HMMR Podcast

Medicine balls are one of our favorite training tools. Throughout May we've had many of our site contributors share how they use medicine balls in training, and also released a new video lesson on advanced medicine ball training. On this week's podcast we reflect on our favorite ideas for medicine ball training we picked up this month, as well as some insights from our new video.

For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2021/05/hmmr-podcast-episode-249-med-ball-madness/

» Support the show: join HMMR PLUS to get full access to our coaching resources.

More notes:

• This episode is brought to you by HMMR Plus. The May site theme on HMMR Media is medicine ball training. Stay tuned for more on the topic and become a member for full access to our videos, articles, and podcast archives.
• For more from René Sack, read his article "Finding purpose, direction, and planning for medicine ball training" as well as his interview on Episode 211. He also has several more articles on HMMR Media.
• For more from Johnny Parkes, read his article "Medicine ball training for tennis" and the recent member hangout on med balls for tennis with Parkes and Matt Kuzdub. His Instagram (@johnny_parkes) also has a lot of resources.
• Zach Dechant discussed many of these topics on our last episode, Episode 248, where we spent much of the interview looking at medicine balls. His Instagram (@zachdechant) also regularly posts great resources.
• Check out Vern's two articles: Training design considerations for the medicine ball and How medicine balls work their magic. You can learn more of his med ball training ideas in his Medicine Ball Training DVD available for members to stream.
• More medicine ball resources: Video Lesson 5: Medicine Ball Routines, Force summation through medicine ball training by Nick Garcia, How to get the most out of medicine balls and Integrating medicine ball training into the plan by Martin Bingisser.

Baseball and the throwing events have a lot in common: in both sports you are trying to generate rotational power to move an implement fast. When it comes to training, there a lot of parallels as well. Zach Dechant is the strength coach for one of the top collegiate baseball programs. He joins this week's podcast to discuss how he focuses on specific strength in training, including player profiling, exercise design, and many aspects of medicine ball training.

For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2021/05/hmmr-podcast-episode-248-throwing-the-ball-around-with-zach-dechant/

» Support the show: join HMMR PLUS to get full access to our coaching resources.

More notes:

• This episode is brought to you by HMMR Plus. The May site theme on HMMR Media is medicine ball training. Stay tuned for more on the topic and become a member for full access to our videos, articles, and podcast archives.
• You can learn more about Dechant on Instagram (@zachdechant) or Twitter (@zachdechant). We can recommend a few of his instagram posts for more information about some of the topics we covered in this episode, such as: heaves for height, pitching SDEs, rotational variations, reasons for med ball throws, and why med balls are not part of the foundational program. You can find links to his blog articles and products up on his website ZachDechant.com.
• For more on medicine ball training, we shared Nick Garcia's medicine ball routines in HMMR Classroom Video 5. Vern Gambetta also demonstrates over 75 exercises in his Medicine Ball Training DVD available for members to stream.
• We also looked at specific training for baseball in Episode 69 with Driveline Baseball founder Kyle Boddy.

On our last episode we dove in deep into the listener mailbag. But we ran out of time before getting to the best questions. Therefore we pick up where we left off on this week's episode, exploring questions on brisket, throwing, transfer of training, and more.

For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2021/04/hmmr-podcast-episode-247-more-mailbag/

» Support the show: join HMMR PLUS to get full access to our coaching resources.

More notes:

• This episode is brought to you by HMMR Plus. Become a member for full access to our videos, articles, and podcast archives.
• For some more resources on training for the throws, visit our throw topic page.
• Nick also shared some grilling tips on Episode 228.
• You can hear us answer more Q&A on Episode 246, Episode 241, Episode 213, Episode 199, Episode 176, Episode 174, Episode 143, Episode 126 and Episode 89.

Our mailbag is full, so it’s time to go through some listener questions about a variety of topics. On this week’s episode we dive into questions on the planning for truncated seasons, recovery, teaching the Olympic lifts, rest periods in circuit training, who do we want to grab a beer with, and more.

For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2021/04/hmmr-podcast-episode-246-the-mailbag/

» Support the show: join HMMR PLUS to get full access to our coaching resources.

