MOPs & MOEs

If you've spent any time learning about strength and conditioning you're almost certainly familiar with the "energy systems" framework. In this episode we're breaking down why the way these concepts are widely understood isn't supported by the evidence. And don't worry, we're not just here to criticize, we also explore an alternative model that's more up to date.

Evan Peikon is back for his second episode (if you missed his first, check it out here). He is a physiologist and bioscientist who focuses on human performance, including consulting for elite athletes and military special operations. He has a particular focus on understanding and monitoring how the body utilizes oxygen during exercise.

He the co-founder and lead physiologist at NNOXX, where he and his team developed the first and only wearable device to non-invasively measure muscle oxygenation (SmO2) and nitric oxide (NO) release from red blood cells in real-time.

If you're not familiar with the traditional energy systems model, I made this Instagram post about it in the early days of MOPs & MOEs.

You can even find this energy systems model on the Army's official page.

Evan cited three studies that collectively shatter the fundamental assumptions behind the traditional energy systems model, here are each of those studies:

The "glycogen shunt" in exercising muscle

Metabolic fluctuation during a muscle contraction cycle

Simultaneous in vivo measurements of HbO2 saturation and PCr kinetics after exercise in normal humans

This week's episode has a little bit of everything. The role of team sports in the military, lessons in leadership, how to stay injury free through a career in the infantry, and the challenges of balancing two careers and family responsibilities in a dual military marriage. Our guest has, on top of his successful Army career, played a key role in leading the All Army Rugby team to a decade of dominance in the Armed Forces Rugby Championship.

COL Nate Conkey is a current United States Army War College Fellow studying at Columbia University and most recently served as the Regimental Tactical Officer for the First Regiment of the United States Corps of Cadets at West Point, NY. He commissioned into the Infantry in 2000 after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He also holds a Master of Arts in Physical Education from Columbia University's Teacher's College.

COL Conkey’s infantry career has taken him from the 2nd infantry division at JBLM to the 101st at Ft Campbell to teaching at West Point’s Department of Physical Education to the 1st Cavalry Division at Ft Hood, back to JBLM for multiple field grade assignments and a stint as the 1st Corps Commander’s Liaison Officer to United States Army Pacific from Fort Shafter, Hawaii. He returned to JBLM as the Battalion Commander for 2-357 IN of 189th INF BDE, and then most recently served as the Professor of Military Science for Auburn University Army ROTC program in Auburn, AL. He has been selected as the next Commandant of the United States Military Academy Preparatory School beginning in Summer 2024.

COL Conkey's deployments include as a Rifle Company Commander to Kirkuk, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and as a Future Plans Officer with the 1st CAV DIV to Bagram, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

His list of awards is long, but highlights include the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, Ranger Tab, Airborne, Air Assault, Pathfinder, and both the Combat and Expert Infantryman's Badges. He was the Army’s Athlete of the Year in 2014.

He is married to COL Kate Conkey, an Academy Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership and they have three kids together.

If you want to read the article on navigating a career as a dual military couple by Nate and Kate Conkey, you can find it here.

You probably know him as "Sergeant Major of the Army Grinston" or simply "SMA," but these days he prefers Tony. After a tenure as the Army's senior Noncommissioned Officer marked by numerous big changes to how the Army approaches health and fitness, Tony is now setting off on a new career as the Director of Army Emergency Relief (AER), which provides grants, interest-free loans, and scholarships to help relieve financial distress for soldiers and their families.

Our conversation focused on a few of the hottest topics that he got involved in: the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F), and the state of Dining Facilities (DFACs - or "Warrior Restaurants" if you prefer) across the Army.

He was remarkably candid in this conversation, even revealing some of his biggest regrets from his time as SMA. Perhaps most importantly, he "officially" declared his stance on the leg tuck.

Tune in for an awesome conversation about what it takes to make change in an organization as large and diverse in the United States Army!

Want to train with us? One week free trial of our Long & Strong program is available now!

