
Dan John (Strength Training in Tactical Athletes, Generational Trauma and Nutrition) - Episode 598
From Behind The Shield by James Geering
April 11, 2026 · 1h 17m
About this episode
Dan John discusses strength training, generational trauma, and nutrition for tactical athletes.
Dan John is an elite athlete, author and revered strength and conditioning coach. We discuss the impact of war on his family, training the youth athlete, physical education, gut biome, rehabilitating the tactical professions and so much more. Dan has spent his life with one foot in the world of lifting and throwing, and the other foot in academia. An All-American discus thrower, Dan has also competed at the highest levels of Olympic lifting, Highland Games and the Weight Pentathlon, an event in which he holds the American record. Dan spends his work life blending weekly workshops and lectures with full-time writing, and is also an online religious studies instructor for Columbia College of Missouri. As a Fulbright Scholar, he toured the Middle East exploring the foundations of religious education systems. Dan is also a Senior Lecturer for St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London. His books, on weightlifting, include Intervention, Never Let Go, Mass Made Simple and Easy Strength, written with Pavel Tsatsouline as well as From Dad, To Grad. He and Josh Hillis co-authored “Fat Loss Happens on Monday.” In 2015, Dan wrote Can You Go? on his approach to assessments and basic training…
People in this episode
Host: James Geering
Guest: Dan John
Topics covered
- strength training
- tactical athletes
- generational trauma
- nutrition
- youth athlete training
- rehabilitation
- gut biome
Keywords
- strength training
- tactical athletes
- nutrition
- generational trauma
- gut biome
- rehabilitation
- youth athletes
- weightlifting
- Dan John
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: St Mary’s University, Columbia College of Missouri
Books & works: Intervention, Never Let Go, Mass Made Simple, Easy Strength, From Dad, To Grad, Fat Loss Happens on Monday, Can You Go?, Before We Go, Now What?, Hardstyle Kettlebell Challenge
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