Physical Preparation Podcast

As an adult, it’s NORMAL to feel stuck at certain points in your career… …and I believe this is even more true in the fitness industry than others! Look, I’m 24 years in and I know there were numerous times along the way I felt like I was making zero progress. Couldn’t get a job out of college. Only working with broken people in a rehab job I hated after that. Grinding for...

Pic Lead   QUOTE – Lee Taft   This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast: Bullets   YOUTUBEZ   Connect with Lee: LeeTaft.com Lee on Instgram   Related Links: Lee’s Podcasts here   Level Up Your Program Design with TrainHeroic! Are you tired of using clunky, antiquated program design tools like Microsoft Word or Excel? Are you ready to level up your programming...

As a kid, I remember being enamored with tech and what the future could hold. Whether it was watching digital tennis instructors in movies like Total Recall, or imagining actually being IN your favorite video game, I knew the future was going to be pretty awesome. And with today’s episode, it feels like the future is NOW! A lifelong entrepreneur, technologist, martial artist and coach, Steve...

Most “high level” trainers and coaches don’t like to talk about this, but we’ve ALL had crappy clients and athletes over the years. The person who is never motivated to train. Late cancels all the time (but doesn’t want to get charged). And literally sucks the life out of you every time they’re in the gym. But have faith my friend, because there’s a better...

Do you work with athletes who want to improve their vertical jump? Are you curious about the differences between 2-leg and 1-leg jumping? Or how the best dunkers of all time approach their jump training? If so, you’re going to LOVE today’s episode! Tyler Ray is a former professional dunker and a true expert in the space of vertical jump training. His business is a combination of education for trai...

I don’t know about you, but it felt like 2024 absolutely BLEW BY. Maybe it’s just my age or everything I have going on, but it definitely seemed to be here and gone faster than most. So whenever a year wraps up, I like to take some time, decompress, and really get clear on my personal and professional life. What’s going well? What needs to improve? And how can I make the upcoming...

Have you ever thought about the BUSINESS SIDE of collegiate strength and conditioning? For instance, how do you go about hiring high-quality staff? How do you develop them and ensure they’re growing while under your tutelage? And how the heck do you decide what to spend money on? Well lucky for us, today’s guest has experience doing all of this! Eric Guthrie joined George Washington in 2021 and is...

How should our training change or evolve as we age? Is it time to hang up the old lifting shoes and take up stamp collecting? Or can we still get in the gym and get after it? Well if you’re over 40 (or getting there faster than you’d like), then this is the episode for you! In this week’s podcast, we’re going to cover a ton of concepts to help you stay strong, lean and athl...

Have you ever thought about how we can improve the healthcare system in our country? Maybe you got hurt, and didn’t have the ability to finish physical therapy. Maybe you realize that truly proactive healthcare starts with foundational elements like exercise, nutrition and recovery versus doctors visits and medication. Or maybe in a worst case scenario, you’ve lost a loved one to cancer or heart d...

If you’ve been following pro sports lately, it seems like every week an athlete from the NFL, NBA or MLB is dealing with a calf strain, or even worse, rupturing their Achilles tendon. And while you can obviously go to IG or TikTok and pick up some cool new exercises, I think it’s far more important to have a really good understanding of the lower leg anatomy, how to assess it, and from there how t...

If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember the days of going to the grocery or drug store, heading over to the magazine rack, and flipping through the latest issue of Muscle and Fitness or Flex to see how guys like Arnold, Dorian Yates or Ronnie Coleman trained. Because in the 90’s and early 2000’s, before online website like T-Nation and Elite FTS really started to hit their stride, we got most...

It seems like everybody and their mother is talking about force plates these days. And I’m obviously guilty of it myself…but only because I feel like force plates are the single-most impactful thing I’ve added to my coaching in the past five years. But what if you’re not a sports scientist – how do you get started? What tests should you use? And what metrics should you be looking at? Well if...