Mindfulness is a hot topic, but how many people even know what the term really means? To dive into it we have one of the world's foremost researchers on this topic. Ellen Langer has been researching mind-body unity for nearly half a century, and her work has influenced everything from behavioral economics to healthcare to positive psychology.

We've cited her work on numerous occasions before, most notably the chambermaid study, as well as several studies led by students from her lab. This work generally centers on how our beliefs influence how our bodies respond to things we might normally assume are strictly biologically mediated.

You'll hear quickly in this episode that we did not come to this conversation immediately agreeing on the applicability of mindfulness in all situations, but Dr. Langer presents compelling arguments for its advantages.

Ellen Langer was the first woman to be tenured in psychology at Harvard, where she is still professor of psychology. The recipient of three Distinguished Scientists awards, the Arthur W. Staats Award for Unifying Psychology, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Liberty Science Genius Award, Dr. Langer is the author of twelve books, including international bestseller Mindfulness, as well as The Power of Mindful Learning, Counterclockwise, and On Becoming an Artist.

Her trailblazing experiments in social psychology have earned inclusion in The New York Times Magazine's "Year in Ideas" issue. She is known worldwide as the "mother of mindfulness."

We discussed a large number of research studies in this episode, here are just a few of the most foundational and most frequently cited:

Mind-set matters: exercise and the placebo effect, better known as "The Chambermaid Study," is a classic that demonstrates how our mindset towards physical activity directly influences its health benefits.

Blood sugar level follows perceived time rather than actual time in people with type 2 diabetes is one of several Langer studies relying on rigged clocks to show how perceived time can be more influential than actual time, even on something as seemingly biological as blood sugar.

Mind over milkshakes: mindsets, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response shows that how we think about our food directly influences how it is digested and the nutritional value it provides.

On this episode we dive into an awesome study that was published recently. It digs into something we often talk about here: the huge gap between sports science research and the actual reality of coaching in the human performance space. Right after it came out we saw people from across the human performance space talking about it, so we knew it would make for a great discussion.

The author of the piece is Kechi Anyadike-Danes and our discussion was definitely enhanced because, in addition to his research work, Kechi is also passionate about training and coaching (especially weightlifting). This background puts him in an excellent position to address the ways human performance research (plus accreditation systems, education, etc.) is failing to address the realities of actual human performance coaching.

Kechi is a doctoral student at the German Sport University Cologne where I he has been looking at various aspects of athlete preparation and how coaches perceive various theories, concepts and strongly held beliefs that exist in the training literature. He has a particular interest in the reasons for divisions that seem to routinely exist between sports scientists and coaches regarding certain topics. His doctoral research is being supervised and helped by friend of the pod John Kiely from the University of Limerick and Lars Donath from the German Sport University Cologne.

Read Kechi's study: Coaches’ Perceptions of Factors Driving Training Adaptation: An International Survey

We mentioned the TED Talk "Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger?"

Listen to our previous episode with Kechi's research mentor John Kiely

For the final episode of our NASA series we're welcoming Judy Hayes, Chief Science Officer for NASA's Human Health and Performance Directorate. She joined Johnson Space Center (JSC) in 1984 as a research scientist in the Neurosciences Laboratory and established the JSC Exercise Physiology Laboratory in 1987. She was principle investigator on two Space Shuttle experiments studying the effects of microgravity on skeletal muscle performance in astronauts. During her career she managed the physiology laboratories, Reduced Gravity Programs, Space Medicine Project, and integration of biomedical research for the Space Shuttle, Russian Mir-Shuttle, and International Space Station programs. In addition to JSC, she managed NASA laboratories at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.

Judy earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Exercise Physiology from West Virginia University followed by a Master of Public Health degree in Occupational Health/Aerospace Medicine from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center. She completed a joint fellowship at The Royal College of Surgeons of England and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine supporting epidemiologic research in the development of clinical practice guidelines for the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. She has been awarded the NASA Silver Snoopy and WVU Outstanding Alumnus. She was inducted into the WVU Hall of Fame and the WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

The wealth of experience that Judy brings made this a great conversation about many of biggest physiological challenges that NASA faces trying to keep humans healthy during long duration space missions. Some of the topics we discussed were how NASA simulates space for research here on earth (everything from parabolic flight to underwater labs to long term isolation experiments), how they're adjusting their protocols for planned missions to the moon and Mars, and how they select and develop equipment solutions for use in space.

