partner 7) The ins and outs of cash flow and marketing 8) Managing adversity and burnout as a business owner 9) Sarah's PhD on sub-elite soccer players and preventing rate and severity of injuries in soccer

Nathan Parnham is the Head of Performance Development at Brisbane Grammar School. His career spans over two decades having set up multiple school athletic development programs across the country, to working in professional sport in the NRL and the Rugby Australia Women's 7s. Nathan is a bestselling author of The Sporting Parent - an invaluable resource for parents, teachers, and coaches alike in the youth sporting landscape. QUOTES “I don't think there is any parent that goes about intentionally setting up their kid to fail but it is just a lack of knowledge” “Our biggest challenge is the opportunity is very feasible for students to go elsewhere for S&C” “Pro sport cemented the idea that consistency is king with youth athletic development for me” “The biggest question in the youth athlete development setting is how do we try and sell the best multi-sport approach to parents?” SHOWNOTES 1) Nathan's update since our last episode with him. 2) The nuances to coaching kids of this generation, immediate gratification strategies and the sandwich effect. 3) The importance of briefings to start and end sessions. 4) Nathan's practical take on the current theories of long-term athlete development. 5) Athlete retention strategies and compliance strategies in the youth setting. 6) The day-to-day of Brisbane Grammar's athletic development program. 7) Integration with PE Department and the session structure at Brisbane Grammar. 8) The biggest things taken from pro sport and put into the education / youth space. 9) Early specialisation and the cultural influences on its appropriateness. 10) The reality of coach: athlete ratios in the school youth athletic development setting. PEOPLE MENTIONED Istvan Balyi

Glenn Stewart is a physical and personal skills preparation specialist and manager. He has extensive experience as a S&C specialist and spent two decades developing Australia's leading athletes and sporting teams professionals to international standards. He's a skilled researcher in physiology, biomechanics and team performance measurement. Glenn has published and presented in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. developing some of Australia's leading athletes and sporting teams. With a key focus on winning, he offers his experience and knowledge as a leading voice in high performance sport to assist those seeking solutions and direction to improve on their sporting results. QUOTES “I see the role of the S&C coach and high performance manager to make recommendations to coaches about what would be ideal training loads and sessions… and at the end of the day, the coach is ultimately accountable on acting on those recommendations.” “When something is complex (like injury), you cannot apply rules, you can only apply guidelines” “My number one guideline to minimize risk of injury is to do high risk activities at low risk times and if you have a high risk time, choose low risk activities” “It's not those events per se that are high risk (e.g., high speed running), its your preparedness for them that elevates the risk” “Injury minimisation is an understaning of your athlete and knowing that one extra rep could be the disaster you are trying to avoid whereas one less rep is not probably going to impact their performance down the track” “It is not always about injury risk minimization, we are in the world of high performance so we want our athletes to perform to the best of their abilities and they do that when they are injury free and have had massive training loads” SHOWNOTES 1) Glenn's progression from PE teaching to the 20 plus years at the West Coast Eagles 2) The common mental model in sport that assigns blame to S&C staff for athlete injuries and the influence of sports coaches on injury 3) Factors leading to heightened injury risk in athletes and principles for dealing with complex scenarios 4) When load exceeds tissue threshold and what causes changes in tissue threshold 5) Managing training load and high risk times vs high risk activities 6) The concept of “great care with new” and applying progressive overload 7) How to determine how much training load is too much? 8) Glenn's system of injury risk minimization and coach accountability 9) The latency period for injury after high risk periods 10) Monitoring and Glenn's preference for subjective measures 11) Chris Judd's first day at the West Coast Eagles and witnessing greatness

