Physical Preparation Podcast

I asked, and you answered the bell! In fact, I got SO MANY questions from this Q&A podcast that I had to break it up into two separate episodes. In today’s show, I put 45-minutes on the clock and knock out as many questions as I can get to. So whether you’re interested in learning more about mobility, speed training for young athletes, or why I charge for my mentorship programs and services, I cover a TON of materials in this quick hitting and informative show. Let’s dive in!   Quotable Quotes: The best programs are vertically integrated, but think of them as levers or dials? Not all of them are at a level 10 in every training block   Recovery becomes a real issue if your training sessions are pushing two, two and a half, or three hours every time you’re in the gym   If you find value in something, you’ll find a way to get it done   This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast: Are topics like flexibility and mobility covered in the Complete Coach Cert? How do I integrate progression into my programs? Building programs for hybrid athletes that cover strength, power, conditioning, etc. Becoming a better communicator Tips on becoming more empathetic and understanding with your clients/athletes How I structure speed development sessions with groups of 12-14 year old athletes The SDC (Skill-Drill-Compete) framework I use for speed training How important is it to do an assessment with your clients/athletes? Thoughts on improving thoracic mobility Quick update/life recap on how I’m doing LOL Recovery strategies for young athletes who are playing multiple times in one day/weekend Structuring well-rounded programs for gen pop clients How I define a “high stim” day Helping athletes get faster in the 60-yard dash Final (and most heated) question: Why do I charge for my mentorship?     Related Links: Speed Camp Podcast Shoulder Mobility Video Alwyn Cosgrove Podcast   Level Up Your Program Design with Train Heroic! Are you tired of using clunky, antiquated program design tools like Microsoft Word or Excel? Are you ready to level up your programming, and make it far more engaging to your clients and athletes? If so, you need to check out Train Heroic. I’ve been using TrainHeroic for years now both here at RTS and at IFAST, and I can tell you the user experience both as an athlete and coach is truly second to none. To learn more and start your free 14-day trial, just follow this link to learn more about Train Heroic. Not only will you get your first 14 days free, but it’s just $10/month to get started officially after that. So don’t wait any longer – head over trainheroic.co/rts and start crafting beautiful programs your clients and athletes will love TODAY!   Subscribe, Rate & Share! Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Physical Preparation Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts and leave your honest review. I’d also love to connect via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit our website. Thanks so much for your support – love and appreciate you! The post June Q&A: Professional Mentorship, Unlocking Mobility, and Speed Training for Young Athletes appeared first on Robertson Training Systems.

If you work with athletes who travel, tell me if you’ve seen this before. They fly across the country, and when they show up, something just feels off. Reaction time is slow. They’re moody and irritable. OR they’re just tired flat when it really matters. And we usually treat it like it’s just a sleep problem – but deep down, we know it’s more than that. Jet lag isn’t just about being tired: It’s about your athlete’s internal clock being completely out of sync with when they’re supposed to perform. They might be awake, but their nervous system, hormones, and decision-making speed are still operating in a different time zone. So today we’re diving deep into this with someone who has lived this at the highest level of sport. Tom Clark has spent over a decade working in elite performance — primarily in Formula 1 — supporting drivers and teams in one of the most demanding travel schedules in global sport. He’s operated in a multifaceted performance role, helping athletes manage preparation, recovery, and sustained excellence under constant travel and pressure. And he’s also a doctoral candidate specializing in jet lag, travel fatigue, and circadian disruption — researching how global travel impacts physiology, decision-making, and performance. If you coach athletes who travel, or you want to optimize your own performance across time zones, this podcast is going to help you right now!   Quotable Quotes: Effective circadian adjustment hinges on strategic light exposure and sleep timing, not merely on increasing sleep hours.   Traditional advice – like maximizing sleep or exercising immediately after travel – may actually hinder adaptation if misapplied.   Manipulating light, timing sleep, and behavioral adjustments are more reliable and cost-effective than supplements or ‘quick fixes.’   This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast: Tom’s background in F1 racing, and how that got him started in sleep science and circadian rhythm Learn how your circadian rhythm and body’s internal clock affects both sleep and performance What jet lag is, and how it can negatively impact physical and mental performance Why jet lag may not get the attention it deserves Practical strategies for minimizing jet lag and synching your internal clock in new time zones “Traditional Advice” for dealing with jet lag that may actually make things worse! How light exposure can help speed up (or slow down) your body’s internal clock Do supplements like melatonin help? Last but not least, a few more practical strategies to make travel better and sleep more effectively when you’re on the road!     