MOPs & MOEs

In this episode we're discussing endurance training with an extremely qualified guest with a world class competitive ultra marathon resume.

Alyssa Clark is a professional mountain runner, coach, podcast host and training plans director for Uphill Athlete. As a military spouse, running and coaching have been the constants she can bring with her no matter the duty station. She is also a multisport athlete with pursuits in winter adventures including large mountain link-ups through ski mountaineering, Alpinism, and ice climbing with her husband, Codi who is active duty Navy. Alyssa and Codi currently reside in San Diego, CA with their two Italian cats named Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute.

To get an idea of the level of competitor she is in ultra running, here are a few of her race performances:

1st female finisher at Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 2023
1st female finisher at HURT 100 2023
1st female finisher at Moab 240 Race 2022
Ran 95 marathons in 95 days in 2020
FKT on the 350-mile Pinhoti Trail
Ouray 100-mile women's winner in 2021

And since recording, she also won the UTMB Puerto Vallarta 100k through Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountains, qualifying her for the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB).

You can find her on Instagram @theory_in_motion

We mentioned Uphill Athlete's recent podcast about fasted training, you can find it here.

In our episode with LTG Gilland we mentioned Shawn "Big Tires Rollin" Robertson as a future guest, and now he's here! Shawn is a paragon of fitness (consistent ACFT 600s, 2nd place in the European bodybuilding championship) who is also passionate about organizational psychology. He joined us for this conversation about the role of fitness in leader development and how leaders can enhance the performance culture of their organizations.

MAJ Shawn Robertson is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. He is married to his lovely wife, Maj Jordan Robertson (USAF) and they have three sons – Ezekiel (6), Ishvi (4), and Zachariah (2). Shawn was enlisted as an 88M before commissioning via the Green to Gold program through the University of Hawaii where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology. MAJ Robertson also holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University and a Master of Arts in Defense and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.

Upon completion of the Military Intelligence Basic Officer Leaders Course, he was assigned to the 173RD Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) at Vicenza, Italy. While there, he served as the Assistant Battalion Intelligence Officer for the 1st Battalion, 503RD Infantry Regiment (Airborne), HUMINT and SIGINT Platoon Leader in the Military Intelligence Company, and deployed with 1ST Battalion, 75TH Ranger Regiment as an individual augmentee in support of Operation Freedom Sentinel in Afghanistan, serving as one of the Deputy J2s.

Following attendance at the Infantry Captain’s Career Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, and the Signals Intelligence/Electronic Warfare course at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, MAJ Robertson was assigned to the National Security Agency, where he served as the Technical Production Operations Officer in the Army Technical Control and Analysis Element, and as the Bravo Company Commander, leading the National Security Agency’s Special Operations Detachment in support of combat operations.

In our episode with LTG Gilland a few weeks ago we mentioned Shawn "Big Tires Rollin'" Robertson as a future guest, and now he's here! Shawn is passionate about organizational psychology and developing leaders, but he's also incredibly fit (consistent ACFT 600s, 2nd place in the European bodybuilding championship). He joined us in this conversation to discuss how fitness fits into leadership development, and how leaders can improve the performance culture in their organizations.

After completion of graduate school and the United States Military Academy’s (USMA) Eisenhower Leader Development Program, MAJ Robertson served as the Tactical Officer for a Cadet Company, where he focused on leadership and character development. MAJ Robertson also served as the Aide-de-Camp for the Commanding General and Superintendent of USMA. MAJ Robertson is now serving as a Commander in the United States Army Special Operations Command.

In this episode we're diving into the fundamentals of how to get strong, and our guest is one of the best in the game at taking novices to pretty serious levels of strength.

Andy Baker began his career in the strength & conditioning industry in 2001, as an intern while attending Texas A&M University. Like many people in the early 2000s he witnessed 9/11 and thought exercise science lectures might not be exactly where he needed to be, so in 2003, he stepped away from college and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served multiple combat tours in Iraq between 2003-2007. While serving on active duty he continued to coach clients and finished his undergraduate degree in Health & Sport Science from American Military University.

In 2007, he opened the doors to Kingwood Strength & Conditioning (now Baker Personal Training) and he has served as the owner and lead trainer for the past 16 years! His clients range from Division I college athletes to people in their 80s!

