Link:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/2434403-episode-54-importance-of-strength-and-conditioning-in-athletic-development-with-tampa-bay-rays-catcher-erik-ostberg

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In this episode Gerry welcomes on Erik Ostberg, catcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.

To start, Erik and Gerry discuss baseball in the North-East and how Erik feels the cold weather in the Fall and Winter can impact training, development and progress. Erik discusses some of his early training experiences in high school and how they shaped his philosophies regarding strength training.

From there, the two discuss the importance of sprinting (short sprints specifically), plyometric/jump training and the immense importance of getting stronger (especially for youth athletes or new trainees in general). Additionally, the conversation turns to the benefits strength and speed training can provide for athletes in terms of gaining an edge in their sport and on the field of play.

To finish, Erik talks about his college training and playing experience at the University of Hartford and what his training currently involves while with a professional organization. He gives full insight on what is involved both in the in-season AND off-season as a big leaguer and sheds some light on how he uses what he has learned in strength training to help/trains athletes while at home during the off-season.

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Timestamps:

12:00- Growing up In The Northeast and Northeast Baseball
15:45- The Culture and Evolution of Training
19:20- Success of Players from Your Area Can Increase Overall Exposure
21:00- Is the Northeast Have a Disadvantage?
25:50- Having an Offseason is a Good Thing
29:30- Erik’s Training Experiences Growing Up
32:50- Over Complicating Strength Programs 
39:30- Is the 60-Yard Dash Effective for Baseball?
42:30- Erik’s College Training Experiences
45:15- Is Static Stretching Useful?
49:25- College Recruiting
54:15- Erik’s Playing Career at the University of Hartford
1:02:48- Erik’s Training Influences
1:07:00- Erik’s Current Core Training Philosophy
1:20:30- Closing Thoughts

Link:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/2378636-episode-53-assessing-the-current-state-of-strength-and-conditioning-with-kurt-hester-of-louisiana-tech-football-plus-bonus-q-a

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Season 2 and 2020 of Muscles and Management starts with a bang as Louisiana Tech Football Strength Coach Kurt Hester stops by fresh off an Independence Bowl win over University of Miami AND a mini rant by Gerry on the combination of technology and the basics of strength and conditioning.

To start, Gerry reads off a tweet of Kurt's regarding professionalism, and how the lack thereof can be problematic for the field as a whole. Kurt discusses the importance of bringing energy and enthusiasm to the field, but also maintains the position that there is a fine line between energy and maintaining professionalism, or losing it. The two discuss how theatrical coaches can negatively impact the perception of strength coaches, and how the ultimate goal of a coach should be developing athletes, not seeking attention.

From there, the conversation shifts to a full discussion of the "high performance model," an organizational structure that is starting to make its way to college and professional sports. Kurt gives a breakdown of what it is, and how having a position that directly oversees hiring and firing performance staff can make for an environment of continuity, collaboration and ultimate performance.

To finish, Gerry does a brief Q&A on volume guidelines for sprinting and gives a breakdown on the differences between his assessments of individual athletes vs. large teams (and what goes into both).

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Timestamps:

00:43 - Please Keep Jeff Leach (@CoachJeffLeach) in Your Thoughts and Prayers
04:48 - Year in Review
11:30 - Tweet Rant of The Week (Mastering The Basics AND Utilizing Technology)
19:14 - Episode 53 Outline
22:40 - Chris Doyle
27:20 - The Landscape of Strength Coaches & Motivations
30:35 - Balancing High Energy and Professionalism
34:35 - High-Performance Model
39:40 - Old Dog, New Tricks
47:16 - The Problem with Being Stuck in Your Ways
48:56 - Kurt Hester’s Influences in His Career
52:52 - How Many Sprints is too Many?
58:38 - How to Assess Different Clients

Link:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/2333333-episode-52-the-evolving-landscape-of-baseball-training-pitching-and-social-media-with-pitching-ninja-and-dallas-braden

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In this episode Gerry welcomes on former big league pitcher Dallas Braden and pitching social media sensation "Pitching Ninja," Rob Friedman, to talk all things baseball, training in baseball, pitching and the overall evolution of America's Pastime.

To start, Gerry has Rob and Dallas go through their feelings on how social media has impacted and changed the game over the past few years, and how they feel things have changed overall in the past decade. Dallas gives insight on what has changed from the payer side of things as a former MLB pitcher, while Rob talks a bit about his ascension on Twitter and how much easier social media has made it to access information about training, players and much more.