How many people do you know that have a Ph. D. in kinesiology and are also World Record Holders in any physical domain? Other than the immortal Dr. Fred Hatfield I can’t think of many – well other than today’s guest! Dr. Matt Wenning is a world-renowned speaker and consultant, and has broken number world records in both raw and equipped powerlifting. Quite simply this guy has talked the talk AND w...

What are the biggest differences between the private sector and professional sports? How do move seamlessly across sports with vastly different training cultures? And can you cheer for the Yankees when you work for the Red Sox? If you’ve ever pondered these questions before, then you’re going to LOVE today’s episode with Miguel Aragoncillo! Miguel Aragoncillo is an assistant strength and condition...

What can I even say about this episode? If you want to be a more successful trainer or fitness business owner, then this is the show for you. With close to 50 years of combined knowledge, Andy and Luka are not only two of my best friends, but guys that have worked tirelessly to not be great coaches and amazing business owners as well. So whether your goal is to find your PURPOSE… …buil...

The last couple of weeks have been, “busy,” to say the least. I flew out to Seattle last Wednesday at 7 am, in an effort to get there and spend time with Luka and Joel before the seminar started on Thursday. (Plus, I worked every second of the way in an effort to get a few key items done…more on this at a later date). Spoke and listened to the other AMAZING presenters on Thursday...

What happens when common sense fails us? Or maybe doesn’t tell us the whole story? Let me give you an example… I would assume if an athlete went out and played their most intense soccer match EVER, that they’d be more fatigued, which would increase their risk of injury, and/or would have poor force plate jumps after that match. And while that absolutely might happen – it also might NOT. So why is...

I’m going to be really honest here…writing the intro for this podcast was REALLY HARD. After all, what do you focus on when the ENTIRE SHOW is so freaking good? Whether it’s talking about training autonomy, N=1 training, the art of performance management, different archetypes and training buckets, or the role of pure strength and force development in basketball, there’s so much good in...

Imagine this scenario…you’re watching a sporting event, and an athlete gets injured. Maybe it’s something minor like a sprained ankle, or maybe something more severe like a hamstring pull or ACL tear. Have you ever wondered, what does the medical staff do right then? And how does that initial 24-48 hours set up the entire return to play process going forward? Well if you’re interested in how acute...

If you’re interested in training basketball players, evolving their workouts as they age, or learning how to create a CULTURE of training in the basketball space, you’re going to love this week’s episode. Born and raised in SoCal, Victoria Saucedo played softball at Utah State where she received a Bachelors degree in Human Movement Science. From there she had stops at NAU, St. Louis University, Wa...

If you want to live a longer, healthier life, you’re going to LOVE today’s episode! Joel Jamieson is not only a great friend, but someone that has really started to make a mark in the longevity space. He was recently featured on Dr. Peter Attia’s podcast where they took a deep dive into everything HRV. But you may know him as a trusted expert in strength, conditioning, and energy systems for comba...

You ever have that old friend that – whether it’s been 5 months or 5 years – whenever you talk it just feels easy and natural? Well I definitely have a few of them, and one of those guys is Jay DeMayo. And if you’re interested in jump training and how to help your athletes jump higher, you’re going to love this week’s episode! Jay is in his 22nd year as a strength and conditioning coach at the Uni...

As strength or performance coaches, it’s easy to focus all of our energy on training. Because sure we want to help our athletes get bigger, faster and stronger – but what if they’re doing all the hard work in in the gym, yet not taking care of business in the kitchen? Kobe was famous for saying that NUTRITION was the last arrow in his quiver – the final thing he could do to put the icing on the ca...

Okay my friend – we’re BACK! It’s been a hot minute since we did a Q&A episode (almost a year, if you’re keeping track), so I knew it was time to make this happen. I absolutely love doing these episodes, because any time I can serve YOU, it makes me feel good on the inside Here we cover a range of topics here from training to business development, so let’s dive in...

If you want to grow your fitness business, or dream of someday opening your own gym, then THIS is the podcast for you. Vince Gabriele is the author of 11 books – all written to help gym owners grow their business. After running his New Jersey gym for 13 years (that he still owns today) he now helps gym owners become great business owners so they can enjoy life in the fitness industry. He fou...