GAINcast with Vern Gambetta

As coaches we like to think of the training process as predictable and controllable, but the reality isn't that straightfoward. As guest Dan Cleather explains on this week's podcast, we don't dictate training outcomes, we simply guide a conversation with the body. In the interview he looks at how to best guide that process, the role of overload, and rethinking recent trends in athlete profiling. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2026/03/gaincast-episode-296-the-adaptation-conversation-with-dan-cleather/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic: The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more. Cleather was previously a guest on GAINcast 269, together with John Goodwin, where they discussed force and speed. Cleather's most recent book is The Practice of Change: The Art and Science of Training. This landed on Vern's top 10 list for 2025. Previous books include The Little Black Book of Training Wisdom (discussed here by Craig Pickering), and his series on force: Force: The Biomechanics of Training, Force 2: The Biomechanics of Sprinting, and Force 3: Strength Training for Endurance Performance. Vern's own new book was recently released. Learn more and order here: Building the Complete Athlete.

Southern California is known for its earthquakes, but it was also the epicenter of track and field during the golden age of the sport. On this week's episode, longtime coach and author Larry Knuth looks back at the coaching scene in that era, reflecting on his own path to coaching, as well as the big names he worked with along the way. This episode isn't just a walk down memory lane, but a look inside how some of the century's top coaches got their start and developed their broad skillsets. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/11/gaincast-episode-294-the-golden-age-with-larry-knuth/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic: The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more. Pre-orders are now open for Vern's new book Building the Complete Athlete. Back in 2013, Vern wrote a review of Knuth's book Classic Track and Field Tales.

Alex Hutchinson is well known for his writing on sport science, but his new books goes in a different direction by taking a detailed look at exploration: why humans explore, how much we should explore, and methods of exploration. The topic might not be directly about sports, but it is directly relevant to coaches. Coaches are often weighing the question of when to try something new, and when to keep with the old ways. Hutchinson joins us on this week's podcast to look at how some of the concepts in his book can apply to the world of coaching and high performance. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/07/gaincast-episode-292-explore-and-exploit-with-alex-hutchinson/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic: The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more. Hutchinson was previously a guest on GAINcast 118, where we discssed research on how the mind and body control human performance. We recently reviewed his new book and wrote an article about our key takeaways on exploration. If you haven't already, pick up his newest bookThe Explorer's Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map or his previous book Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. You can also follow Hutchinson on Instagram @sweat_science. He also writes frequently for Outside Magazine and puts out a great newsletter which helps you follow all his latest writings.

What are the demands of modern high school coaching? John Larralde calculated that he has just 43 training days to prepare his track athletes this year. Add to that a small student population, multi-event athletes, a young coaching staff, and little connection to the daily campus life. Some might see these as problems, but for Larralde that's no big deal as he describes himself as a problem solver. On this episode of the GAINcast Larralde talks about how he approaches high school track coaching. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/05/gaincast-episode-290-high-school-coaching-with-john-larralde/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic: The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more For more from Larralde, listen to our interview with him about endurance training on GAINcast 95. Larralde shared examples of how he has used different methods with different athletes from different athletes can produce top results. For another perspective on high school coaching, check out GAINcast 69 with high school coach and athletic director Patrick McHugh. Some discussion points in this episode included The Russell Cup and training by design (covered on GAINcast 285).

Last month we hosted the GAIN Coaching by Design Workshop. A recurring theme in the workshop was process. Coaching by design requires process. On this episode of the GAINcast, Vern Gambetta dives into his process which starts with defining what he calls the six abilities: trainability, adaptability, recoverability, durability, availability, and coachability. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: https://www.hmmrmedia.com/2025/01/gaincast-episode-288-the-six-abilities/ The following links were also referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic: The GAINcast is sponsored by GAIN and by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more. For regular updates from us, you can sign up for the GAIN Newsletter and HMMR Newsletter.