MOPs & MOEs

We’re back with another “Xs and Os” episode about how to plan your training, this time focusing on strength specifically. In this episode Drew lays out his version of the Heavy-Light-Medium framework. His primary influence here was the work of Andy Baker who was in turn influenced by Bill Starr, and you’ll find many commonalities between this framework and some of the most popular templates like Starting Strength and Westside.

This version of Heavy-Light-Medium is different from the original. Instead of relying on different %1RM of the same movements, it uses exercise selections that force the athlete into differently loaded variations of the same foundational movement pattern. This adjustment makes it more applicable outside of powerlifting. Drew also introduces a variety of ways to incorporate variations on the core framework, ultimately arriving at a tactical template that looks an awful lot like “Heavy – Pump – Metcon” (you’ll have to listen to figure out that part).

Some of this can get a little hard to picture visually when you’re only listening to the audio, so this episode will be accompanied by both a blog post and an Instagram post with the visuals for the 3x3 charts that are discussed.

Yes, I (Alex) know I mispronounced Schoenfeld’s name at the beginning, and yes I should know better. But Drew is the one with the Master’s degree in this field, so I blame him for not correcting me.

Article on Minimum Effective Dose

Article on Optimal Dose

Article on Reexamining Rep Ranges

How can we navigate a health and fitness space riddled with pseudoscience and misinformation? What does it mean to live in the post-truth era? How can we all train ourselves to become better critical thinkers?

We dive into all this and more with Dr. Nicholas Tiller, who we discovered because of his call to action paper about the need for exercise scientists to contest the growing amount of misinformation in the space.

Nick is a senior researcher in the Institute of Exercise Physiology and Respiratory Medicine (Lundquist Institute) at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Tiller has a broad research profile, contributing numerous peer-reviewed studies in cardiopulmonary function (specifically in chronic respiratory disease), respiratory mechanics, and exercise limitation. Tiller is a leading authority in the physiology and pathophysiology of extreme exercise, a subject of personal interest in his capacity as an ultramarathon runner. He is an associate editor of the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 

While Nick's work focuses on exercise science, he is fundamentally a skeptic and an advocate for critical thinking. This lens is apparent throughout all of his work, and drives much of what we discuss in this episode. 

Check out his website here

This episode is a roundtable discussion about the experiences of women in strength and conditioning, and especially in the tactical environment. Erica Mansaray, Jaimie Lafler, and Paula Arreola are all coaches working in different parts of the tactical space. Their academic and professional backgrounds are varied, including more and less traditional paths, everything from high school to professional sports, and both conventional and special operations military environments across multiple branches.

We’ve been trying to get Nick Barringer onto the podcast for a few months now, but he’s too professional to get in the trenches with us. At least he was until a recent report came out about the Occupational Physical Aptitude Test (OPAT). Years ago Nick warned the Army that the standards were too low for the OPAT to accomplish its goals, and he took a lot of heat for being publicly critical. Fast forward to today, and the Army Auditing Agency has confirmed he was right, the OPAT accomplished none of its stated goals.

Guy Shamam is an Israeli Defense Force special operations soldier who transitioned into the reserve and is now working to address problems with the health and fitness of reserve service members in Israel. He reached out to us looking for advice on developing a program, and we decided to record the conversation because this is the kind of stuff that many of our listeners are working to address. While Israel has mandatory service requirements and the structure of their reserve is very different from ours, many of the problems they struggle with in the health and fitness space are nearly identical. In this live working session we talk our way through various considerations around assessments and training that we hope will provide some insight for all of you.

Instagram: @guy.sham

Email: [email protected]

On this episode we welcome our first general officer guest, BG Mike Drowley, call sign Jonny Bravo. Brrrrrrt enthusiasts will appreciate that he is an A-10 Warthog pilot which, for the unfamiliar, means he flies an aircraft that is effectively a giant machine gun with wings. Pilots face unique performance demands that revolve around around applying technical skills under pressure while resisting g-forces on their bodies. BG Drowley discusses these, but we also had a wide ranging conversation about leadership at the strategic level, taking care of people, and the importance of human performance professionals being completely integrated with the units they support. He's an engaging and thoughtful leader, and his authenticity is immediately apparent when you talk to him.

Catch his TED Talk with 2+ million views here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WtQqKrbmKc

He also appeared on Simon Sinek's podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXLunCM7ISw 

Erin Williams (aka @runstrongmama) is a mom, an athlete, a running coach, and an accomplished Army engineer officer. In this episode we discuss how all of those experiences have shaped her approach to fitness.

This wide ranging conversation covers everything from how to incorporate strength training into a running program to the state of pregnancy and postpartum physical training (P3T) in the Army. Erin has some valuable insights into a wide range of topics, so we covered a lot of ground with her. And if you want to learn more about her advocacy for women in the military, follow her platforms!

After a lot of questions we decided to do a podcast on how to get hired in tactical. Whether it's in uniform, as a federal civilian, or as a contractor, we lay out the basic requirements, pros and cons, and how to set yourself up for success. This is a rapidly growing space, and in addition to coaches getting curious about the tactical space, a lot of people in the military seem interested in pursuing these roles after their time in uniform comes to an end.

When leaders across the Department of Defense have questions about biosensing, wearable devices, or human performance data, Josh Hagen is frequently at the top of the list of experts they reach out to. He has his Bachelors in Chemical Engineering, Masters in Materials Engineering, and PhD in Materials Engineering all from the University of Cincinnati. Josh executed his graduate research in bioelectronics at the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Air Force Research Labs, and shortly after joined the 711th Human Performance Wing where he began his current research thrust in Human Performance Monitoring and Augmentation. His work there focused on measuring physiology utilizing wearable sensors and blood biomarkers, developing novel analytics for correlating and modeling data, and beginning to understand how to take that data to optimize performance in elite military and athletics populations. In 2018, Josh became the Director of the Human Performance Innovation Center at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University, as well as Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience. His latest role is Director of the Human Performance Collaborative where he leads a multi disciplinary team focused on human performance optimization.