From there, the conversation turns to strength training in baseball and how it has evolved, especially in the last five to ten years. While there are still some stalemates regarding things such as lifting heavier and getting stronger vs. some old school practices as running long distances, a great deal of progress has been made developmentally in baseball.

Lastly, the three discuss how important strength training really is for baseball players and athletes in general, the importance of failure and avoiding instant gratification and lastly, the direction the game of baseball is going in with the emergence of high velocity and extremely gifted athletes.

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Timestamps:

8:15- How Social Media Changed Baseball Culture
12:44- Science Matters 
14:42- Trickle-Up Effect of Tech in Baseball Training
17:00- Trevor Bauer and His Impact on The Way We Look at Training
22:45- Being Open Minded When Discussing 
26:10- Dallas Braden’s Training Through His Playing Years
32:07- Did Social Media CAUSE The Change of Mindset in Training?
36:34- Dallas’ High School Experience 
42:10- Own Your Career, and Tips for Parents Guiding Their Kids
52:05- Letting Kids Fail
59:50- How The Game is Evolving, and Where Will it Go From Here?
1:05:05- Studying Swing Paths as a Pitcher and a Deep Dive into The Mindset of Pitching
1:11:55- Final Thoughts

Link:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/2305253-episode-51-the-future-of-technology-in-training-and-tracking-metrics-with-exsurgo-ceo-greg-lutton

In this episode Gerry welcomes on Exsurgo (strength training and sports performance technology company) CEO Greg Lutton to discuss all things training, measuring metrics in training and the impact that can have on sports performance and maximizing athlete potential.

To start, Gerry has Greg bring us through his background. From his own career in sports, to attending Harvard and even designing video games, Greg explores his background and how the combination of sports, strength and conditioning and tech (video games) impacted his venture into strength training technology/devices.

From there, Greg talks about Exsurgo, and how he and Max Schmarzo (Strong By Science) first came together to create easy to use, affordable and effective technology to measure the vertical jump. The conversation then turns to the future of Exsurgo and their goals for training technology and the implications training tech can have on measuring athlete readiness, injury reduction and more. 

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Link:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/2260247-episode-50-keeping-it-simple-to-build-strong-fast-and-powerful-athletes-with-zach-even-esh

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In this episode Gerry welcomes on veteran strength coach Zach Even-Esh to discuss keeping it simple and sticking with what works to get athletes stronger, faster and more powerful.

With the prevalence of social media in strength training, there is a tendency for athletes to see flashy training that lacks substance. In some ways, this has led some trainers, coaches and athletes to abandon what is simple (sprinting, squatting, lifting heavier to get stronger etc.) in favor of what is "sexier," and appeals more to complication.

To start, Zach and Gerry discuss the difference between doing an exercise the RIGHT way and simply doing it. Additionally, they go over the importance of establishing proper movement BEFORE adding load and piling on top of dysfunctional movement.

From there, the two talk about mastering the basics and building quality movement patterns and earning the right to move heavier weight with more complex movements. Lastly, the conversation turns to the importance of strength training and striving for gains and improvements year-round, ESPECIALLY for young athletes who are developing.

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Show Timestamps:

1:17- The Importance of Doing an Exercise The Right Way
5:45- Information is Easy to Come By, But Hard to Implement Correctly
10:15- Listening to The Wrong Voices in The Industry
13:25- How Easy it is to Open a Gym, and Why That Can Be a Problem
20:10- Dealing with Weakness From Injuries
23:20- Sports Specificity
27:15- You are Dealing with PEOPLE and Adaptation
32:45- Training Year-Round
37:10- Intensity Based on Season
40:05- Seek out The Type of Athlete You Want to Train
43:55- Invest in Yourself
56:46- Mini Q&A Question 1
57:39- Sprinting Fast to Get Faster
1:01:18- Mini Q&A Question 2
1:03:14- Importance of Timing with Static Stretching

Link:
​https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/2177213-episode-48-building-speed-with-new-york-yankees-base-running-coordinator-matt-talarico

