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In this podcast episode, Siobhan Milner and Tristan Jacobs go through some of the most common myths about the three Powerlifting exercises: Squats, bench press, and deadlifts.

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Tristan Jacobs: Pain To Performance

Tristan Jacobs is the athlete's choice when it comes to all things pain and performance.

Tristan works with high level athletes globally to coach them through pain, injury or performance goals. Tristan notably supported the 2025 Sheffield Champion Kjell Bakkelund through injuries to a 770kg world record, where he achieved 106,2% of the current world record at the time.

Tristan competes in powerlifting at a high level, and he knows how much it means to be able to do the things you love without the pain or set backs.

Where to find Tristan:

Instagram: @TJPainFree

Tristan's website: www.paintoperformance.ie

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In this episode, Siobhan Milner and Angela Sorensen discuss the role of Olympic weightlifting (and its derivatives) beyond "traditional" sports, particularly for dancers and other athletes who may not typically recognise the value of weightlifting.

Angela addresses a common critique that Olympic lifting is overly complex for non-competitive athletes and suggests this complexity is due to a lack of understanding among coaches, asserting that it can be simplified into manageable movements. She emphasizes that weightlifting is valuable for developing power, strength, and stability, which are beneficial in dance (and all athletic pursuits!). She explains that while dancers may initially resist weightlifting because it doesn't look like dance, specific Olympic lifting movements can simulate and enhance the biomechanical demands of dance, such as lifting partners overhead, jumping, and managing rhythm and timing.

Angela highlights how weightlifting prepares dancers for "load acceptance" (absorbing external forces), which is useful for safely lifting partners and decelerating movements—skills that dancers often need in partner choreography. She argues that lifting builds power, flexibility, and dynamic stability, all of which improve performance and safety. Additionally, she acknowledges that while not all athletes need to learn full Olympic lifts, coaches can adapt sub-movements (like high pulls or shrugs) to achieve targeted benefits.

Angela Sorensen also touches on the essentials of stability and strength training, emphasizing the importance of foundational movements over trendy, often superficial exercises seen on social media.

Angela encourages athletes new to strength training to master the basics with precision and consistency, laying a solid foundation before adding complexity. This approach, she notes, will set dancers (and all athletes) up for long-term success.

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Dr Angela Sorensen holds a PhD in sports biomechanics from Middlesex University. She has been serving as the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at English National Ballet School since 2018.

Previously, Angela has served as the Director of Sports Performance at Loyola University Chicago for 6 years where she was the strength coach for the back-to-back Men's Volleyball National Champions in 2014 & 2015. She has also worked in private sports performance, co-authored and instructed international coaching education courses, worked in physical therapy, works with private weightlifting and sports performance clients, and has presented her research at international conferences.

She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science at University of Nebraska – Kearney in 2004, her Masters Degree in Sport and Exercise Science from Middlesex University in 2018, and PhD in 2023.

Where to find Angela:

ResearchGate – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Angela-Sorensen

X/Twitter: https://x.com/angesorensen

Instagram: @beastessathletics

• Stay up to date on the Total Performance podcast where you can join Siobhan Milner and guests as we explore the many aspects that come together to build our total performance.
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In this podcast, Siobhan Milner chats to Jessie Mundell all about the pelvic floor. Jessie and Siobhan talk about what the pelvic floor actually IS, and what characterises a "functional" or "dysfunctional" pelvic floor. Jessie Mundell also provides tips around modifying training (including progressing training) for athletes and movers experience pelvic floor symptoms such as leakage. But most of all, Jessie and Siobhan emphasise that the pelvic floor CAN be trained – your body is amazing, andit can adapt!

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Jessie Mundell is the Head Coach at JessieMundell.com and an exercise specialist in pregnancy and postpartum fitness, birth recovery, strength training, and helping people overcome pelvic floor issues, including stress incontinence.

"TMI" isn't in Jessie's vocabulary—it went out the window along with the "perfect birth" and "perfect parent" rule book eight years ago when her eldest was born.

With a Bachelor's degree in Health & Physical Education and a Master's degree in Kinesiology, Jessie has devoted her career to studying and coaching prenatal and postnatal exercise. She is a trusted support system for those seeking strength, healing, and a positive body mindset, giving pregnant and postpartum individuals the tools to redefine their relationship with their body and their self-worth.

