Physical Preparation Podcast

It’s hard to believe it’s almost August, so we’ve got to knock out our monthly Q&A for July! These are actually getting more fun as we go, as I think we’ve got a great blend of higher-level, philosophical questions combined with some nitty gritty, “try this today” practical application as well. Plus, with the inclusion of the lightning round, I feel like we...

If you’re serious about improving your health and conditioning, or just living a longer and healthier life, you’re going to LOVE this episode. Joel Jamieson is a mentor, friend, and someone I deeply respect in our industry. He’s the author of the Ultima MMA Conditioning book, developer of the Morpheus fitness app and creator of the Certified Conditioning Coach certification. But most importa...

If you’re serious about becoming a better trainer or coach, at some point you need to ask yourself some big questions. For instance, what’s your philosophy when it comes to training? What groups or populations do you want to serve? And assuming this is a career (and not a hobby), what are you going to charge for your time? While these questions may sound simple at first glance, they&#8...

Kevin Neeld is the Head Performance Coach for the Boston Bruins, where he oversees all aspects of designing and implementing the team’s performance training program, as well as monitoring the players’ performance, workload and recovery. Prior to his time in Boston, Kevin spent 2 years as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the San Jose Sharks after serving as the director of a private...

Pat Rigsby is a fitness business coach who has been in the industry since 1994. Growing up in Portsmouth, Ohio, Pat never had an interest in entrepreneurship and wanted to be a Major League Baseball player. And even though he had a season in professional baseball, he eventually realized playing the sport wasn’t his calling and set his sights on coaching. Since starting that first fitness business,...

Have you ever considered working in professional sports? Do you want to know what it REALLY TAKES to succeed at the highest levels? Or are you just curious as to what life is like behind the NFL curtain? If so, this is the show for you! Loren Landow is a 29-year veteran in the strength and conditioning game, and someone I deeply respect. This guy has not only had incredible success over the years,...

It’s June, and we’re back with another KILLER Q&A Episode! This month was fun because I had a nice mix of questions to answer. On one hand, I had some X’s and O’s questions about how to get more out of your programs and coaching. And on the flip side, I also got some higher-level philosophical questions on continuing education and how to make our industry a little bit b...

Matthew Ibrahim currently serves as the Assistant Professor of Exercise Science at Quincy College, Adjunct Professor of Exercise Science at Maryville University, founder of Athletic Performance University ( AthleticPerformanceU.com ) and Ph. D. Candidate in Human & Sport Performance. As a public speaker, Matthew has presented nationally in over 25 U.S. states, and he’s also in the midst of wri...

If you want to help your athletes get faster, then THIS is the podcast for you. In my not so humble opinion, Lee Taft is THE BEST practitioner of multi-directional speed training in the world, and in this episode I really feel like we capture lightning in a bottle. While Lee primarily works as a consultant these days, over his storied career he’s owned his own facility numerous times, coached at v...

Let’s start this episode off with an honest statement: Being a coach is an energy-intensive endeavor. Every day you want to give your best – your all – to your clients and athletes. But here’s one thing we don’t talk about enough: How do we manage and maintain our own energy? When you’re working hard and taking care of others, how to you take care of yourself so...

Anthony Iannarino is a Physical Therapist and Strength and Conditioning coach currently serving as a Performance Therapist with the Washington Wizards. Prior to transitioning to professional sports, Anthony served as a clinic director for Rehab 2 Perform as well as the performance therapist for the Bullis School Track and Field where he worked elite high school runners both trackside and in the cl...

And we’re back! It’s been over a month since we did a Q&A episode, so I knew I needed to get one in sooner than later. This week, we’ve got a ton of fun topics to discuss. For starers, how do you determine your own weaknesses and plan your continuing education? How do you help middle-aged weekend warriors get back out on the field, court or pitch? And last but not least, what...

Julia Glanz is a Registered Dietitian with a Masters Degree In Nutritional Science, a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, a former College Strength & Conditioning Coach and a former Division 1 soccer player. Julia’s education in nutritional science, exercise science and physiology combined with years of her own personal struggle with hormone imbalances fueled her passion for help...

