LEO Training: Strength & Conditioning | Endurance | Health | Performance | Injury Prevention | Joe DeLeo

US Rowing Men's Head Coach and Olympic Gold Medalist is this week's guest on the LEO Training Podcast. Bryan Volpenhein is a three-time Olympian and 2004 gold medalist in the men's eight. He is responsible for the men's high performance sweep squad and works to develop, select and prepare the team for international competition.

In this interview Bryan and I discuss rowing from multiple angles - both that of an athlete and a coach. This is a fascinating look into the spectrum of his experience as a collegiate walk on to Olympic Champion.

Here is what you will learn in this episode:

• How Bryan got started with rowing at The Ohio State University
• Club Rowing Teams and how they are different
• Transitioning onto the National Team
• Discussing the elimination of freshmen rowing and the impact on the sport
• Individualized Training in a Team Environment
• Why Communication is one of the most important elements to coaching
• Having patience and not setting barriers for yourself and how this relates to performance
• Food!
• 4 things everyone should know how to do when cooking.
• and much more!

• How to Cook Everything
• Bryan Volpenhein

In episode 057 I sit down with authors Dr. Anders Ericsson and Dr. Robert Pool to discuss their book Peak. Let me tell you a little bit more about both of them.

Dr. Anders Ericsson is a Conradi Eminent Scholar and Professor of Psychology at Florida State University who is internationally recognized as the world's reigning expert of expertise. His research focus on the psychological nature of expertise and human performance.

Ericsson has studied expert performance in domains such as medicine, music, chess, and sports, focusing exclusively on extended deliberate practice (e.g., high concentration practice beyond one's comfort zone) as a means of how expert performers acquire their superior performance.

Dr. Robert Pool combined his history, physics, and mathematics degrees with his love of writing to successfully transition from mathematics professor to renowned science, technology, and medical writer. He has taught science writing at Johns Hopkins University and has worked as a writer and editor at the world's two most prestigious science publications -- Science and Nature -- and hundreds of his works have been published in the top publications in a variety of fields, publications that include Discover, New Scientist, Science, Nature, Technology Review, Forbes ASAP, Think Research, The Washington Post, FSU Research in Review, MIT Technology Review, and so on.

This interview is about much more than their book though! We go deep into skill acquisition and how we all have the ability progress through deliberate practice. Here's what you will learn in this interview:

• Introduction & Background of Dr. Ericsson and Dr. Pool
• What is practice?
• What are the 3 types of practice?
• Why talent and natural ability are not the determining factor for high performance
• How to achieve a high level of expertise by utilizing deliberate practice
• Malcolm Gladwell and Outliers
• Clearing up confusion about the "10,000 hour rule" and what does it really mean?
• How a coach or layperson can break down a skill into actionable steps to improve their performance
• Peak - The Book
• and much more!

• K. Anders Ericsson (Wikipedia Profile)
• Peak the Book
• Malcolm Gladwell
• "Getting the Most out of one's self"

John Harrison has an amazing story to share and I was thrilled to have him on my podcast. He is a father of four children. By the time John turned 30 years old he was over 300 pounds. At 41 he is now at 200 pounds. John lost well over 60 pounds through unconventional training methods including kettlebell training, mace swinging, sandbags and others.

John is an SFG I through StrongFirst and a licensed massage therapist through the Pennsylvania Institute of Massage Therapy. John shares his road to health and fitness and how he has successfully lost his weight. He also shares his approach to working with his students and clients by incorporating the Functional Movement Screen, soft tissue work, and strength training to really provide a totally integrated approach.

Here is what you will learn in this episode:

• Intro/background
• Success with convention methods of weight loss (running, elliptical, etc.)
• How unconventional training methods of weight loss (kettlebell, mace, sandbag) made the difference.
• Journey from HKC to SFG and pursuing massage therapy
• Integrating FMS, massage therapy, and strength training into student's training sessions
• Rik Brown (Mr. Maceman)
• Don Giardafino
• and much more

• Mr. Maceman

Today's guest is a legend in the strength and conditioning community. Mark Reifkind has been training and coaching for 40 years! He has been an outstanding athlete in multiple sports including gymnastics, powerlifting, bodybuilding, ultra-running and is well known around the world in the kettlebell community.

