Why are some athletes faster than others? And how do we make athletes faster? In their new book Dan Cleather and Jon Goodwin argue that the answer begins and ends with a consideration of force production. Both of them join this week’s podcast to discuss key drivers in sprint performance, what factors are modifiable, and how we often get distracted from what really matters.
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Indian clubs are hardly a new form of training. Their history goes back to ancient times and it was even an Olympic event in 1904 and 1932. They fell out of fashion for a time, but, as with the kettlebell, they’ve seen a renaissance over the last decade. Now they’re used primarily as training tools for overhead athletes and throwers. As a swim coach I’ve seen a big crossover for the tool. Below I explain why I feel Indian clubs are so essential to our training, as well as ideas on how to use them.
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The athletics community suffered a enormous loss on May 11 when Shaun Pickering unexpectedly passed away. He was an Olympic athlete, coach, and fan. But more than anything he was the man behind the scenes that helped push the sport forward. To help remember him, we’re joined this week by some of his best friends including Vesteinn Hafsteinsson, Charles van Commenee, Robert Weir, Frank Dick, and Don Babbitt.
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Every quarter we take a deep dive into the latest research in sports science. In this edition we look at the latest research on resilience, pressure training, multidisciplinary teams, injury prevention, and much more.
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Another baseball season is underway and, once again, the injuries are piling up. On this week’s GAINcast we speculate about what might be causing the injuries, how training is related to injuries, and where using heavy and light implements can go right or wrong.
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We tend to think of the Olympic lifts as just two lifts, but there are numerous derivatives that each provide their own unique benefits. The muscle snatch is one overlooked variation that can help you maximize power while minimizing the technical demands. On this week’s episode lifting coach Wil Fleming breaks down the lift and what makes it special.
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The 1980s were a time of global awakening in track and field. As coaches experimented with new training methods, ideas started spreading all over the blog. Coach Bogdan Poprawski was at the center of that process, moving as a young coach from Poland to Canada and helping Gerard Mach set up a new system. On this week’s GAINcast he joins us to share some stories about becoming a coach in a different era and culture, the transition to Canada, and much more.
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We often talk about training methods and success stories on this podcast. But coaching has its struggles too. On this week’s podcast we talk about some of the struggles coaches face but often don’t talk about: athlete commitment, motivation, the role of parenting in athlete success, and how talent can make a coach look good.
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As politics has become more polarized around the world, that mindset has spilled over into the training world. Mention abortion, immigration, or affirmative action and you’ll have to dig your heals in for an intense debate with no middle ground. In the training world, for some reason, topics like speed ladders have become similar hot button issues.
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The training camp is an integral part of the training process in many sports. But how can you get the most out of it? On this week’s GAINcast we share ideas around planning training camps to get the most out of them with swim coach Chris Webb. In addition, we look at optimal planning of multiple short training sessions, strategies to increase training quality, how much warmup is needed, and more.
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