When you reflect on life, it’s interesting to see how some people step in at exactly the right point in time. As a young coach growing up, I didn’t have a lot of great mentors. I knew I wanted to create content, I wanted to use speaking as an avenue to educate other trainers and coaches, and someday I wanted to own my own gym. And these were awesome goals – but how should I actually go about DOING...

Ben Ashworth is a dual qualified shoulder specialist who has over 20 years of experience working with athletes as a physio and strength coach in a wide range of performance environments. Ben has worked in elite rugby at London Wasps, across Olympic sports in the lead up to London 2012, and spent six years as first team physiotherapist at Arsenal football club, before his most recent role as Perfor...

Anthony Donskov is the founder and head performance coach at Donskov Strength and Conditioning, and the author of the amazing book, Physical Preparation for Hockey: Biological Principles and Practical solutions. But more importantly, Anthony just went back and got his Ph. D., so I was curious – at 40+ years old, what makes you do that? In this episode, we take a deep dive into Anthony’...

I’ve got a pretty special podcast for you this week my friend. As you may or may not know, I spent last weekend in Seattle giving one of my Complete Coach Seminars. These are always great weekends, which are only made better by the amazing people I have around me. Now if you know anything about my brother Luka Hocevar, you know the man can put in work . So after 2.5 days of speaking, why sho...

We’rrrreeeee back! It’s the March edition of our Q&A podcast, and I’ve got some really great questions and topics for you this month. Online assessment and program design. Are your clients extended? Flexed? In a posterior tilt? I’ll explain the difference and why there’s so much confusion. And my best advice for young and older coaches alike. So without any further ado, let’s...

Here’s a crazy stat: Recent research by Bunt et al suggests that roughly one in four adults will suffer from chronic knee pain, and it’s prevalence has increased almost 65% over the past 20 years. And similar to that, McNerney and Arendt state that roughly 30% of young athletes suffer from anterior knee pain, with female athletes being anywhere from 2 to 10x more likely to struggle with knee issue...

As children, most of us are born into the world with two happy and healthy feet. They move, bend, and push just like they were designed to. But over the years, whether it’s through bad shoes, lack of motion, or flat out weakness, we tend to lose those ideal foot mechanics – and the downside can mean a negative cascade of events throughout the body. As someone that not only had foot issues herself,...

When you’re just starting out as a trainer or coach, as the saying goes: You don’t know what you don’t know. And I think this is especially true with regards to writing programs. Whether it’s using antiquated ways to program intensity, making everyone conform to 4-week training cycles, or skipping key steps early-on in the training process, today I want to share with you 10...

We’rrrreeeee back! It’s the February edition of our Q&A podcast, and man do we have a bunch of topics to cover. Performance assessments. Isometric training and testing. Why everyone and their sister is squatting with a heel wedge. And why IFAST is evolving. So without any further ado, let’s jump right in!   Isometrics are one part of a program. A powerful tool? Yes. But...

One of my favorite aspects of this show is getting these little peeks behind the “high performance” curtain. Even if we don’t work in elite sport, or have the resources they have available to them, getting an understanding into the systems and thought processes they use to build the best athletes in the world can still be invaluable. Plus, if I get to talk to a former IFAST intern who is absolutel...

Let’s be real for a minute: Injuries suck. If you’ve been lifting yourself for any period of time, you know that if you push yourself long enough or hard enough, something is bound to crop up. But while injuries might be part of the game, they shouldn’t keep you out of the game. That’s why today I’ve brought Dan Pope on the podcast – to talk about how we can continue to train while injured, but ev...

Have you ever had a client or athlete who was dealing with Achilles pain? Maybe it was a gen pop client who was a little overweight. Maybe it was a weekend warrior whose heel was stiff after a game of basketball or pickleball. Or maybe it was a high performing athlete who was dealing with tendinopathy or rehabbing an Achilles tear. Regardless, Achilles issues are on the rise and as trainers and co...