Today's podcast features Steffan Jones. Steffan is a trailblazing fast-bowling coach and ex-pro cricketer, known for his integrative, creative, data-backed training methods. A former Somerset and Kent bowler with over 200 wickets, he’s the last dual-sport pro from English cricket and rugby. With degrees in Sports Science and coaching certifications, Jones founded Pacelab, blending biomechanics and constraint-led training. He’s coached for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and joined Ludimos in 2024 as Strategic Advisor, pushing fast bowling into the future.

Among the various training sub-modalities, isometric work stands out as a low-risk, high-reward method that minimally interferes with an athlete’s high-speed capabilities on the field.

In today’s episode, Steffan explores a range of topics related to isometric training and athletic performance, with a special focus on fast-bowling velocity. He discusses both long-duration and overcoming isometrics, offering insights on how to incorporate these techniques into sport-specific training programs. Additionally, Steffan delves into complex training methods, pre-fatigue strategies for elastic output, and collision-based training concepts.

This episode emphasizes key principles for blending general strength with elite sport performance.

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Timestamps

5:46- Enhancing Fast Bowling with Isometric Exercises

7:21- Enhancing Performance Through Isometric Exercises

14:09- Balancing Specificity and General Strength Training for Athletes

18:39- Optimizing Recovery with Long Isometric Holds

28:12- Optimizing Performance Through Isometric Training Fundamentals

34:17- Optimizing Performance Through Tailored Bowling Training

40:32- Isometric Training for Enhanced Joint Stiffness

54:30- Integration of Strength and Conditioning in Coaching

Quotes

(15:36) "The only true specific thing you can do is your skill itself."

(18:41) "A lot of people don't understand that the long isos, when you get fit enough, strong enough, resilient enough, they're actually recovery."

(23:11) "Anything below 80% intensity, the brain sees as a different skill."

(37:34) "But my back foot contact, because that's a long ground contact time, my back foot contact around the ankle is short duration."

(39:02) "That's the problem with isometrics. Unless you've got a sort of a dynamometer or a force deck, You have no knowledge of results. So it's pretty boring and the brain switches off as such. But yeah, obviously I use different stuff. I use G Strength and Remaker and all those (to measure force)”

(47:30) "And collisions are not going to be improved by doing concentric work. Collisions are going to be improved by doing eccentric and isometric work."

(52:35 "If I have a knee-dominant bowler who's who takes a long time to get warm, who's who's fast twitch or their intermediate fibers do most of the work. They never get to their fast twitch fibers. So then a pre fatigue complex would be great for them. And they go really do a, do a set of 10 squats and then expect them to bowl. Yeah, it works. Do us do a 200 meter run and then expect them to do an explosive bowl. But have you tried that? That is such a great feeling."

About Steffan Jones

Steffan Jones is a globally renowned fast-bowling coach, celebrated for his innovative, science-driven approach to cricket performance. A former professional cricketer, Jones played as a fast-medium bowler for Somerset, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, and Kent, amassing over 200 first-class wickets and two centuries in an 18-year career that also saw him become English cricket’s last dual-sport professional, having briefly played Premiership rugby. Steffan holds degrees from Loughborough University (Sports Science) and Homerton College, Cambridge, blending academic rigor with on-field experience.

After retiring in 2011, Jones transitioned into coaching, leveraging his unique qualifications—UKSCA-accredited strength and conditioning coach, Level 3 technical cricket coach, and the only cricket coach certified to teach with the Lila Movement Exogen suit. As the founder of Pacelab, he’s redefined fast-bowling development, emphasizing biomechanics, motor learning, and individualized training. His methods, rooted in first-principles research, integrate corrective strength, isometrics, and skill-stability paradigms to enhance pace and durability.

Jones has served as High-Performance Fast Bowling Coach for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL (2019, 2022-present), consults for elite fast bowlers, javelin throwers, and pitchers worldwide, and was Director of Sport Performance at Wellington School, Somerset. A pioneer in ecological dynamics, he champions adaptable, constraint-led training over traditional drills, making him a sought-after voice in sports science. In 2024, he joined Ludimos as Strategic Advisor, merging his expertise with AI-driven coaching technology to shape the future of fast bowling.