More notes:

• This episode is brought to you by HMMR Plus. Become a member for full access to our videos, articles, and podcast archives. This month's theme is coaching excellence, with a look at what makes top coaches stand out and how coaches can get better.
• For more ideas on Olympic lifting teaching progressions, listen to the recent Episode 243 with former USA Weightlifting director of coaching education Michael Conroy. Ideas on programming can be heard from Wil Fleming on Episode 236, who also has some free programs available on his site.
• We have some resources on the site from a few of the coaches we'd like to sit down and talk with: Dave Dumble, John Pryor, Angus Ross, and Jüri Tamm.
• You can hear us answer more Q&A on Episode 241, Episode 213, Episode 199, Episode 176, Episode 174, Episode 143, Episode 126 and Episode 89.

Anatoliy Bondarchuk's success record as a coach can match any coach from any sport. The former hammer throw world record holder and Olympic champion has coached dozens of Olympic medalists over five decades. What is the key to his success? On this week's podcast six of his former athletes get back together to discuss their first impressions of the coach, what made him so successful, and the role of language in coaching.

For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2021/04/hmmr-podcast-episode-245-the-bondarchuk-reunion-special/

» Support the show: join HMMR PLUS to get full access to our coaching resources.

More notes:

• This episode is brought to you by HMMR Plus. Become a member for full access to our videos, articles, and podcast archives. This month's theme is coaching excellence, with a look at what makes top coaches stand out and how coaches can get better.
• Kibwé Johnson was previously a guest on Episode 14 and Episode 70. Jennifer Joyce was a guest on Episode 133 and Episode 217.
• You can follow all the guests on Instagram: Kibwé Johnson (@martillokibwe), Crystal Johnson (@the.conscious.queen), Jennifer Joyce (@coachjennjoyce), Adam Keenan (@adamkeenanthrows), and Michael Letterlough (@michaelleterlough).
• To learn more about Bondarchuk's training method, we have a simple introduction, as well video lesson detailing his approach. We also interviewed him in 2015.
• We've also written from our own experience about the language barrier in coaching, his own language of praise.

Look back at history and there are a lot of debates about strategies from sprint planning. PJ Vazel has meticulously researched centuries of training journals and joins this week's podcast to look at one historic debate in particular: should sprinters train long-to-short or short-to-long? Learn about what the nuances of history tell us, as well as some parallels in throws planning.

For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2021/03/hmmr-podcast-episode-244-sprint-strategies-with-pj-vazel/

» Support the show: join HMMR PLUS to get full access to our coaching resources.

More notes:

• This episode is brought to you by HMMR Plus. Become a member for full access to our videos, articles, and podcast archives. This month's theme is speed. Stay tuned for more content, including our new Soccer Speed video from Vern Gambetta.
• The interview from Vazel was taken from our new Video Lesson 27. HMMR Plus members can access the full 66-minute video covering a variety of topics on speed training.
• PJ Vazel was also a guest on HMMR Podcast 234 where he shared his experiences in starting to coach the hammer throw and lessons learned from sprinting. We also spoke about anti-doping on HMMR Podcast 61.
• You can learn more about Vazel on Instagram (@pjvazel) and Twitter (@pjvazel).
• For more about the history of training Video Lesson 3 look at broader trends in training and periodization. We also discussed the long-to-short debate in our interview Gary Winckler.
• Our top sprinting resources are summarized on our topic page. We give a good overview of basic sprinting drills in Video Lesson 6 with Joe McNab and GAIN Video 8 with Vern Gambetta.

Develop competent, confident, and effective coaches, and then competent, confident, and effective athletes will follow. As a director of coaching education at USA Weightlifting, Michael Conroy's mandate didn't just need to teach coaches about technique, he needed them to learn how to program creatively. On this week's episode he walks us through the scaffolding of programming and the key elements all good programs in any sport should contain.

For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2021/03/hmmr-podcast-episode-243-learning-to-program-with-michael-conroy/

» Support the show: join HMMR PLUS to get full access to our coaching resources.