Des is one of the leading youth coaches and performance managers in sport and a world-renowned practitioner and speaker in the field of youth athletic development. In joining Setanta College, Des contributes to the College's mission to deliver industry defining Education, application and insight to communities at a local and global level. Des joined Setanta as Director of Coaching & Athletic Development, from his position as Head of Sport Medicine & Athletic Development at Arsenal Football Club Academy, which he has held for over 8 years and where he has re-shaped the concept of player development within the world of football. He has previously served as Head of S&C at Connacht Rugby, S&C to Ireland and as Fitness Education Manager within the IRFU, where he spent over 13 years developing the IRFU's coach and player development system. u Over the years Des has presented at the UKSCA, ASCA and the NSCA conferences as well as many other conferences around the world. He also has worked as a consultant to World Rugby and the National Cricket academy in India. Des has a Masters in Strength and Conditioning and is also an Accredited Strength and Conditioning coach with the UKSCA. He also has achieved the High Performance Sports Accreditation from the British Association of Sports and Exercise Science and is a chartered scientist. QUOTES “What brings it all together is the performance plan and if I step into any environment, it should be apparent” “That language (of your performance pillars) should live and breathe in all the different departments” “We always get caught up in the negatives but we should also focus on what is good?!” “In a meeting, it is important to ask what does the group feel and is this a journey we are going to go on together?” “Apparently the science behind it is flawed, but I saw benefits from personality profiling with our players and staff” SHOWNOTES 1) Des' journey in brief and update since our last episode including his latest work with Setanta College 2) How to approach management structures for performance teams including setting up your Vision, Mission, Objectives and Strategy (VMOS) and Performance Pillars 3) Refining the VMOS & making it as effective and efficient as possible 4) Maximising inter-disciplinary staff meetings and interventions with players 5) The power of staff ownership in department projects 6) Making performance development reviews/plans useful for staff and are you as good as Nic Gill? 7) Managing staff members that might disrupt group dynamic or are troublesome 8) The benefits of personality profiling for staff and player interaction, especially around communication preferences 9) The cornerstones of Des' management philosophy PEOPLE MENTIONED Liam Hennessy Nic Gill Dan Baker Philip Morrow Aled Walters Steve Nabo Bob Tisdall

Professor Chris McLellan is the Vice President of Sports Performance at the Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League (NHL) and Professor of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Southern Queensland. He is also the co-founder of Horyzen Performance LLC offering bespoke athlete profiling and strength and conditioning services to professional sporting teams and elite athletes around the world. Professor McLellan has over 25yrs experience as an athlete preparation specialist internationally working in in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australian Football League (AFL), professional Rugby Union and the NHL. He also has a Phd in Exercise & Sports Science and Strength & Conditioning, a Masters of Physiotherapy and a Bachelor of Exercise Science. Chris' research areas of interest include acute and chronic adaptation to strength and power training, hormonal responses to blunt force trauma and collision during contact sports and body composition, anthropometric & fibre type profiling for optimised performance and injury risk mitigation. Professor McLellan's research has resulted in over 120 published works in peer reviewed journals, published abstracts and presentations at national and international conferences. QUOTES “I think being systematic is massive in strength & conditioning” “As a general comment based on subsequent performance in games and training, and sleep is massive, so if we can't get back to home and have wheels on the ground by 2am, we stay an extra night” “The biggest piece for us is we aim to develop power and strength without loading players up with a load of hypertrophy” “We will try to manage the eccentric components of our lifts because we don't want to make them much bigger in-season” “If we go 10 days without a lift, we'll start to see shifts in their force-time-power curves” “Everyone talks about philosophy but my philosophy is keep the main thing the main thing” “In terms of salivary hormones, cortisol is a very blunt measure so I have embarked for quite some time to differentiate a more precise measure of stress” SHOWNOTES 1) Chris' journey from police officer and age grade footballer to S&C coach and professor 2) From academia to the Florida Panthers and what Chris brought into the program in his first year 3) The usefulness of accelerometry measures in the NHL and the similarity of injuries between rugby league and ice hockey 4) Managing the density of competition and the workload of players in the NHL 5) Dealing with the longest game in NHL history and novel nutrition approaches to help keep players fueled. 6) The focus and logistics of strength & conditioning in-season for ice hockey 7) Managing hypertrophy with cold water immersion and limiting eccentric components of lifts 8) The efficacy of measuring different salivary hormones and differentiating physical and psych stressors 9) Practical considerations for measuring salivary hormones and the minimum amount of measures need for it to be worthwhile 10) The benefits of attending conferences and reading bona fide scientific literature for S&C coaches PEOPLE MENTIONED Kelvin Giles Steve Nance Billy Johnstone Andy O'Brien Aaron Wellman Mike Keelan Lynn Jones

