Just Fly Performance Podcast

Today’s podcast is with Eamonn Flanagan. Eamonn Flanagan is the Lead Strength & Conditioning Consultant at the Sport Ireland Institute, where he oversees strength and conditioning support for Ireland’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes. He holds a Ph.D. in Sports Biomechanics and spent over a decade in professional rugby, working with the Scottish Rugby Union, Edinburgh Rugby, and the Irish Rugby Football Union. Eamonn appeared on episode #250 and has just created a new course on plyometrics in conjunction with Sportsmith

Training methods such as extensive plyometrics and reactive strength testing have become more common in training team sports. At the same time, it’s easy to lose sight of the whole in athlete development when chasing plyometric variables too far.

On today’s show, Eamonn explores the application of plyometric training, including the impact of surface type on performance, the Reactive Strength Index's role in assessment, and strategies for optimizing reactive strength. We also cover plyometric intensity, using extensive plyometric methods, and tailoring programs to individual needs, concluding with balanced approaches to training and performance.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com

For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com

More show notes at https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-445/

Today’s podcast is with Cal Dietz and Mike T Nelson, authors of Triphasic Training II. Today's podcast features Cal Dietz, of the University of Minnesota and co-author of Triphasic Training, and Dr. Mike T. Nelson, a leading expert in exercise physiology, neurological training concepts, and metabolic flexibility.

Sports performance is like a tree in many respects. It starts with standard strength training methods, then branches out and integrates varying aspects of total human performance. From the period between the original Triphasic Training to Triphasic Training II, Cal has worked through many aspects of athletic performance, interconnecting physiology and neurology. Mike’s work spans many interconnected aspects of human performance, and compliments Cal’s work with physiological underpinnings.

On today’s podcast, Cal and Mike share insights from their new book, Triphasic Training II, focusing on optimizing human performance for athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike. Primary topics in this episode will be practical neurological training concepts, the origin and evolution of the GOAT drill, evolving warmups and training integrations, athletic capacity building, oscillatory training, and much more.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Lila Exogen.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com

For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com

Today’s podcast is a Q&A episode with Joel Smith. Topics include the role of roughhousing games for individual sport athletes, sandbag training, and rhythm-cadence in movement. Joel explores youth sports trends, breaking jump plateaus, and the benefits of flywheel loading. He also covers infrasternal angle training, rotating speed and plyometric days, and integrating team play with weekly speed work. This, plus, a discussion on the value of band resistance in sports training rounds out this comprehensive conversation on optimizing athletic performance.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com

Today’s podcast features Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus. Bill Hartman. Bill Hartman is a physical therapist and in-demand educator with his modern approach to human mechanics and training. Chris Wicus is a health and performance professional with 15 years of experience, a former professional ultimate frisbee player, and a 2nd-degree black belt in karate. He has coached a wide variety of athletes across 17 sports and has been mentored by many top experts in the field.

Bill and Chris host the “Reconsider” podcast together and speak on various cutting-edge approaches to human movement in a way that prompts thinking on existing processes in the field, and how to move forward with current understandings of training and biomechanics.

One key link between on-field performance and weight room training is the dynamics of propulsion through the gait cycle. Bill and Chris often use the example of cutting mechanics—going into and out of a cut—which applies to sprinting, jumping, throwing, strength training, and directional changes, highlighting human movement as a series of turns, rotations, and gait phases.

Today's podcast dives into the dynamics of propulsion and the gait cycle, linking field performance with weight room training. Bill and Chris explore "into and out of the cut" mechanics as they apply to sprinting, jumping, throwing, strength training, and directional changes. They compare change of direction to acceleration and top-end speed while discussing propulsion's impact on breathing, reciprocal motion, orientation, performance, and injury prevention. This was a truly illuminating episode and one that garners numerous notes and insights.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com

For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com

Today’s podcast features David Grey. David is the founder of David Grey Rehab, where he works with clients from all walks of life. David’s specialty is assessing his clients' gait cycle in depth to develop a plan to help restore the movement or movements they struggle to perform.  David has learned under many great mentors in the world of human movement, athletic development, gymnastics, Chinese martial arts, and biomechanics, and is an expansive thinker, blending many elements of human movement together in a down-to-earth way we can all resonate with.

Although there are some differences between rehabilitation and performance strength and power training for athletes, there are also a lot of similarities and connections. The more we can understand good training from both worlds, the more effective our programming and outcomes can be.

On today’s episode, David speaks on various aspects of foot training, along with both targeted and overcoming isometric adaptations. He also gets into concepts of loading and intensity in the rehab space, and what tends to be missing from many rehab programs. David covers this and much more in this practical and informative episode.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com

TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com

Today’s podcast features Katie St. Clair. Katie St. Clair is a seasoned strength coach, educator, and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the fitness industry. She is the founder of Empowered Performance, a program and academy designed to elevate the standards of coaching through an in-depth understanding of biomechanics, anatomy, respiration, and creative thinking. Katie's work focuses on empowering other coaches and movement professionals to create transformative experiences for their clients by fostering a love of movement.