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In this episode Gerry welcomes on New York Yankee’s Base-running Coordinator Matt Talarico!
To start, Matt and Gerry talk about Matt’s playing career and background and how that sparked his interest in speed, base running and more. A lot has changed in the course of 10-15 years regarding speed and strength training, and Matt takes us through what he did personally to get faster and how his wheels began to turn in terms of moving away from the older school (conditioning, longer sprints etc.) and into the newer school of thought (strength, power, shorter sprints etc.).
From there the two discuss the prominence of acceleration in baseball and how your first ten to fifteen yards in your sprint can make or break you. From stride length, stride angle, body positioning and all things mechanical, Matt and Gerry break down what goes in to true “baseball speed.”
To finish, the discussion turns to the drop step and WHY it is the most effective way to sprint in baseball and how it’s ok to know what the great athletes felt, but also important to know what they actually did. Matt then takes time to explain the premise behind his coaching business “steal bases,” the philosophies and what goes in to making yourself a good base runner regardless of your level of speed.

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Timestamps:

6:13- Matt’s Playing Background
9:18- Training Athletes Who Don’t Have Exceptional “Natural Talent”
13:55- Matt’s Lifting Program/Experience as a Player
16:45- Correlation of Strength and Speed
20:30- Mindset During Sprints (Getting 100% From Sprints)
27:40- Acceleration in Baseball and Styles of Sprints During Programing
33:30- Importance of Differentiating Between Acceleration vs. Top End Speed
39:36- Is The 60 Outdated?
51:20- Stride Length is Key
57:45- Using Sleds For Sprints
1:02:30- Drop Step
1:14:35- StealBases.com
1:22:25- Benefits of Having Base Stealers on Your Team
1:25:20- Do You Steal off The Pitcher or Catcher?
1:29:30- Matt’s Ending Thoughts

Link:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/2110206-episode-47-mlb-head-strength-coach-jim-malone-of-the-pittsburgh-pirates

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In this episode Gerry welcomes on veteran MLB Strength Coach Jim Malone (currently head strength coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates). Jim has a wealth of experience in strength and conditioning having spent over 25 years as a coach at the collegiate, minor league and professional level. 

The conversation starts with Jim discussing some of his earliest influences in strength and conditioning and what shaped his philosophies (also talks about those philosophies and the simplicity of sprinting to get fast, lifting heavy to get strong and promoting proper movement). The two talk about Jim's power lifting background and what training for powerlifting at a young age taught him and what he learned from the older lifters around him.

The discussion then turns to Jim's climb through the ranks as a strength coach. From starting at Division III University of Rochester as a hybrid defensive line and strength coach to working all the way to the MLB (and everything in between including other colleges and minor league baseball), the two take an introspective look at the changing of the times with training and what Jim experienced as a strength coach in the new frontier of strength training for the world of baseball.

To finish, Jim gives his opinion on the marriage of experience and new technology/methods (the more things change the more they stay the same), and gives his advice for any aspiring or young coaches in the industry.

All this and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Timestamps

9:00- How Jim Malone Started His Career in Strength and Conditioning
13:10- Jim’s Earliest Training Mindset
18:10- Overtraining
21:21- Training Now vs. 20 Years Ago
24:10- Jim’s Decision to Coach
29:35- Jim’s First Programming Style for His Athletes
34:30- How to Deal with Bigger Groups as the Lone Coach
37:09- Holding Athletes Accountable
39:28- Jim’s Move to Columbia University
41:10- Jim’s Start In Baseball
49:55- Working with a Sport You Aren’t as Familiar with
54:00- Adapting to Different Situations
57:36- Strategies for When Your Athletes Leave for the Offseason
1:01:05- New Age of Relationships With Young Athletes
1:05:00- Dealing with the Moving Parts of an Athlete's Life
1:06:48- The Strength Coaching Industry is a Saturated Field
1:15:33- Helping Athletes Deal with Bad Days
1:18:24- How Tech Has Changed Strength Training
1:21:12- Data Is Powerful, but Has to be Used Correctly
1:29:04- Jim’s Tips to Get Your Foot in the Door as a Young Coach

Link:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/2034705-episode-46-the-power-of-the-mind-in-building-the-body-managing-training-volume-and-recruiting-motor-units-to-make-explosive-athletes-with-conor-harris

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​In this episode Gerry welcomes on strength coach Conor Harris. Conor has a background with both elite athletes (has trained draft picks in all three major sports) and has worked extensively with general population clientele as well. Gerry and Conor go through some of Conor's most recent tweets covering a myriad of important topics deep within the framework of strength training and general physical development.