Gareth Webber is a Strength and Conditioning Coach from Cardiff in the U.K. He has a BSc in Sport & Exercise Science and MSc in Exercise Physiology from Loughborough University and is a ASCA level 3 PCAS Elite coach. He has been involved in high-performance, professional sport for over thirteen years and has worked in three national institutes and two professional team environments across ten sports in five countries. His areas of specialty are the concurrent training of multiple physical qualities to maximize athlete preparedness for competition and the return to play process. He has presented at both ASCA and ICST conferences and has guest lectured at universities in the U.K., Asia and Australia. QUOTES “Sometimes basic scientific theory, training principles and exercise technique does the world of good even in world class athletes.” “It is a similar concept of stripping things back to a) protect athletes and b) to get some robustness into them so they could spend more time on the technical and tactical training” “Athletes and coaches respond really well to competence and confidence in strength & conditioning coaches when first starting” “With injured players, I try and keep the training process similar to what they would be doing if they weren't injured… just working around the injury” “I use a Gymaware as an extra level of data and an extra level of protection where I don't need to go super super heavy with their lifting” SHOWNOTES 1) Gareth's backstory and experience across multiple sports from rugby union to ten pin bowling 2) The advantages of being a generalist in strength & conditioning 3) Cornerstones of strength & conditioning that coaches should be competent in before trying to expand into other specialty areas 4) Examples of reverse engineering robustness across different sports 5) The softly-softly approach strength & conditioning coaches can use when first starting in a new position. 6) Different heuristics and non-negotiables for strength & conditioning from Gareth's experience 7) A typical week outline in current role as return to play process for Cardiff Blues 8) Guidelines for bringing players back into full training from injury and examples of low-cost return to play criteria

James Wild is a research & development and speed consultant with Harlequins Rugby Club and as a Lecturer in Applied Sport Science at the University of Surrey. Using a blend of physical preparation and biomechanics techniques with skill acquisition and motor learning principles, James has worked with coaches and athletes across a full spectrum of abilities, including medal winning teams and athletes at major international competitions. James is also a book author and has just completed his PhD in the biomechanics and motor control of team sport athletes during sprint acceleration. QUOTES “We have to remember the (sprinting) technique is not an end unto itself, but should be seen as part of opportunity to create external force expression… to fit with a performance objective” “Technique can potentially modify injury and pain whilst previous injury history and pain can also drive technique modifications as a coping strategy” “You will find some individuals have a high step rate and rely on faster step rate for faster sprints so working towards their strength is key for that individual but you might also find the opposite” “You'll find the strength characteristics of the athlete will underpin the technique they are adopting when sprinting” “I have previously investigated what effect resisted sprinting has on stride length or string frequency and for some individuals, it increases length, for others, it increases frequency and in some individuals, it hasn't changed anything” SHOWNOTES 1) James' journey into strength and conditioning and sprinting research 2) The key performance indicators of sprinting biomechanics and how to assess acceleration 3) Deciding if athletes are stride frequency or stride length reliant when sprinting and what to do with it 4) Different contexts (e.g., injury history, aptitude) around using kinematic data from sprint analysis 5) What to do if athletes are not getting faster from sprint interventions? 6) The three strength qualities that are relevant to sprint performance and how to test them 7) How and when to provide technique interventions with athletes 8) James' philosophy on using resisted sprinting work with athletes 9) Identifying opportunities for and then integrating speed work throughout a training week with athletes PEOPLE MENTIONED Aki Salo Ian Benzodis John Goodwin Pierre Samozino JB Morin Damien Harper