The human body is a highly intricate system, with countless ways to approach its training—whether focusing on mechanics, mental aspects, muscles, or connective tissues. Every part is interconnected, with systems and joints working harmoniously to create movement.

In today’s episode, Katie delves into training patterns centered around the feet and hips, as well as the exploratory process she uses to deepen her understanding of movement and training strategies. She highlights the significance of understanding connective tissue behavior and its foundational role in performance programs. Additionally, Katie discusses the importance of incorporating ballistic and athletic movements into programming for all types of individuals, alongside other key principles of human performance.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com

TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com

Today’s podcast features Eric Guthrie, Director of Strength and Conditioning at George Washington University. Eric has over a decade of experience in sports performance, working with a wide range of sports. He currently works directly with lacrosse and gymnastics. A graduate of the University of Iowa with a degree in Health & Human Physiology, Eric was a standout punter for the Hawkeyes, where he served as a permanent team captain and even earned an opportunity with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Play-based training is on the rise in athletic development, and for good reason. It is a primal and effective way to deliver, not only a high level of stimulation and salience (attention) to the session but also to create memorable and joyful experiences for the individual. The key with any tool is to understand how to use it in context, achieving a balanced and effective use.

On today’s episode, Eric digs into his keys in building movement challenges for athletes, using play for conditioning and movement qualities, and facilitating a program that continually scales into an athlete’s growing needs. He goes in-depth on how he chooses the degree of play and variability in a program, and how to build training with all parties in mind, sport coach, strength coach, and athlete. We also dig into some awesome mind, body, and environmental factors in training, conditioning, and performance. This was a practical and insightful podcast on one of the most powerful existing tools in athletic performance, the power of play.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com

TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com

Today’s podcast features Derek Hansen. Derek is a renowned International Sport Performance Consultant with over 35 years of experience working with athletes across all levels and disciplines in speed, strength, and power sports. Derek started in Track and Field and continued in sports performance to work with numerous athletes in the NFL, NBA, MLS, and NHL, along with Olympic medalists. As the former Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Simon Fraser University—NCAA's first non-U.S. member—Derek now specializes in speed development, performance planning, and return-to-competition protocols.

If we zoom out and scan decades of fitness and human performance, we see methods go in, and out of style. In our current realm of athletics, we have put speed and power outputs heavily under the microscope, while energy system development and aerobic training have been played down (along with general physical education and physical competencies in young athletes). In looking at injury rates and longevity of athletes, it’s important to take a look at where we may be pushing too far, and where gaps need to be filled.

On today’s episode, Derek covers the pendulum swing, and the importance of aerobic development, even in speed and power-seeking athletes. He also gets into the modern direction of acceleration training, as team sport training has moved into heavier resisted training protocols, relative to the past. Derek also touches on the artful side of training and coaching, mindfulness, overspeed sprint training, simplicity of programming application, and much more.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com

TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com.

Today’s podcast features sports performance coach, Vern Gambetta, owner of Gambetta Training Systems. Vern is a globally respected leader in sports performance training, with over five decades of experience in coaching and consulting across multiple sports. Gambetta has profoundly influenced the field of athletic development, and his innovative approaches to functional movement, strength training, and sport-specific conditioning have shaped the practices of coaches, trainers, and athletes worldwide.

It's interesting to think of the idea of “nothing new under the sun”, in physical training. Vern has been through half a century of training means and methods, using methods both popular and forgotten. So often in our own training and coaching journies, we look back and think “That was a great training series, I should do that again”!

In this episode, Vern speaks on complex training (although as he mentions, he just calls it training), getting into spectrum training, and the evolution of his leg circuits. He talks about his history with isometric training, along with PNF concepts that are highly effective, but forgotten by many performance coaches. He also gets into priming and potentiation, rhythmic aspects in training, looking at training transfer through the lens of track and field, and much more in today’s episode.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com

TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com

Today’s podcast features speed coach, Cody Bidlow. Cody is a track sprints coach, athlete, and founder of Athlete X and SprintingWorkouts.com. He has been a head track & field coach at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, AZ, and a coach at EliteU working with NFL combine prep athletes. An all-conference sprinter for Grand Canyon University, Cody has been a personal coach for professional MLB athletes, track athletes, and consults for coaches around the world.

To sprint fast takes an immense amount of effort and focus. To sprint one’s fastest in their early 30s takes a deep understanding of the training process and individual factors that account for top performance.

On today’s episode, Cody speaks on speed training in regards to his current sprinting personal bests at age 32, and how he has dialed his training in this recent year. We speak on many aspects of training on the level of intensity, essentialism, workout regulation, resisted sprinting, complex training, and much more.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com

TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com