Connect with Tom: Tom on Instagram Tom on LinkedIn Tom’s Company Phaze   Level Up Your Exercise Selection and Technique with Whatsthatstrap! Are you looking for ways to coach more effectively while cuing less? Or getting your clients and athletes into the right position WITHOUT overwhelming them with 35 cues every set? If so, you need to check out Whatsthatstrap! What’s That Strap makes specialty cable machine attachments that are specifically designed for rotation and multidirectional movement. The 3D Strap is amazing for driving separation between the hips and shoulders like you would in tennis, golf, baseball or even basketball, but it can also be used to resist rotation in standard weight room exercises like squats and lunges as well. And while the 3D Strap is awesome, I also find myself using their chop handles all the time as well. Whether it’s for exercises like chops and lifts, or just using them as a bonus sled dragging attachment, I absolutely love their versatility. To learn more about Whatsthatstrap or pick up a 3D Strap or chop handles, head over to WhatsThatStrap.com and use the discount code RTS at checkout to get free shipping on all US orders. I know you’re going to love training with their attachments!   Subscribe, Rate & Share Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Physical Preparation Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts and leave your honest review. I’d also love to connect via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit our website. Thanks so much for your support – love and appreciate you! The post How Elite Athletes Manage Jet Lag and Travel Fatigue to Optimize Performance with Tom Clark appeared first on Robertson Training Systems.

Okay my friends, today we’re trying something 100% and completely NEW with this podcast! Yes, even after 500 episodes, I’m still looking for ways to keep it fresh and exciting, so I really hope you enjoy it. In today’s MR Training Talk, we’re going to dive deeper into some of my most popular articles and social media posts in recent memory. For example… What are the biggest mistakes coaches make when writing in-season programs? How can you optimizing a client or athlete’s training based on their unique physical characteristics? And what the heck is a “Buffer Zone?” And why are they so important? I’m going to answer all those questions – and more – in this week’s episode of the Physical Prep Podcast!   Quotable Quotes: Tailor exercises to an athlete needs – not trends – for better results and fewer injuries   Recognizing whether an athlete is more stiff or compliant allows for a precise intervention   In-season training success relies on balancing multiple workout types—loading, maintenance, “stim” and recovery   This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast: Why I created this podcast format, and how I think it will help YOU How to optimize training for your floppy/unstable athletes Who deep tier plyos will work best for (as well as who should avoid them, at least early-on) The biggest mistakes I see coaches making with their in-season workouts Why you absolutely SHOULD lock in on the details of movement… …but why you SHOULD NOT do this at the expense of other physical qualities My “Big 3” physical qualities you should be developing if you want to make savage gen pop clients or athletes An introduction to the concept of the physiological “Buffer Zone” Understanding how the buffer zone concept works not only with mobility, but virtually any physical quality you want to develop!     Related Links: MR on Instagram In-Season Training Mistakes Article Movement Quality? Train Like a Savage? Or Both? Article Physiological Buffer Zone article by Patrick Ward   Ways to Continue Learning: Optimizing Movement Workshop in Arizona Complete Coach Certification In-Season Programming Masterclass   Level Up Your Program Design with Train Heroic! Are you tired of using clunky, antiquated program design tools like Microsoft Word or Excel? Are you ready to level up your programming, and make it far more engaging to your clients and athletes? If so, you need to check out Train Heroic. I’ve been using TrainHeroic for years now both here at RTS and at IFAST, and I can tell you the user experience both as an athlete and coach is truly second to none. To learn more and start your free 14-day trial, just follow this link to learn more about Train Heroic. Not only will you get your first 14 days free, but it’s just $10/month to get started officially after that. So don’t wait any longer – head over trainheroic.co/rts and start crafting beautiful programs your clients and athletes will love TODAY!   Subscribe, Rate & Share! Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Physical Preparation Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts and leave your honest review. I’d also love to connect via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit our website. Thanks so much for your support – love and appreciate you! The post Buffer Zones, Optimizing Training and In-Season Workouts appeared first on Robertson Training Systems.

