Today’s episode features a special coaching roundtable featuring three experts in the implementation of the “1x20” training system: Jeff Moyer of DC Sports Training, Matt Thome of Michigan Tech University, and Ryan Bracius of Wisconsin Whitewater.

Most folks familiar with Just Fly Sports and the podcast know of Jeff Moyer, as he has been a frequent guest and writer, and is also the first guy to really get me intrigued by the 1x20 system, and its benefits for athletes. Since then, Jeff has been a huge contributor to Just Fly Sports, and I’ve had a number of coaches ask me about the 1x20 system since our first episode together. I met Matt Thome and Ryan Bracius in person at the Track Football Consortium VI in Chicago this past December. Matt is the head strength coach at Michigan Tech, working with football and basketball, and Ryan is developing some of the best football athletes in NCAA Division III at Wisconsin Whitewater. Both are getting fantastic results with rock-bottom injury rates. Matt had the idea of talking not just about “1x20”, but particularly about “life after 1x20”, or how to transition athletes to the next step in their training after the 1x20 system has run its course. It’s important to realize that coaches using the 1x20 model use much more than just this singular set and rep scheme.

For those unfamiliar with the 1x20 system, a simple explanation is as follows:

Start athletes out with 5-8 exercises, with 1 set of 20 reps each, building up to around 18-23 exercises over time. Instead of pushing the gas pedal down the first day with the intensity, the exercises are “slow cooked” by gradually adding weight over time. When athletes reach adaptation (stop improving) on the sets of 20, then the next phase is 1x14, and finally 1x8. This system was taught to many coaches today by Yosef Johnson who was mentored by the inventor of the system, Dr. Michael Yessis. Coaches who have used the system have noted good to great gains in strength, but also in athletes explosive KPI’s compared to other systems, as well as a reduction in injury rate.

On the episode today, we go in depth on each coach’s introduction to the 1x20 system, how they implement it, and what kind of results they are getting. We’ll also talk about why the 1x20 works so well from a physiological and neural level. The second half of the episode talks about the transition from the 1x20 system into other training methods, such as velocity based, and special strength training.

Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster.com, supplier of high-end athletic development tools, such as the Freelap timing system, kBox, Sprint 1080, and more.

View more show notes at Just-fly-sports.com/podcast-81-moyer-thome-bracius/