More notes:

• This episode is brought to you by HMMR Plus. Become a member for full access to our videos, articles, and podcast archives.
• On our last Episode 242, Nick explained the influence of Conroy's programming, the basic outline, and how he has integrated it into his own planning at Notre Dame High School.
• You can get in touch with Conroy and learn more about his facility on the Crown Performance webpage.
• The topic of how Olympic lifting fits into the training of non-lifters has been a topic we’ve addressed on numerous occasions on this site. In particular, check out the multi-part roundtable discussion we had with weightlifting coaches. We also covered weightlifting with Matt Foreman on Episode 82 and with Wil Fleming on  Episode 147 and Episode 236.
• USA Weightlifting CEO Phil Andrews was also a guest on GAINcast 162.
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Creating your own program takes a lot of leg work. It isn't just about adapting a template to your situation; it is about seeking out influences and inspiration from numerous sources and making them your own. On this week's episode we dive into the program at Notre Dame High School by analyzing some of the foundational influences and how they have been adapted, as well as important elements done on the periphery.  

For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2021/02/hmmr-podcast-episode-242-the-influencers/

» Support the show: join HMMR PLUS to get full access to our coaching resources.

More notes:

• This episode is brought to you by HMMR Plus. This month's site theme is microdosing, and we've got plenty of new articles, videos, and podcasts about how to get the most out of short training sessions. Become a member for full access to our videos, articles, and podcast archives.
• The full presentation from Nick was available as part of the GAIN Master Class series. Subscribers can watch the replay here.
• More on Nick's programming is also available in the HMMR Classroom, such as videos of his warmups, medicine ball routines, and multi-jumps. He also details his foundational phase, modular approach, and much more in his numerous articles on HMMR Media.
• On last week's GAINcast 209, Nick also shared an example of how he utilizes a variation of the 1x20 program for his basketball players.
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It's time to open the listener mailbag again. A few times a year we solicit listener questions and take them on air. This time, the format is a little different. Recently we've been getting a lot of great questions from Boston University's Grant Cartwright. So we invited him on to help us answer some questions, ask a few of his own, and talk about the major influences on his coaching.

For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2021/02/hmmr-podcast-episode-241-the-mailbag-with-grant-cartwright/

» Support the show: join HMMR PLUS to get full access to our coaching resources.

More notes:

• This episode is brought to you by HMMR Plus. This month's site theme is microdosing, and we've got plenty of new articles, videos, and podcasts about how to get the most out of short training sessions. Become a member for full access to our videos, articles, and podcast archives.
• You can learn more from Cartwright on Twitter (@gwcartwright) on Instagram (@gantcartwright). You can also follow his squad on Instagram (@terrierthrows).
• Cartwright's former coach Jerry Clayton was a guest on GAINcast 86.
• Several of the topics we covered today were looked at in more detail in the HMMR Classroom. Video Lesson 1 looks at Bondarchuk programming. Video lesson 16 shares René Sack's approach to specific strength training and planning. Alternative approaches to leg strength were also covered in GAIN Video 11.
• You can hear us answer more Q&A on Episode 213, Episode 199, Episode 176, Episode 174, Episode 143, Episode 126 and Episode 89.

When it comes to mobility, Kelly Starrett is the man. The topic was almost taboo when he starting teaching the CrossFit community about it. Now he's working with elite athletes and teams in nearly every sport around the world. On this week's podcast he joins us to talk about how we need to reframe the conversation around mobility and rethink youth development.

For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2021/01/hmmr-podcast-episode-240-the-mobility-man-with-kelly-starrett/

» Support the show: join HMMR PLUS to get full access to our coaching resources.

More notes:

• This episode is brought to you by HMMR Plus. This month's site theme is mobility, and we've got plenty of new articles, videos, and podcasts on the topic. Become a member for full access to our videos, articles, and podcast archives.
• You can learn more from Starrett on Instagram (@thereadystate), Twitter (@thereadystate).
• The Ready State offers free trial membership on their website, as well as a great podcast.
• Starrett is the author of several books, including Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance, Deskbound: Standing Up to a Sitting World, and Ready to Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Naturally.
• Two of our HMMR Classroom videos look in depth at training mobility: Lesson 24: Mobility sets with Steve Myrland and Joe Przytula and GAIN Video 1: Sticks and straps with Steve Myrland.
• Some new articles last week also looked further at mobility: What’s in a word: why we need to think beyond flexibility and mobility by Steve Myrland and What I think about when I think about mobility by Martin Bingisser.