As you'll hear in the episode he's been extensively involved in Starting Strength working with Mark Rippetoe, including co-authoring the current edition of Practical Programming for Strength Training and the Barbell Prescription. He has also competed as a Raw and Drug-Free Powerlifter with the Natural Athlete Strength Association. In 2010, I won the N.A.S.A. Grand Nationals in the 198 lb raw division. My winning total included a 529 lb Squat, 380 lb Bench Press, and 562 lb Deadlift.

We didn't work it into today's discussion, but his rebrand from strength and conditioning to personal training has also involved a refocus on older adults and strength training for longevity. As that space grows, he has made some really important contributions to that expanding part of the fitness industry.

To prepare for this episode we challenged each other to bring our top three fitness tests from any military around the world. Globally there are a wide variety of approaches, from extremely simple to extremely complex.

A few of the ones we chose have been previously mentioned on the podcast (or on our social media) but others we've never discussed before.

We also have a few honorable mentions, including one that isn't from the military at all, but that everyone who is passionate about the history of physical culture should be familiar with.

Down the road we might use pieces of these for some audience challenges, so hopefully you've been training!

After two years of waiting, the Pose Method episode is finally here! You've asked what we think of it, here are our answers.

Pose Method® is a proprietary method for coaching running technique developed by Dr. Nichloas Romanov in 1977 in the former Soviet Union. Pose clinics have been taught around the Army since 2009 and the newest version of FM 7-22 put Pose into official Army doctrine.

In this episode we break down a few key questions:

What is the Pose Method?

Does the Pose Method work?

How did the Pose Method end up in Army doctrine?

We are joined in this conversation by Dr. Nick Barringer, who co-authored Gravitational Running and the Tactical Athlete, which analyzed the evidence for Pose Method, among other similar techniques.

You can find Pose Method's content on their website and their military-specific website. They also have a YouTube channel called Pose TV that includes a military section featuring numerous endorsements from Army leaders.

Some of the research mentioned in the episode:

Effect of a global alteration of running technique on kinematics and economy (co-authored by Dr. Romanov, who led the training intervention)

A Review of Mechanics and Injury Trends Among Various Running Styles (authored by Army researchers)

Thinking about your running movement makes you less efficient: attentional focus effects on running economy and kinematics

Smoothness: an Unexplored Window into Coordinated Running Proficiency (we didn't actually talk about this one, but even though he can't describe the findings, Drew is annoying about it so it's in the show notes)

We've been talking about having Ray on the podcast for over a year now. He brings a unique perspective as a former infantry Marine NCO turned strength and conditioning coach. And more importantly, he always focuses his insight on the real issues. The military human performance space is more about building the right culture than dialing in the Xs and Os of workouts, and he clearly knows that.

Ramon “Ray” Cossio is a 12-year veteran of the Marine Corps, where he served as an infantry squad leader, platoon sergeant, and martial arts-instructor trainer. During his time in service, he deployed to Afghanistan in 2005 and participated in operation Red Wings, Iraq in 2006 during the “Surge”, and once again Afghanistan in 2011 to Sangin, Helmand Province. For his service Mr. Cossio was awarded two Combat Action Ribbons, three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and a Bronze Star with "V."

Following his time in the Marine Corps he received his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from the University of Houston where he participated in internships with the UH sports performance and the Texas Obesity Research Clinic. He then went on to earn his master’s degree in Kinesiology from the University of Texas where he conducted research on e-cigarettes’ effect on blood vessel and was member of the Cardiovascular and Aging Laboratory.

His professional experience has included roles as a coach, programmer, and operations manager for private “multimodal” gyms Austin and Houston, TX. In 2018 he began working as a contracted strength and conditioning coach for the Army’s H2F-Lite program where he had the privilege of working with 40 th BEB, 2-37 AR, and 1AD DSB.

Following his time as a coach Mr. Cossio was hired in 2021 as the 11th ADA H2F Program Director, and he continues in that role today.

It has been a long time, but we're back with another "101" episode. This time we're breaking down the considerations involved in assembling a week of hybrid training.