Dr. Chris Gaviglio has been involved with elite sport for over 20 years working across multiple Winter and Summer Olympic sports and professional football codes in both the northern (Bath Rugby) and southern hemisphere (Queensland "Maroons" Rugby League team, Wallabies – Australian National Rugby Union team and Gold Coast SUNS AFL). More recently, during the recent 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Chris was the S&C coach for Beach Volleyball Silver medallists (Taliqua Clancy & Mariafe ArtachoDelSolar), Decathlon (Cedric Dubler and Ashley Moloney - Bronze medal), 200m sprinter Riley Day, and double silver Paralympic medallist Isis Holt (100m, 200m T35). Chris also works with Australian Female Skeleton Athlete Jacqui Naracott who won silver at the recent 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. He also has a passion for applied sports science with interests in passive heat maintenance, blood flow restriction training, warm-up & competition strategies and power and strength development. QUOTES “As I developed my philosophy, I started thinking of what is needed at the level of the muscle? How are we stressing the muscle? And how are we building that each month-to-month or phase?” "At the end of the day, unless you are a weightlifter or powerlifter, a good 1RM that's pretty cool but can they sprint fast or do their sport activity really well?” “My ultimate is isometric pushing with the use of a tie-down and if you have 2 tie-downs, you can train anywhere in the world” "I think a lot of the upper body isometric work gets missed and I will still actually train upper body isometrics even in sprinters” “If you increase testosterone for example, your behaviors associated with that are increased motivation and determination” “How do you heal the body? You need an anabolic environment” “Really with BFR, it is the first set is the key when you are doing low load continuous BFR and I think we should let go of the 30 reps, but you need to go for this feeling of fullness and maybe 1 rep short of technical fatigue” SHOWNOTES 1) Chris' updates on what he has been doing since our last episode (#30) including insights into the COVID State of Origin rugby league series 2) A quick introduction to skeleton racing 3) Going from just getting athletes strong to focusing on specific muscular contractions (e.g., eccentric, isometric and concentric) 4) Methods of eccentric and isometric contraction work 5) How to measure the intensity of isometric work and the simplest explanation for yielding/hold and overcoming/push isometrics 6) A case study with Beijing Winter Olympics silver medalist Jacqueline Naracott and the unique combination of isometrics, bands and blood flow restriction 7) How Chris has progressed his Blood Flow Restriction work with athletes, especially in rehab space with another case study featuring Cedric Dubler 8) The use of different rep ranges with blood flow restriction besides just high rep ranges 9) Letting go as strength & conditioning coaches and implementing things from other coaches 10) More resources, including practical implementations, on blood flow restriction PEOPLE MENTIONED Wayne Bennett Cedric Dubler Stephen Bird Jacqueline Naracott Adam Storey Ben Patrick Alex Natera Yuri Verkoshanksy Angus McIntyre

Alex Calder is the Head of Sports Science with Houston Dynamo, competing in the Major League Soccer (MLS). He is an accredited Level 3-Elite Coach with the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA), as well as holding accreditations through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa). Having worked in a variety of sports, he has coached at different levels of competition worldwide for the past decade. He has published several articles in relation to physical preparation and analysis. QUOTES “I've found my niche in helping to transition players form the treatment table to the field” “Using a pain threshold approach is just as effective, if not more effective in certain parameters, when returning players to sport” “I'd be more concerned if a player's absolute outputs are low compared to what their asymmetries are doing” “I have to be careful of what is coming in a week with RTP because the last thing I want to do is clear a player on one day and then pull them out the next day” SHOWNOTES 1) Alex's backstory from collegiate soccer player to becoming Head of Sport Science at an MLS club 2) Return to play and the controlled chaos continuum 3) The differences in rehabilitation/medical staffing structures across different countries 4) Hamstring rehab and using the pain threshold approach 5) The influence of Askling hamstring protocols (diver, glider and extender) 6) The use of technology and markers to help determine if players are ready to return to sport 7) Asymmetry and its relevance in rehabilitation and return to sport 8) A typical week for an athlete returning to sport at Houston Dynamo and matching the theme of the team 9) Gym and running markers for returning to play along with positional considerations 10) Tips for S&C coaches wanting to work overseas PEOPLE MENTIONED Matt Taberner Jack Hickey Carl Askling

