State of the Industry Podcast

This weeks episode is part two of my conversation with Dr. Stuart McGill.

For those of you who may not know Dr. McGill, you have undoubtedly been touched by his research at some point in your career. He has spent the past 30+ years researching the causal mechanisms for back pain and working to understand how to rehabilitate back-pained people and enhance both injury resilience and performance. He is one of, if not the most highly sought after expert in spine biomechanics around the world.

In this conversation we dive into the realm of common causes of back pain and spine injury. Dr. McGill provides practical steps you can take for yourself or your clients to minimize the risks for back pain or begin the rehabilitation process.

If you haven’t checked out his website backfitpro.com, his McGill Method courses, or any of the literature he has written, from books and textbooks, to the over 240 research articles, get on it there's a lot of reading and you've got some catching up to do.

This week we have on the back mechanic himself, Dr. Stuart McGill.

If you do not know Dr. McGill, you must have been hiding under a rock for the past 10 years. He is a professor emeritus, University of Waterloo, where he was a professor for 30 years. His laboratory and experimental research clinic investigated issues related to the causal mechanisms of back pain, how to rehabilitate back-pained people and enhance both injury resilience and performance. His advice is often sought by governments, corporations, legal experts, medical groups and elite athletes and teams from around the world.

His work produced over 240 peer-reviewed scientific journal papers, several textbooks, and many international awards. He mentored over 37 graduate students during this scientific journey.

During this time, he taught thousands of clinicians and practitioners in professional development and continuing education courses around the world.

Today he continues as the Chief Scientific Officer for Backfitpro Inc and regularly sees clients with difficult back cases who have tried everything else and are thus referred to him for consultation.

In this episode we discuss his path to become the world leader in spine biomechanics, understanding back pain, and how to have tough conversations with clients.

Let’s dive right in.

This episode is part two of my conversation with the super coach herself, Nicole Rodriguez. Nicole shares some of her key principles for youth athletic development. 

If you don't know Nicole, she has coaching in her DNA. The quality of her coaching shows every time you are in the room watching her coach or you hear her speak on coaching principles. I have had the pleasure of hearing her speak on a number of occasions and each time I have left a better coach. This podcast was no different.

Sit back, and enjoy the show!

In this episode of the State of the Industry Podcast, we have the super coach herself, Nicole Rodriguez joining us all the way from Poland. 

Nicole and I first met at a Perform Better Conference in Long Beach, California several years back. To this day I still remember walking into her session and being blown away by how a woman of her stature could control a room so well. She used her posture, her voice, and took up space and all of this made her seem the same size as a NFL lineman. You could tell she was born to coach.

Nicole has coaching in her DNA. She started her journey at a young age and had several exceptional mentors along the way, including Mike Boyle (Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning) and Mark Verstegen (Athletes' Performance/Exos). She has worked with some of the top athletes in the world including professional and Olympic athletes from a multitude of sports. 

She has since found her way back to youth sport and helps to serve players, parents, and coaches to be the best versions of themselves both on and off the field. This is where our conversation begins. Nicole shares some of the key principles she uses when consulting with youth sports academy's around the world, not just to develop better young athletes, but to develop better people.

Sit back, relax, and I'll see you on the other side.

This episode is part two of my immensely enjoyable conversation with the wizard of OZ himself, Ian O’Dwyer. Ian is the director and founder of OD on Movement, he co-founded feel SOMA with his good friend Rodney Corn, and he is also the co-founder of PTA global. Through every step of his journey he has questioned what was considered “normal” in training, and worked to find a better way to achieve optimal health, wellbeing, and pain free movement for his clients. Ian has taken his passion for helping clients move and feel better around the world by presenting over 500 workshops at some of the top fitness facilities and conferences around.

During this episode, Ian continues to share his thoughts on how to create better relationships with clients through empowerment, how to look at the human being and not just the human body when training, as well as how to utilize play in training to optimize outcomes.

If you haven’t listened to part one, press pause, hope back, and listen to that episode first.

Enjoy, and I’ll see you on the other side.

Welcome back to the State of the Industry Podcast. It is so great to be back from my short recording hiatus. My wife and I recently got a new puppy, so I have taken charge of puppy training and it has proven to be a full-time job. Anyone who has ever had a puppy before knows what I’m talking about.

But we’re back this week with a doozy of an episode. I have an old friend from the great land of Oz joining me for the next two weeks, Ian O’Dwyer. I met Ian when I was over at the FILEX conference in Sydney several years ago. It was evident from the start that he thought about movement in an unconventional way. He has a unique perspective on how the body moves and how different types of tissues interact during movement.

Ian is the director and founder of OD on Movement, a company with a passion for empowering clients to move and feel better. He is also a co-founder of SOMA (self-osteo myofascial application) along with his good friend and colleague, Rodney Corn. SOMA provides education to help trainers and health professionals around the world help clients move, feel, and live better by enhancing the quality and performance of all the body tissues. In his journey, he has delivered over 500 workshops at some of the top fitness facilities and conferences around the world.

During these next two episodes, Ian shares his thoughts on how to create better relationships with clients through empowerment, how to look at the human being and not just the human body when training, as well as how to utilize play in training to optimize outcomes.

Open your brain tank, and I’ll see you on the other side.

Welcome back! 

This week we have part two of my conversation with Josh Henkin, the founder and co-creator of ultimate sandbag training.

Josh is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist with over 20 years of experience in the fitness industry. He is highly sought after for his innovative functional training concepts that combine current science and real-world application. His innovative Dynamic Variable Resistance Training (DVRT) system provides a systematic approach to improving human performance. Our conversation continues regarding the importance of understanding context and intent when it comes to training and the use of specific tools, the 7 basic foundational patterns, how he looks at progressing exercises and movements, force production versus force absorption, and some key programming principles every coach and trainer should know.

If you missed episode one, I highly suggest you check it out before diving into episode two. But, if you already have, I'll see you on the other side.

This week we have Josh Henkin, the founder and co-creator of Ultimate Sandbag Training joining the podcast.

Josh is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist with over 20 years of experience in the fitness industry working with athletes from the NBA, NHL, and NFL, as well as high school athletes and weekend warriors. His innovative Dynamic Variable Resistance Training (DVRT) system provides a systematic approach to improving human performance. He has a great passion for teaching, which has allowed him present in more than 13 countries at some of the top fitness conferences in the world. He has also written hundreds of articles for various publications, such as Men’s Health, T-Nation and Bodybuilding.com on the topics of functional based training and performance enhancement. He is highly sought after for his innovative functional training concepts that combine current science and real-world application. His work has led him to consult with the U.S. Marines and top performance/fitness facilities.

Our conversation over the next two episodes discusses the importance of understanding context and intent when it comes to training and the use of specific tools, the 7 basic foundational patterns, how he looks at progressing exercises and movements, force production versus force absorption, and some key programming principles every coach and trainer should know.

If you haven’t checked out the DVRT system or how sandbag training can be used within training, I highly suggest you check it out.

Not let’s dive right in.

In this episode, I continue my conversation with Jim LaValle, internationally recognized clinical pharmacist, author, board-certified clinical nutritionist, and expert and educator in integrative and precision nutrition.

We continue right where we left off in part one (so if you haven't listened yet, I highly suggest you do that first) and Jim discusses the cascade of neurotransmitter depletion from a chronic state of arousal (also known as stress). But there is hope, Jim also provides the steps to end the cycle and regain optimal health and performance.

See you on the other side.