Dr. Marc Lewis is the Director of Applied Sports Science for the Houston Texans, and prior to his time in the NFL, he also had stints at Penn State, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and the University of South Carolina. Now today’s show is obviously going to focus on sports science, because that’s kind of his jam. But I’d argue even if you aren’t hard core about sports science, there’s a ton to be learned here. For instance, would you be interested in how a small wrestling team using a $347 set-up outperformed a bigger school with fancy tech? Or the big questions you should ask yourself FIRST, before you make any investment into your sports science program? If so, you’re going to love this episode – so let’s dive in!   Quotable Quotes: Our job is to help athletes perform better within their sport and help the team win games   The key is to create an infrastructure that links technology to practical interventions and action items   It’s not just about having data; it’s about centering it around the athlete and how to best support them   This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast: Marc’s incredible origin story, from his challenging childhood to become a leader in sports science How the military transformed Marc both physically and mentally, and gave him a path forward The “Million Dollar Question” of sports-science How a small college with a $347 sports science budget ran circles around a school with more resources The most important question you should ask BEFORE you invest in any sort of tech Why it’s not just about the tech, but how it will work in your environment that matters most How the Texans are incorporating sports-science to make real-time decisions on player health and performance The “layers” of sports science he’s trying to unpack to see where an athlete is underperforming (and why) Resources (both free and paid) that Marc is working on to take the sports-science industry to the next level!     Connect with Marc: Marc Lewis’ Website Marc on IG Marc on X The Sports-Science Handbook: A Blueprint for Better Decision-Making in Sport   Related Links: Eamonn Flanagan on Building Fast, Explosive and Robust Athletes with Plyometric Training Building a High-Performance Model on a Budget with Dr. Anne Beethe   Supercharge Your Decision-Making and Program Design with Hawkin Dynamics Force Plates! Hawkin Dynamics designs and builds performance hardware and software the right way. Their dual wireless force plates give you the most accurate, real-time data on athletic performance. You’ll have the ability to performance test your athletes in a matter of seconds, and give them immediate feedback on their strengths, weaknesses and readiness for that day’s training session. Their software is designed in house and continually updated to ensure the interface is clean, intuitive and easy to use, so both you and your athletes can visualize what’s going on and how to improve their performance. And Hawkin Dynamics is built around their customers and provide industry-leading support and training services to ensure you get the most out of their solutions. With options to lease or buy, coupled with a 5-year warranty, Hawkin Dynamics force plates can take your performance facility to the next level. To learn more, head over to HawkinDynamics.com or follow them on Instagram @HawinDynamics.   Subscribe, Rate & Share! Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Physical Preparation Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts and leave your honest review. I’d also love to connect via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit our website. Thanks so much for your support – love and appreciate you! The post Marc Lewis on Overcoming Adversity, Data-Driven Insights, and Enhancing Sports Science appeared first on Robertson Training Systems.