Where to find Jessie:

Jessie's website: https://jessiemundell.com/

Instagram: @jessiemundell

• Stay up to date on the Total Performance podcast where you can join Siobhan Milner and guests as we explore the many aspects that come together to build our total performance.
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In this podcast, Siobhan Milner chats to Tommy Gingras about jump training and plyometric training for athletes. They clarify the difference between the two- because they are different! Tommy also talks about assessing athletes' jumping styles, and how that may influence how we train. He advocates for a balanced approach to strength and power training, emphasizing the need to build a strong foundation before focusing on explosive capabilities. Tommy and Siobhan also touch on how training can change as the competitive season unfolds, and how training strategies should adapt to athletes' experiences and demands. Tommy highlights that even athletes in non-jumping sports can enhance their performance through plyometric training, and gives some tips for how to incorporate plyometric and jump training into an athlete's schedule.

Visit https://www.siobhan-milner.com/podcast to find all the latest podcast episodes, and sign up to our newsletter https://www.siobhan-milner.com/newsletter to get the latest podcast episodes in your inbox!

"Hey everyone, this is Siobhan here and I am super excited to be back for another episode.

Season of the Total Performance Podcast with me, Siobhan Milner. I'm particularly excited because we've had a bit of a unintended break that's been in an Olympic year. Things have been busy in my corner of the world and in my working life. So actually there's a few episodes in this season, which I intended to come out in season two.

I've spoken to a few really cool people about plyometrics, jump training, pelvic floor health, and I'm actually also going to be presenting a few solo episodes because I've just gone and done something which I think is pretty crazy. I just did a stage race, a six day stage ultra running race, where I covered 185 kilometers and seven and a half thousand meters elevation in six days.

So I'm going to do a little bit of a race report. I'm going to talk a little bit about what my experience during that ultra running race was like and my preparation for it. So there's quite a lot of different topics that are going to be covered in this season. I am affectionately myself referring to this season as season 2.5, because like I say there are a few episodes that ideally they would have come out in season 2, but you know working in sport things can get pretty busy. But I will say that I think there's going to be some really interesting episodes this season covering a lot of different topics. Speaking to some really cool people and hopefully giving you some ideas, inspiration for your own training as well.

Enjoy! Just a reminder that you can find further podcast episodes at www.siobhan-milner.com/podcast. And this is where you can also find different ways of working with me if you head to www.siobhan-milner.com. Enjoy! "

Find the show notes for this episode here.

In this episode, Siobhan Milner (Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Dutch Olympic Team) takes you through an introduction to training load monitoring and planning, and how to use the acute to chronic training workload ratio model (ACWR) specifially. This episode is perfect for coaches and athletes who may have limited access to a strength and conditioning coach in their own setting, and want to know how to monitor and plan their training load.

Thoughts about this episode? Let me know over on IG!

Siobhan Milner believes we're made to move. She is an exercise scientist with over a decade of experience working with everyone from Olympians, to premier-league hockey players, to patients with low back pain, to professional dancers, to individuals with cancer and chronic lung diseases. She uses her expertise to help you improve your athletic performance, and prevent, manage, and recover from injuries.

Siobhan is currently a Strength & Conditioning Coach with TeamNL (Dutch Olympic team), training Shorttrack Speed Skaters, the national Curling team, and talent and elite beach volleyballers.

She also works with several independent athletes, primarily in endurance sports and dance, and with clients seeking her knowledge in injury rehabiliation.

Siobhan Milner is a believer in evidence-based exercise prescription, but also strongly believes that all training should be athlete-focused; specific to their goals, their needs, and their likes and dislikes. Most of all, she loves seeing change in her athletes' lives – whether it's at the level of function, pain, or performance.

Are you ready to improve your sporting performance, or change the way your body feels? Get in contact with Siobhan Milner here to discuss how she can help you get the most out of your body.

Where to find Siobhan:

Website: www.siobhan-milner.com

Instagram: @siobhan.milner

Facebook: Siobhan Milner Athletic Performance & Rehabilitation

Twitter: @siobhancmilner

Tiktok: @siobhan.milner

• Stay up to date on the Total Performance podcast where you can join Siobhan Milner and guests as we explore the many aspects that come together to build our total performance.

• Find Siobhan Milner on Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook

Find the show notes for this episode here.

Excited to get this out into the world because Kurt Michael Downes is a coach you should know. Not only does he know his stuff, he's incredibly generous in sharing that knowledge.

Kurt also has an impressive amount of industry experience (in addition to all those fancy letters next to his name), including coaching Canadian Olympian Brandon McBride to the 800m record of 1:43.20, and guiding Kelsey Balkwill to a top 6 placing in the 400H at the World Junior Championships and top 20 placing at the World Indoor Champions in the 400m. How lucky am I that such cool people are happy to chat with me?

