We all know less can be more, but doing less is hard. We all hate to be out worked. Coach Tony Holler came to track and field coaching as an outsider and stumbled upon the benefits of minimalist training. On this week’s GAINcast he joins us to talk about how his training program came about, how it is put together, and additional thoughts on training speed. Read more
Earlier this week we posted part one of our interview with weightlifting coach John Thrush. Thrush has had a long and distinguished career coach national champions from the Pacific Northwest. In part one we looked at his own development as a coach and the two key elements of his coaching philosophy. In part two below we dive into weightlifting technique, and help athletes with the mental side of training. Read more
Each year we try to get a little bit better, and looking back at 2018 I think we achieved that goal. Throughout the course of 2018 our 22 contributors produced 104 new podcast episodes, over 300 articles, 8 premium video lessons, 12 monthly themes, 6 member hangouts, and our new movement Library. To help you sort through all the great content, we’ve assembled our top 30 articles, 10 podcasts, and 5 videos from the year, as well as some more highlights and links. If you want more, you can browse our archives and also check out our top posts from 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Read more
All young coaches make mistakes. That is part of the learning process and we sure made our fair share of them. But there is no need to make the same mistakes we made. On this episode of the GAINcsat we reflect on lessons we have learned and share some advice for young coaches. Read more
In his nearly 50 years of coaching, Vern quickly learned the need to adapt the training plan to the athlete and has run into all types of different individuals along the way. On this episode of the GAINcast we have a Q&A with Vern on individualization, the July HMMR Media site theme. We cover a variety of topics such as when to start individualization, how to individualize in team sports, the role of testing, and more. Read more
Ashton Eaton may be the world record holder in the decathlon, but when you watched him throw shot put that was not the image that came to mind. To start with the implement always looked a size too big for him. He also adopted an unorthodox technique in which he started with his other foot and then shuffled across the ring in his tennis shoes. Watch him take a few throws and you are reminded more of a masters thrower at a neighborhood track meet than the world’s best athlete. Read more
Any coach with an ounce of experience knows that coaching isn’t just about the methods; it’s also about how you put them into practice. That’s the art of coaching, our June site theme. Throughout the month 10 contributors helped put together 2 new videos, 4 new podcasts, and 8 great articles. Below you’ll find links to all our new resources and some highlights from our archive on the topic. As always, become a Plus Member to make sure you get access to all of the vast resources on the site. But before we look at the resources, I wanted to share two key takeaways from this month. Read more
I’ve been blogging for more than a decade, and doing interviews for seven years now. Over that time I’ve had the opportunity to conduct more than 160 interviews with top coaches around the world on this site, the HMMR Podcast, and the GAINcast. The interviews have covered the whole range of coaching, from coaches of gold medalists and world record holders, to the best minds in youth training and physical education. Read more
We talk all the time about culture, but what exactly is it? Wade Gilbert defines it in his coaching book “Team culture has been defined as a pattern of shared assumptions that guides behavior . . . Culture comprises both the obvious artifacts of the team and the less obvious norms and rituals.” In other words, culture is the way we do things around here. Read more
It was just past noon and I was starving. After taking an early train from central London to Pennyhill Park and spending all morning on the rugby pitch, I was ready to eat. I loaded up a plate full of chicken teriyaki and noodles, but as I sat down Eddie Jones asked me a question before I could get a bite in: “So, Martin, what gives you an edge in the hammer throw?” Read more