Mark first started working with kettlebells in 1998 around the same time Pavel Tsatsouline is credited with bringing them to the west. He started the first kettlebell gym in the United States, Girya Strength in 2003. Mark has also rehabbed from some serious injuries including a complete knee replacement and shoulder injury during his gymnastics career.

Here is what you will learn in this exclusive interview:

• Mark's athletic background across multiple sports as both an athlete and coach
• His shoulder and knee injuries and how he rehabbed them
• His presentation on total knee replacement
• Sarcopenia - muscle mass loss as you age
• The Lost Art of Training
• Important bio-markers for strength and health as you age
• His return to StrongFirst
• and much more

• Girya Strength
• Body Maintenance Digital Product
• Lats: The Super Muscles Digital Product
• Mastering the Hardstyle Kettlebell Swing
• Mark's Presentation on Energy, Mobility, and Strength at the IHMC
• Mark's Presentation on a Total Knee Replacement | A Leg to Stand On

My guest this week is Dr. Bryan Mann. Dr. Bryan Mann is the Assistant Teaching Professor of Physical Therapy and was the Assistant Director of Strength & Conditioning at the University of Missouri from 2004 -2016. Dr. Bryan Mann has been competing in the sport of powerlifting since 1996. He has many powerlifting accolades to his name in raw, single-ply, and multi-ply lifting. He is a researcher and author, having written several research publications dealing with training in Division 1 athletics, specifically football. He has written three books, most notably the Complete Guide to Powerlifting for Human Kinetics with co-author Dan Austin.

Here's what you will learn in this episode:

• Dr. Bryan Mann's background in strength & conditioning
• Why stress is a syndrome
• Social media as a stress
• How to program for a few hundred athletes
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
• "Dont confuse highly trained with genetically endowed."
• Cal Dietz
• Velocity Training
• and much more

• Dr. Bryan Mann (University of Missouri)
• Bryan Mann articles on Elite FTS
• Bryan Mann (Twitter)
• Stress and Social Support — How Can You Help Your Athletes?
• The Dying Art of Strength & Conditioning
• How to Know if you should be using VBT

My guest for Epsiode 053 of the LEO Training Podcast is Dr. Kenneth Jay. Dr. Kenneth Jay is the author of the Cardio Code. Kenneth is from Denmark, and is the author of several books including the Viking Warrior Conditioning, a scientific approach to forging a heart of elastic steel, and the applications of the theory behind proper VO2max training. He works with athletes of all ages and demographics and teaches his Cardio Code Seminar around the world! Here is what you will learn in this episode:

• Dr. Kenneth Jay's background in health and fitness
• His PhD work
• The Cardio Code
• Keyboard athletes
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Weight training is not cardiovascular training
• Why having a high heart rate is not cardiovascular training
• Heart Morphology
• The energy system does not determine if an activity is cardiovascular it's the activity at hand
• and much more!

• The Cardio Code (Website)
• The Cardio (Book)
• The Cardio Code (Facebook)
• Dr. Kenneth Jay (Facebook)
• Dr. Kenneth Jay (Instagram)
• Danish National Dish
• A Brief History of Time
• The Gift of Fear
• Vander's Human Physiology
• Stephen Hawking
• Tony Blauer
• Martin Seliman
• Robert Sapolsky
• Dr. Frederik Carrick

In Episode 052 of the LEO Training Podcast I interview Jack Carlson. Jack is an entrepreneur and international coxswain. Jack is a three-time member of the United States rowing team and a World Championships bronze medalist; he has won at Henley Royal Regatta, the Head of the Charles Regatta, and Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. Jack has trained under coaches Henry Bailhache-Webb and Richard Spratley at Oxford Brookes Boat Club, a High Performance Centre for the British team and, along with Leander Club, one of Great Britain's two most successful rowing clubs. In North American competition and U.S. trials, Jack is proud to represent the New York Athletic Club - the spiritual home of elite amateur sport in the United States. In 2014 Jack published the book Rowing Blazers which is now available for sale.

Here is what you will learn in this episode:

• Jack's athletic background and education
• Rowing Blazers
• Row New York
• Comparison between US Collegiate System and rowing in the UK and US National Team
• Oxford Brookes
• The Boat Race
• Henley Royal Regatta
• and much more!