To begin the conversation, the two discuss the importance of the mind and how powerful it can be in connection with the body. Conor goes over some strategies he uses to get athletes and clients alike to make full use of a positive mental state, and how doing so can help yield benefits in training.

From there, Gerry poses two of Conor's tweets to him (progressing volume properly when it comes to training and the pitfalls of "overloading," with a program and the importance of heavy lifting and recruiting muscle fibers for sprinting. The two discuss recruiting motor units for athletes and some of the most effective ways to do so, all while processing them accordingly so they can handle training.

To finish, the discussion turns to understanding worth as a trainer and the importance of clients understanding that good, quality training comes with an appropriate price tag. Finally, Conor goes over his thoughts on breathing and the two cover all areas that can be affected by the efficiency or inefficiency of your breathing pattern.

All that and more on this episode!

Timestamps:

9:23 - Power of the Mind in Relation to the Body
11:05 - Positive Mindset and Effectiveness of Meditation 
13:15 - Getting Athletes to Believe in What They Are Doing
16:05 - Explaining Training Principles To Clients In Simple Terms
19:10 - Avoiding Training Overloading with Athletes. How to Progress (Stress Bucket)
22:00 - Sensory Changes and Other Alternative Variability Changes 
29:05 - Linear Progress - Keep it Simple. Stick With What Works
31:04 - Different Programs/Exercises Can Result in the Same Adaptation (Grey Area)
33:53 - Don’t Change Programming “Just Because.”
37:08 - Strength in Training vs. Strength in Sport. Eric Bledsoe Couldn't Do 5 Pull-ups
41:15 - Sport Performance Doesn’t Always Correlate to Weight Room Abilities
46:50 - Revisiting Overload and Stress Bucket Issue
51:08 - Raw Force Production and Recruiting Motor Units and the Importance for Building Speed
1:00:38 - Trainers: Know Your Worth and Clients: Understand You Get What You Pay For
1:08:12 - Taking on Too Many Clients and Spreading Yourself Too Thin
1:12:10 - Breathing and PRI (Postural Restoration)
1:16:48 - Chest Breathing and The Issues That Follow
1:20:04 - Lifting Belts and a Quick Breathing Walkthrough
1:26:21 - Breathing Correct Is Almost Addictive
1:27:30 - Conor Harris Ending Thoughts

Link:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/2005084-episode-45-q-a-twitter-grab-bag-proprioception-how-to-program-sprints-proper-jump-training-building-strength-agility-training-and-more

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In this episode Gerry welcomes back the Q&A format to answer some of the questions you have sent his way over the past several weeks. Additionally, he looks through his Twitter for some of his most recent, thought provoking tweets to expand on them and turn them into learning points on various topics across training.

This Q&A covers everything from the dealing with the yips in sports, timing of sprints in your training program, where to start when building a program for young, untrained athletes, building proprioception and motor control with movements and much, much more.

From there, Gerry looks through some of his most recent tweets and discusses important things like agility training and what you should look for and consider when it comes to building agility for your sport. To finish up the Twitter "grab bag," covers use of eccentrics and isometrics, the importance of breathing mechanics and a wide variety of subjects important to strength and conditioning.

All that and more on this episode!

​Timestamps:

Q&A Section

7:56 - Strength, Speed, and Baseball Specific Skills for Athletes with Low Training Age
10:24 - Making the Most of Low Volume Training Programs
13:50 - Timing Speed Work in Programs
18:31 - Dealing with the Yips
22:38 - Are Yips Mental or Physical?
27:47 - Revisiting Sprints: A Higher Volume Program
31:06 - Hip/Shoulder Separation and Proprioception
35:00 - Getting Athletes to Unconscious Competence
38:41 - Challenge of Getting Athletes to Buy in & Changing Someone’s Mindset
45:02 - Recommended Coaching Materials/Books You Should Read

Reviewing Tweets

49:30 - Heavy Implications of Shallow Breathing
53:16 - Box Jumps - Stop Caring About Height
56:16 - Getting Caught Up in All or Nothings - Adaptation Should Drive You
59:28- Agility Training: What it is, What You Need to Know, and What to Consider When Training for it
1:05:30- Sport Specific Training: You Get Better at Your Sport While Actually Playing Your Sport 
1:09:08- Using Eccentrics and Isometrics to Progress a New Movement and Build Motor Control