Scott hails from Northern Ireland where he started his career as an S&C coach with the Sports Institute of Northern Ireland. Having worked with multiple sports, he ultimately became Physical Preparation Lead for British Swimming. He oversaw significant transformation of several swimmers through to Rio 2016, including multiple Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth Games Champions who broke many world records along the way. Following the Rio Olympics Scott joined British Cycling as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach. He supported sprint and BMX programs and led a national team of S&C coaches supporting over 100 athletes. A year prior to Tokyo Scott was asked to become the coach for the Men's podium sprint squad, and they went on to medal in every possible event. Scott is currently a Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach with the Queensland Academy of Sport and National Technical Lead for Swimming Australia. He is completing a PhD in neuromuscular performance. QUOTES “As a strength and conditioning coach, you are vastly more effective if you understand what else is happening outside of the gym in an athlete's sport” “When you're coaching a program, what I learned to appreciate is that you don't always have athletes who are going to show up to training and attack every rep and set with maximal intent because you are not working with robots… so you have to pivot and tinker and adapt” "I think there are ways of reverse engineering performance in field sports but what you might not be able to see though is the same degree of quantifiable change in a gym variable resulting in a change in performance” “I would really love it if I could find a practical way in elite sport to do more job shares so everybody in a high performance team gets a better understanding of each other person's role” SHOWNOTES 1) A quick recap of Scott's career so far from Northern Ireland to the Queensland Academy of Sport 2) Being thrust into a technical coach role in a sport you have never coached or played before 3) Leading from the front, leading from the side and leading from behind with the British podium sprint cycling squad 4) The nuances of coaching athletes that are multiple Olympic and World Championship medalists. 5) Reverse engineering performance versus being reactive as a coach and the advantages of both 6) How you might reverse engineer performance in more open skill sports 7) The theory behind transcranial direct current stimulation 8) The “Roy Keane” moment for Scott and his current work with Australian swimming

Stephen Smith is the Human Performance Optimisation Program Manager for the RAAF at Amberley and Townsville. In this role, he is responsible for the integration of performance enhancing projects across high risk roles within the organisation. Previously, Stephen worked for the New South Wales Institute of Sport for 11 years, finishing his time there as the National Lead for S&C for the Australian Women's Water Polo Team. Stephen is an Elite L3 Coach with the ASCA and has a Masters in High Performance Sport from ACU. QUOTES “Making someone back squat more or making their 40m sprint time faster is not necessarily always what success looks like (in the RAAF)” “Physical training in the RAAF is generally delivered as a one size fits all approach and we think we can do better than that with some individualization of training.” “We push the message of staying prepared, so you don't need to get prepared” “55% of our time loss injuries in the Rio Olympic cycle for swimming were for shoulders” “Understand what the demand is and train for it, don't drop the demand to deal with whatever you have walking through the door” SHOWNOTES 1) Stephen's origins in strength and conditioning all the way from NSWIS to the Royal Australian Air Force 2) Facilitating physical preparation in the RAAF and the similarities and differences with working in sport 3) The technology and tests used to understand physical capacities in the RAAF 4) Maximising employee engagement and managing physical output in the tactical space 5) Setting up training in the RAAF based on what is required day-to-day and the nuances of managing fatigue with tactical employees 6) Lessons in shoulder care and injury prevention from swimming and water polo 7) The reasons for a reduction in the exposure of shoulder care work coming into competition. 8) Lessons from sports coaches and psychological safety in the RAAF PEOPLE MENTIONED Phil Moreland David Epstein Amy Edmondson

Paul Downes is the Head Of Athletic Performance and Pathways at Moana Pasifika Super Rugby Franchise in New Zealand. He is a PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh and is an accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach with the UKSCA and ASCA. Within his 18 years applied coaching experience he has worked with developmental and elite athletes in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. QUOTES “We used screening to tell us what we could do, not what we couldn't do” “In Day 1 of every week at Moana Pasifika, we invested a lot of time in relationships… to connect and calibrate” “We used maximal velocity work as a prophylactic for injury” “Having a bigger bench or better clean from the floor form probably wasn't going to be a difference maker for us, our difference maker was more likely to be giving our players more movement vocabulary” “A cognitive apprenticeship is a teaching method that really focuses on authentic learning environments and putting the learner in an situation they are likely to experience in the workplace” SHOWNOTES 1) Paul's journey from the UK to NZ (and back!) in rugby union 2) Setting up a Super Rugby athletic performance department from scratch 3) Maximizing player availability in professional rugby union without a reserve grade or academy 4) Different screening options and a “typical” week in Moana Pasifika 5) Individualizing the preparation of rugby union players in-season and player-led different strength and conditioning options 6) Using the difference in times between COD and non-COD conditioning tests to inform training 7) How strong is strong enough in rugby union and downfalls of over-emphasizing strength and size in rugby 8) Paul's research on decision making process in S&C, the differences between different levels of experience in S&C and the “cognitive apprenticeship” approach 9) The value of the session preview, setting the intent and outcomes of a session and aligning S&C language to performance language

Martin Buchheit is a very passionate strength and conditioning coach that progressively developed into an applied sport performance scientist, with a main emphasis on football (soccer). Martins (>200 publications) focused on intervention strategies and profiling assessments that may improve players' physical and technical potential, using a scientific approach whenever possible. By using his background in strength & Conditioning (2 Msc), statistics (1 Msc) and his PhD in exercise physiology, he developed different training 'tools' such as the 30-15 Intermittent Fitness to program high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and the 5'-5' (now 4'-3') running test to monitor training status using accelerometers, GPS and heart rate (variability). Currently, Martin consults and speaks for various organizations, and holds the position of Head of Performance at Lille OSC, together with the role of Head of Performance Research at Kitman Labs, and helps lead up the Performance Intelligence Research Initiative. QUOTES “In the context of team sport, fitness does not often make the difference in winning or losing games” “Teams that had high speed exposures two days before games had less hamstring injuries during matches two days after” “We know if you look at contact time with a standardized same speed run, this can be indicative of acute fatigue” “Any data that be collected through normal practices in a football team, I like it” “The first discussion I had with the coaches I have worked with is tell me about the players and this is definitely the best way to start to build the interaction with coaches” “People say you should leave your ego at the door but no, you just need to have the volume control so when you need it, turn it high and when you don't need and need to collaborate, turn it down” "What is important with the anerobic speed reserve concept is not the exact numbers but to understand the profiling that comes with it" SHOWNOTES 1) Martin's background as a strength and conditioning coach, researcher and sport scientist across the globe 2) Building performance on a foundation of athlete health and the importance of player availability 3) The science and art of designing a training microcylce between matches in football 4) Having a pragmatic view on the use of technology in sport and getting data from normal team practices 5) Super simple standardized warmups for autonomic nervous system and neuromuscular monitoring 6) Developing relationships, influencing the coaches you are working with and managing egos in high performance sport 7) The anaerobic speed reserve concept, bucketing athletes and deciding training methods for each athlete PEOPLE MENTIONED Paul Larsen Raymond Verhiejen Dan Plews Nick Poulus Marc Quod