If you're in the military, you're already doing hybrid training whether you call it that or not. Frankly, just meeting global health guidelines for physical activity amounts to hybrid training. Every health authority agrees: both cardiovascular and resistance exercise are vital to overall health.

But trying to push both to high levels introduces some complexity. That's what we're here to help with.

Some key topics we cover include the interference effect, consolidation of stressors, and building assessments into training.

We did a contracting episode a few weeks ago where we aired out a few grievances mostly focused on how strength and conditioning coaches in contracted roles with the military are treated. In that conversation we acknowledged that we have limited experience with contracting, and we were open to having an expert come on and set the record straight. 

As it happens, this week’s guest is exactly the kind of expert we were looking for.

Chris Larkin is LMR Technical Group CEO and Cofounder and his background covers enlisted and officer service in Air Force Special Warfare and extensive involvement in military human performance in multiple different roles.

Chris spent 28 years total in the Air Force as an enlisted Combat Controller and Special Tactics Officer, starting to advocate for military human performance initiatives even before commissioning.

He served as the first Squadron Commander at the Special Tactics Training Squadron and helped establish the Combat Athlete Program (which pre-dated SOCOM POTFF) working with AF Research Lab and USAFA Human Performance Lab.

He had HPO specific facilities built at the STTS and 23 Special Tactics Squadron – some of the first built in the DoD and even ran one of the first ever Human Performance Symposiums (bringing in industry, academia, and other military units to help solve HPO problems). He wrote his thesis at the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) on “Combat Fitness a Concept Vital to National Defense” and was an Operational Squadron commander when POTFF came to AFSOC and even deployed HPO staff into Afghanistan to expedite the recovery process.

His credentials include a bachelors in Exercise Science, Master Fitness Trainer, ACSM Exercise Leader, and USA Triathlon Coach.

He's also an accomplished athlete in his own right. He ran Division 1 Cross Country and Southwest Texas State University. He has represented the Air Force in downhill skiing, triathlon, pentathlon, and Ironman - including 3 Ironman finishes. And he has 3,000 parachute jumps – including numerous demonstrations at events including NFL, MLB, NASCAR.

Dr. Chris Frueh is back for his second appearance on the pod! If you missed our previous conversation with him we dove into the dysfunction at the VA, with particular emphasis on the disability system.

Dr. Chris Frueh, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii-Hilo. He has over thirty years of professional experience working with military veterans and active-duty personnel, and has conducted clinical trials, epidemiology, historical, and neuroscience research. He has co-authored over 300 scientific publications, including a graduate textbook on adult psychopathology.

Recently his work has been intensely focused on a phenomenon called "operator syndrome," a set of complex, interrelated medical-psychological injuries faced by military special operators. This is interwoven with the concept of high allostatic load, but with a particular focus on the types of stresses and exposures unique to the military and combat.

Chris' book released just a few months ago, you can pick up a copy here!

If you're not ready for the full book but still want to learn more about the topic, Chris published this article in the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine laying out the Operator Syndrome phenomenon.

A few weeks ago we got the news that Congress was considering directing the military to investigate the potential for adding creatine to MREs. This spurred a lot of discussion on creatine's effectiveness and dosing strategies, and to really get to the bottom of that we needed an expert. Our guest this week is so much of an expert that he is often referred to as "Dr. Creatine."

Scott Forbes is an associate professor in the Department of Physical Education Studies at Brandon University in Manitoba, Canada, and an adjunct professor in the faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies at the University of Regina in Canada. Dr. Forbes is a certified sports nutritionist through the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) and a clinical exercise physiologist and high-performance specialist through the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP). Dr. Forbes has published over 110 peer-reviewed manuscripts and five book chapters. His research examines various nutritional (e.g., creatine and protein) and exercise interventions to enhance muscle, bone, and brain function in multiple populations, including athletes and aging adults.

Bachelors (Kinesiology): University of Saskatchewan
Masters (Kinesiology): University of Saskatchewan
Ph.D. (Physical Education and Recreation): University of Alberta
Post-Doctoral Fellowship (Faculty of Medicine): University of Calgary
International Olympic Committee diploma in Sport Nutrition

A large portion of the content for this episode was based on his publication "Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show?"