Commercial Destinations in Low Earth Orbit

E4D (European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Devices)

Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research (CIPHER)

Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA)

NASA Spinoff

Bone and Mineral Evaluation and Analysis (this involves scans every three years, including on retired astronauts)

Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS)

This episode is a continuation of last week's conversation, so if you missed it we highly encourage you to go back and start there. We have NASA's Astronaut Strength Conditioning and Rehabilitation (ASCR) team joining us, including Corey Twine (Strength and Conditioning Coach), Danielle Anderson (Physical Therapist), Bruce Nieschwitz (Athletic Trainer), and Christ Keeler (Athletic Trainer).

In the previous conversation we focused on pre-flight preparation for astronauts and we transitioned into the in-flight training they do to mitigate the effects of microgravity. This time we wrap up the in-flight conversation and transition into post-flight rehabilitation.

We discuss everything from how to do a dynamic warm up in space to the potential for things like wearables and blood flow restriction training in space. Like lasting time, we learn a lot about the fascinating challenges involved in keeping humans healthy and fit in space.

NASA makes a huge amount of their information publicly available, here are a few for those of you that want to dive deeper into some of the topics we discussed:

NASA has a dedicated page to highlight technology spinoffs that were developed for spaceflight but now benefit those of us here on earth. You can even find Bowflex on there!

The Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program (CLDP) is NASA's program to assist companies with developing commercial access to low earth orbit.

Astronaut flight assignment process⁠

⁠EVA (extravehicular activity/spacewalk) spacesuit⁠

⁠Human adaptation to spaceflight⁠ (if you search “exercise,” you’ll find quite a few references to how exercise is used as a countermeasure in spaceflight)

Welcome to episode 2 of our NASA series! This is the first of two conversations we had with the Astronaut Strength Conditioning and Rehabilitation (ASCR - pronounced "acer") team. Much like the interdisciplinary human performance teams supporting military organizations, we'll hear from a Strength and Conditioning Coach (Corey), two Athletic Trainers (Bruce and Christi), and a Physical Therapist (Danielle). And it doesn't stop there, you'll hear how they collaborate with a broad range of professionals to integrate human performance into spaceflight.

The challenges these folks are faced with on a daily basis are incredible. For example, no one can be using the exercise equipment when the space station needs to change altitude, or when a spacecraft is docking with the station. They're also responsible for teaching the astronauts to use the exercise equipment in zero gravity, including a resistance training machine that can be loaded up to 600lbs.

Bios for each of the team members are below, but first, here are some links to resources we mentioned during the conversation:

Astronaut flight assignment process

EVA (extravehicular activity/spacewalk) spacesuit

Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL)

Human adaptation to spaceflight (if you search “exercise,” you’ll find quite a few references to how exercise is used as a countermeasure in spaceflight)

Corey Twine is an ASCR Specialist at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) for KBR. Prior to this role, Corey served as a strength and conditioning coach for the Army Special Forces as a part of the POTFF contract at KBR. He also supported astronauts during the shuttle era, acting as the primary ASCR for several shuttle missions, including STS 114 "Return to Flight" in 2005. Since returning to KBR in 2018, Mr. Twine has worked extensively on projects spanning the design and implementation of mission-specific strength and conditioning programs for individuals in obscure environments.

Major Danielle Anderson is a Physical Therapist currently assigned to Johnson Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. She delivers a spectrum of neuromusculoskeletal care preparing and supporting both U.S and International Astronauts for long duration space flight aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Additionally, she provides consultation and management recommendations to Crew and Deputy Crew Flight Surgeons. She serves as the Air Force's liaison to the Military Musculoskeletal residency, a tri-service one-year Physical Therapy residency, where she oversees admittance, regional instruction, and successful program completion of Air Force, Army and Navy Physical Therapists.