Janina Strauts is currently the Lead Physical Preparation Coach for the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA). Based in NSW, she spends most of her time working with the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) at both their Sydney and Jindabyne facilities. In this role she oversees the S&C support for the winter national network spanning across multiple institutes. During her years with OWIA she has worked with various winter sport athletes and coaches, including both ice and snow-based sports. Previously, Janina has worked as a Strength and Conditioning Coach for both the AIS and NSWIS with several summer sports. Janina comes from a strong sport coaching background, having also coached both gymnastics and athletics for numerous years. QUOTES “When athletes are really focused on making the most of the snow-time they have got, … the challenge is how do you ensure you still get the physical qualities you need done during the year without impacting the skill component” “What we make sure is that we have all our lower body days on the last day of each training block to be really strategic about getting as much recovery as possible before their next skill session” “I have thought about core more traditionally - a flexion, an extension, a lateral movement, a rotation and an anti-rotation” “If it is simple, it is consistent and it is easy, it means it will be easy to track and implement” SHOWNOTES 1) Janina's journey as a strength and conditioning coach starting at NSWIS 2) Understanding how to have an impact in the yearly plan and what a normal training day looks like in winter sports 3) The importance of posterior chain and landing mechanics for winter sports 4) Conditioning, placement within a microcycle and the impact on technical training 5) Gymnastics variations to develop aerial awareness and integrating sport requirements into core work 6) Assessments that Janina uses for winter sports athletes 7) The power of simplicity and massive IMTP testing results

Dr. Mark Abel, is a Professor and Director of the First Responder Research Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Abel conducts research to improve the safety, health, occupational readiness of firefighters and law enforcement officers. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, authored book chapters, and presented internationally. He also teaches undergraduate courses in Strength and Conditioning and Sports Nutrition and graduate courses in High Performance Coaching and Tactical Strength and Conditioning. He has served as a firefighter. also owns Tactical Fitness Institute, LLC which assists fire departments and law enforcement agencies in developing legally defensible physical ability tests and offers other educational and exercise programming services to meet their health and performance goals. QUOTES “The number one reason why firefighters are getting injured when they are not on the ground is from physical training..." "Firefighters that exercise are at a higher risk of injury but at a lower risk of occupational injuries than non-exercising firefighters” “We need to understand the typical time course of recovery to recommend the appropriate training prescription for a firefighter on duty” “The biomotor abilities that have the longest training residuals are maximal strength and aerobic endurance” “One reason I like block periodization is you can make changes so much more frequently than linear and I think that is a huge advantage for firefighters” “Lower HRV in the morning was significantly related with decreased performance in an occupational test in firefighters” SHOWNOTES 1) Mark's career progression from personal training to the tactical and first responder space 2) Problems with research in tactical populations and increasing compliance with the athletes you work with 3) The issue with training while on call and differences between how different tactical occupations should adapt their physical preparation 4) Why concurrent training, understanding training residual lengths and block periodization suits first responders 5) Dealing with shift work in first responders and how to adjust training 6) The details of how block periodization can be implemented with firefighters 7) Different options for monitoring readiness in tactical populations and why work efficiency is the next step in evaluating tactical performance PEOPLE MENTIONED Travis Tripplet Paul Davis David Joyce

Boyd Epley is one of the most decorated strength coaches in history and is the recipient of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN) Lifetime Achievement Award. Lindy's National College Football magazine named him one of College Football's Top 100 Most Important People of the Century after his training program helped produce five National Championships and 356 wins in 35 years of University of Nebraska Football. He is the founder of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and continues to be an advocate for strength coaches. QUOTES “There is greater serum GH release when utilizing 1 minute rest periods compared to 3 minutes” “The rule of thumb is you do not start with 3 sets in this program or you may put someone in hospital” “If the squat is done first, this offseason program becomes magical” “Coaches can make things a complicated as they like, but it is easier to remember simple” “Motivation is a big part of working with athletes and if you don't take time to honor them, they'll lose interest” SHOWNOTES 1) Boyd's journey in the weightroom from pole vaulter to the first ever NCAA college strength coach 2) The college “power sports” and how to train for them 3) The different influences of body building, weightlifting and research on Boyd's programming 4) How a Nebraska shot putter convinced the football team to attempt Boyd's offseason weights program 5) The 10 in 40 metabolic circuit 6) The “Epley” 1RM formula and its various uses 7) The Performance Index, Strength Index and importance of relative strength 8) The dangers of distance running for power sports PEOPLE MENTIONED Tom Osborne Bill Kraemer Bob Hoffman Kevin Coleman Mike Arthur Chris Eskridge Ken Cooper