I really enjoyed this discussion with Kurt, and I felt like I learned a lot. We spoke a lot about how track and field style training can be used for non track and field athletes, and we also talked about speed and agility in general, and mechanics of running in general.

Kurt gave a lot of practical examples and I found this a super, super valuable listen. I hope you enjoy. Find it everywhere you get your favourite podcasts.

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Kurt Michael Downes is an award winning teacher with the Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board and President and Head Coach of the Border City Athletics Club.

Kurt has represented Canada as a staff coach at nine international events, including the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. He coached Canadian Olympian, Brandon McBride to the 800 meter record. He guided Kelsey Bale to a top six placing in the 400 hurdles at the World Junior Championships and a top 20 placing at the world Indoor champions in the 400 meter.

He is an advocate for community and sport access for youth, having facilitated, led and created discussions, forums and programs for youth and diversity.

He is a public speaker and builder, and he was also the recipient of the Canadian Running Magazine Golden Shoe Award as the Community Builder of the Year, the Under Armour Diversity Award, Athletics Canada Dr. Doug Clement Coach of the Year, and the Contributions to Catholic Education Award. Kurt has also recently begun his PhD in kinesiology.

Where to find Kurt:

Twitter / X: KurtMichael_dee

LinkedIn: Kurt Michael Downes

Instagram: @kurtmichael_dee

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Find the show notes for this episode here.

In this podcast episode, Siobhan Milner provides some quick tips for self-directed strength training. That is, strength training for athletes and coaches without a dedicated strength and conditioning coach as part of their team. Siobhan breaks down how she sets up sessions, and addresses common fears about training without a strength coach. Take a listen if you're heading into the gym without a guide!

Important links:

Find the transcript of this podcast on the show notes page.

Find the show notes for this page here.

Carbohydrates have gotten a bad rap over the past few years, so I asked Maja Berry to do a dive into all things carbs for us.

Join us as we delve deep into the world of carbohydrates and their impact on athletic prowess.

Discover the role of carbohydrates in both energy and recovery. Maja Berry demystifies common myths, and providing evidence-based insights along with practical strategies for optimizing carbohydrate intake and timing. Your peak performance awaits!

Thoughts about this episode? Let me know over on IG!

Maja Berry is a qualified dietitian with a Master's degree in sports nutrition, specializing primarily in addressing issues related to under-fuelling and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) or Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA). Her dedication to this field stems from a deep understanding of the critical link between energy consumption and expenditure. Maja has observed that numerous athletes grapple with under-fuelling; however, she believes that achieving optimal fuelling can effectively address this issue.

Her professional experience includes working at the English Ballet School, where efforts are continuously made to ensure that students are robust and well-conditioned athletes. In her private practice, Maja assists a diverse group of athletes who have encountered difficulties in maintaining a healthy balance of energy intake and output. Additionally, her experience in treating eating disorders has further reinforced her understanding of the often-present connection between sports, under-fuelling, and mental health.

Where to find Maja:

Websites: www.thebluebirdcentre.com

LinkedIn: Maja Berry

Instagram: @maja.berryrd

Facebook: majaberryrd

Tiktok: @majaberryrd

• • Stay up to date on the Total Performance podcast where you can join Siobhan Milner and guests as we explore the many aspects that come together to build our total performance.

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Coach Kendall Green (B.S., CSAS, USAW) simplifies speed and athletic development in this podcast interview hosted by Siobhan Milner.

Kendall's key advice: keep it simple. Kendall discusses motivating athletes with tech tools like the Dasher, how to foster self-motivation, talks about speed coaching across age ranges, and the universal benefits of sprint training in various sports.

Kendall Green also touches on how speed can be developed in the weight room, and how sprint OR strength training may be more important for certain athletes at certain times. Kendall shares practical takeaways for athletes and coaches, particularly regarding fostering the development of complete athletes with a solid base of movement skill.

Thoughts about this episode? Let me know over on IG!

Kendall Green is Head Strength & Conditioning Coach and Owner of Green Roots Performance & Wellness in Williamsburg, Virginia. He has previously served as a High School Head T&F Coach, Football Coach, and Strength & Conditioning Coach. He specializes in speed and power development.

Where to find Kendall:

Instagram: @greenrootspw

Twitter: @KoachGreen_

Simplifaster: https://simplifaster.com/articles/author/kendallgreen/

Find the transcript of this podcast on the show notes page.

Stay up to date on the Total Performance podcast where you can join Siobhan Milner and guests as we explore the many aspects that come together to build our total performance.

Find Siobhan Milner on Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook