In the 71st Episode of The Strength Connection Podcast, Mike and our special guest Army Neuroscientist, Sleep Specialist, Division I Collegiate Athlete, and a 2x CrossFit Games Athlete, Dr. Allison Brager, will talk about the “YOUNGSTOWN BOYS” documentary, the power of discipline, bioenergetics, energy expenditure and Energy conservation, and Dr. Allison’s Sleep Strategy
Join us in this insightful and captivating talk!
In this chapter you will discover:

(0:55) Introducing our special guest, Army Neuroscientist, Sleep Specialist, Division I Collegiate Athlete, and a 2x CrossFit Games Athlete, Dr. Allison Brager @docjockzzz

(1:15) Dr. Allison’s background as an athlete, a soldier, and a scientist

(1:20) Meathead by Dr. Allison Brager @docjockzzz

(1:20) Dr. Allison The Sleep Strategy

(1:35) Dr. Allison’s origin story

(2:00) ESPN 30 for 30 “YOUNGSTOWN BOYS” documentary

(2:10) Shout out to coach Jim Tressel Youngstown, Ohio

(3:00) The power of discipline

(3:15) “You establish community and stay out of trouble through sports” - Dr. Allison Brager @docjockzzz

(3:30) Dr. Allison’s uncle was a professional boxer

(3:50) Who created the power bands?

(4:35) “Athletics drove my success” - Dr. Allison Brager @docjockzzz

(4:40) Dr. Allison was the first in her family to go to college

(5:20) “I always knew mindset was everything” - Dr. Allison Brager @docjockzzz

(6:50) Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman @danmillmanpw

(7:00) “Focus on the now” - Michael Kurkowski @mike_strength_connection

(7:35) The mindset side of strength and athletics

(8:20) The level of efficiency in the brain of an elite athlete

(9:40) 99.9% of the time, the reaction time of an elite is superior

(9:54) The importance of routines and repetition

(10:17) Bioenergetics is based on Basic energy expenditure and Energy conservation

(10:54) Conservation of energy for survival

(13:05) Why does the body take so long to overcome its natural conditions?

(14:10) Ed Coan @eddycoan the famous powerlifter

(17:01) The army decided to use CrossFit as a recruiting mechanism

(17:03) One of the biggest things the army struggles with is skeletal muscle injuries.

(18:15) The military services compete in Olympic sports at the Olympic Training Center.

(18:43) The Nike contract

(19:03) Shout out to Kari Pearce @karipearcecrossfit

(19:46) The Holistic Health and Fitness program

(23:47) Shout out to Pavel Tsatsouline and Strongfirst @strongfirst

(25:29) Dr. Allison took sleep classes her sophomore year

(26:47) Nobel prize nomination

(27:14) Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

(29:53) As soon as we hit REM sleep, we go into a complete anabolic state

(31:18) What is the genetic component of sleep?

(31:31) Series of genes that determine sleep adjustment

(32:10) The gen DEC2, the short sleep chain

(32:26) Shout out to Elon Musk

(33:48) Genetic trade-offs and caffeine

(34:14) Bioenergetics

(34:20) ATP and adenosine drive sleep

(36:19) Currently, sleep is reduced between 1 hour and 1 hour and a half

(36:42) Blood tests to see where our ATP and adenine are

(37:19) Anaerobic profile, growth hormone testosterone.

(38:32) App called Peak Alert

(39:46) Dr. William C. Dement 

(45:13) Shout out to Matthew Walker

(46:27) Minimize night the exposure to TVs, and phones, and even dim the lights in your house. 

(46.33) Matthew Walker, dim light melatonin onset.

(48:05) “The lower your core body temperature, the more your brain is going to be programmed to be in a more restorative state of sleep” - Dr. Allison Brager @docjockzzz

(50:02) About Philips Respironics 

(50:25) Meathead by Dr. Allison Brager @docjockzzz

50:30 Where to contact Dr. Allison Brager @docjockzzz