  Are you a smaller college, facility or business owner who is looking to take their sports performance program to the next level? If so, you’re going to LOVE today’s episode. Dr. Anne Beethe currently serves as the Director of Peak Performance at Colby College, a high performance model housing Sports Medicine, Strength and Conditioning, Mental Performance, Nutrition, and Sport Science. And in today’s episode, we’re going to talk about how she built an amazing high-performance program with limited people, funds and resources – something I’m sure many of us can relate to!   Quotable Quotes: The more a team has engaged with us – more entry points, more contacts – the more likely they are to succeed   When whoop first came out and coaches were like, why are my athletes better in the yellow? I’m like, “it’s okay if they’re not in the green!”   We have to work as our own team to make sure this all works together       This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast: Dr. Anne Beethe’s background, and how she originally got started in the world of physical prep The pros and cons of starting a high-performance model at a D-3 school. How to strategically invest in technology that will move the needle in YOUR environment. Why objective data is so critical to athletic development and performance. How you allocate resources when there’s only a handful of coaches and 750 athletes to manage! The importance of “Failing Gracefully” Why the most successful teams at Colby have jumped head first into the high-performance model How to build a tight knit team and community to help ensure success! Anne’s advice to anyone who wants to get started on this path, and ways she’s learned from her mistakes along the way!     Connect with Anne: Colby Peak Performance on Instagram Dr. Anne Beethe on Instagram   Related Links: Ryan Horn on NIL, the Transfer Portal, and the Evolution of a Coach   Supercharge Your Decision-Making and Program Design with Hawkin Dynamics Force Plates! Hawkin Dynamics designs and builds performance hardware and software the right way. Their dual wireless force plates give you the most accurate, real-time data on athletic performance. You’ll have the ability to performance test your athletes in a matter of seconds, and give them immediate feedback on their strengths, weaknesses and readiness for that day’s training session. Their software is designed in house and continually updated to ensure the interface is clean, intuitive and easy to use, so both you and your athletes can visualize what’s going on and how to improve their performance. And Hawkin Dynamics is built around their customers and provide industry-leading support and training services to ensure you get the most out of their solutions. With options to lease or buy, coupled with a 5-year warranty, Hawkin Dynamics force plates can take your performance facility to the next level. To learn more, head over to HawkinDynamics.com or follow them on Instagram @HawinDynamics.   Subscribe, Rate & Share! Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Physical Preparation Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts and leave your honest review. I’d also love to connect via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit our website. Thanks so much for your support – love and appreciate you! The post Building a High-Performance Model on a Budget with Dr. Anne Beethe appeared first on Robertson Training Systems.

You know how I know Cassanandra Forsythe is awesome? She said a big part of why she got into strength training and working out was watching one of my all-time favorite shows as a kid – American Gladiators! Now in all seriousness, sporting a Ph.D. in Kinesiology and a Masters Degree in Nutrition & Metabolism, Cass really is a force both in the strength and conditioning and nutrition spaces, and I couldn’t be more excited to bring her on the show. And today, we’re going to talk about her work with young female athletes, and how she’s helping them not only train for performance but also nourish their bodies along the way!   Quotable Quotes: I wanted to be that professor that students remember for making a real impact.   Empowering young athletes to become machines that won’t break is my mission.   Yoga was a new challenge that humbled me and transformed my approach to fitness.   This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast: Cassandra’s journey from a fascination with American Gladiators to leader in the nutrition and exercise science spaces. How chronic lower back pain and health challenges early in life lead her to the worlds of training and nutrition. Why it’s so important to Cass to blend the science but also the real-world/practical sides of training. Her overall teaching philosophy, and why it extends beyond education and moves towards inspiration. How to create programs that are truly fun and engaging for young athletes. The massive shift in the fitness industry from aesthetics to performance training. Thoughts on getting your female athletes to focus on fueling and nourishment versus “diets.” Why she originally got started in yoga, and how it’s helped fill in gaps with her physical development. How YOU can get started with yoga or mobility, and why it can help you not only train longer, but stay healthier to boot!     Connect with Cassandra: Cassandra on Instagram Cassandra on Facebook   Level Up Your Exercise Selection and Technique with Whatsthatstrap! Are you looking for ways to coach more effectively while cuing less? Or getting your clients and athletes into the right position WITHOUT overwhelming them with 35 cues every set? If so, you need to check out Whatsthatstrap! What’s That Strap makes specialty cable machine attachments that are specifically designed for rotation and multidirectional movement. The 3D Strap is amazing for driving separation between the hips and shoulders like you would in tennis, golf, baseball or even basketball, but it can also be used to resist rotation in standard weight room exercises like squats and lunges as well. And while the 3D Strap is awesome, I also find myself using their chop handles all the time as well. Whether it’s for exercises like chops and lifts, or just using them as a bonus sled dragging attachment, I absolutely love their versatility. To learn more about Whatsthatstrap or pick up a 3D Strap or chop handles, head over to WhatsThatStrap.com and use the discount code RTS at checkout to get free shipping on all US orders. I know you’re going to love training with their attachments!   Subscribe, Rate & Share Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Physical Preparation Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts and leave your honest review. I’d also love to connect via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit our website. Thanks so much for your support – love and appreciate you! The post How to Train and Fuel the Next Generation of Female Athletes with Cassandra Forsythe appeared first on Robertson Training Systems.