Christi Keeler is an ASCR at NASA Johnson Space Center for KBR's Government Solutions U.S. Science and Space Business Unit. Prior to this role, she worked in several orthopedic settings and in organ and tissue procurement. Since joining KBR in 2022, Mrs. Keeler has worked extensively supporting the neuromuscular care program by evaluating, treating and rehabilitating injuries for both U.S. and international astronauts for long duration spaceflight aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Her role also includes servicing crew by instructing mobility classes, completing functional fitness evaluations, and training on spaceflight Advanced Resistance Exercise Device (ARED).

Bruce Nieschwitz is an ASCR for KBR at NASA-JSC. Bruce's primary role is to provide comprehensive strength and conditioning, physical medicine, and rehabilitation services for pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight to active astronauts. Since Bruce began at KBR in 2006, he has served as the primary ASCR assigned to numerous shuttle and ISS missions. He also provides perspective, serving as a subject matter expert for designing and using exercise hardware for spaceflight. He is a board-certified and Licensed Athletic Trainer earning his B.S. from Kent State University and was a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer at Mankato State University.

Welcome to the first episode of our four part series with NASA, focusing on how they approach human performance for the unique demands of spaceflight. We're starting with an astronaut and in the rest of the series we'll be talking with the human performance and research teams who support them. Stay tuned!

Colonel (retired) Shane Kimbrough is a 1989 West Point graduate where he was captain of the baseball team. He was commissioned as an aviation officer and flew Apaches, including in Desert Storm. He got his Masters of Science degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1998, and headed back to West Point to teach in the math department. While he was teaching he got selected by NASA to be an astronaut and he entered that program in 2004.

He completed his first spaceflight in 2008 on STS-126, one of the last shuttle missions where they were building the international space station. He spent almost 16 days on the mission to expand the crew living quarters to accommodate a six-member crew on the International Space Station (ISS). He performed two spacewalks during this mission. On his second spaceflight, Kimbrough launched to the ISS on the Russian Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. This mission lasted 173 days as part of Expeditions 49 and 50, where he performed four spacewalks and numerous science and maintenance activities. He most recently served as commander of the NASA/SpaceX Crew-2 Dragon spacecraft, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once on the ISS, Kimbrough served as Flight Engineer of Expedition 65/66. He performed three spacewalks during the 199-day mission. Kimbrough now has a total of 388 days in space.

For additional insights into Shane's approach to fitness, your can read his profiles in Men’s Health and Men’s Journal.

This week's episode is all about work capacity. What is it? How do you train for it? What programming principles apply?

This is another one of our recurring "how to" episodes, and it essentially fills in the gap left after our strength and endurance episodes. Somewhere between those two is the fuzzy concept of work capacity, which brings up related concepts like "mixed modal training" and even the dreaded CrossFit.

We start with a few definitions (some better than others) and even a quick science lesson. After that the bulk of this episode focuses on Drew's "Theoretical Guide to Work Capacity" which lays out his multi-pace theory. We highly recommend you pull up the blog post if you can, some of the framework is easier to digest when you can look at a chart. To some extent, this also builds on the previous blog post "Three Strategies for Functional Conditioning."

Subscribers to our Long and Strong program may enjoy this look into the method behind the madness of the work capacity sessions they've been doing a lot of. If this episode gets you curious, we'd love to have you join us!

One of our definitions of work capacity came from the very smart Greg Nuckols of Stronger by Science.

Another came from T-Nation, which can be a good resource as long as you're on guard for their shameless and aggressive supplement sales.

Unsurprisingly we also touch on CrossFit's definition as well

And Drew also specifically cites OPEX's framework, specifically maximal aerobic power.

Finally, and perhaps oddly, one of our definitions came from the Indian Journal of Environmental & Occupational Medicine. It turns out there is a large body of research focused on work capacity in the context of manual labor. Based on their less than impressive grasp on physiology, this might be an opportunity for some exercise physiology folks to help them out.