• Rowing Blazers (Facebook)
• Rowing Blazers (Instagram)
• Rowing Blazers (Website)
• Rowing Blazers (the book)
• Row New York
• Jack Carlson (Website)
• Jack Carlson (Wikipedia)

In Episode 051 of the LEO Training Podcast I sit down with Dr. Tim Simansky. Dr. Tim Simansky is an international lecturer, entrepreneur, strength coach, and sports chiropractor. He is most notably known for his involvement in the functional fitness community where he has made a niche in the rehabilitation, injury prevention and performance enhancement of functional fitness athletes.

Dr. Simansky has been a member of the CrossFit Games Athlete Services at both the Regional and Games level since 2012. He has acted as the East Regional co-director of Athlete Services since 2015.

Aside from his physical participation in CrossFit Dr. Simansky maintains a constant virtual presence as the founder of TheWODdoc.com. Through his involvement in WODdoc Dr. Simansky has been honored with the opportunity to lecture both nationally and internationally.

Here are some of the topics we discuss:

• Dr. Simansky's background and education
• How did WODDdoc get started?
• The most common injuries Dr. Simansky sees
• Common rowing injuries in crossfit
• Movement Summit & RockTape
• Pop up clinic in Kuwait
• The Injury Lottery
• "The only worthless knowledge, is the knowledge you don't share."
• Sara Hendershot, Rowficcient and rowing in Crossfit

• WODdoc.com
• WODdoc (Facebook)
• WODdoc (Instagram)
• Rowfficient
• Crossfit
• RockTape

This episode's guest is rowing coach Marlene Royle. As a competitor, Marlene has won major titles in sculling and sweep rowing including a US National Championship, a Collegiate National Championship, and a Head of the Charles title. She was awarded the Melissa Hale Spencer Award at the West Side Rowing Club of Buffalo in 1980 and the Beverly Jean Cook Award while on the Boston University Rowing Team in 1982. She also served as Boston University Crew's Varsity Women's Captain in 1985. In 2000, she set two world records on the Concept2 Indoor Rower. She is a registered occupational therapist, in addition to being educated in physiology, massage therapy, and strength training. Royle's publications include: Tip of the Blade: Notes on Rowing, Skillful Rowing, and Technical Drills for Sculling. Tech Tips is Marlene's column on the Craftsbury Sculling Center website and her column Training appears monthly in the international journal, Rowing News. Marlene was among the first coaches in the United States dedicated to masters rowing. For 20 years she coached at the Craftsbury Sculling Center and was the center's associate director from 2004-2006. From 2005-2009, Marlene was the head coach at the Florida Rowing Center. Currently she coaches at the Whistler Rowing Club, Florida Rowing Center, and offers camps and lessons by arrangement. Marlene is married to Russian author, Sasha Sokolov.

Here is what you will learn in this episode:

• Marlene's background and education and how this formed her foundation for teaching the rowing stroke.
• Why she has chosen to focus on the masters demographic
• Student of occupational therapy, massage therapy, physiology, and strength training
• The importance of posture in the rowing stroke and why is is the foundation toward transmitting power
• Hip hinge vs. spinal flexion
• Using the "diamond frame" | shoulder to oarlock and oar to rigger
• and much more

• Royle Row (website)
• Royle Row (Facebook)

In this podcast interview I speak with strength coach and owner/operator of Empowered Strength, John Odden. John spent the early part of his career working in a cardiac rehabilitation clinic and physical therapy clinic. John also endured some severe shoulder and neck injuries as well as scoliosis. As a result this shaped his approach to training for himself and for his students and clients.

Here is what you will learn in this episode:

• John's history and background
• Experience in cardiac rehab and physical therapy clinics
• What John incorporates into assessments and evaluations to get a more informed picture
• Ultimate Athleticism & Max Shank
• Why a breathing issue is a core issue
• Andrew Read's Beast Tamer
• Ian King
• Highland Games
• Charles Poliquin
• Loaded crawls are a staple in his training and why

• Empowered Strength (Website)
• Empowered Strength (Facebook)
• Empowered Strength (Instagram)
• Highland Games Portland