
Ben Sporer on Sequencing Training, Clear Objectives and Marginal Gains
From Physical Preparation Podcast by Mike Robertson
May 15, 2026 · 57 min
About this episode
Ben Sporer discusses the importance of clear objectives and the balance between fundamentals and marginal gains in training.
With over 30 years in high performance sport, Ben Sporer has seen what it takes to be successful at the highest level of sport. From Canadian Olympic athletes to the Vancouver Whitecaps of the MLS, Ben has made a career on being clear and intentional about the goals of his program. So where do we go wrong when writing programs? Are we too caught up in the 1% that we’re missing the long hanging fruit? Or are we too enamored with cool recovery modalities that we’re actually NOT getting the training adaptations we want? We cover all that – and much more – in this week’s episode of the Physical Prep Podcast! Quotable Quotes: Performance is an output. It’s not an outcome. It’s an expression of a bunch of integrated factors in a moment to try to achieve an objective. Marginal gains matter only when they actually matter. Fundamentals first, marginal gains second. Integration is a verb, it’s an action. It requires people to actually talk. This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast: Ben’s pioneering role as the first full-time paid physiologist for Olympic sports in Canada. His transition from strength coaching…
People in this episode
Host: Mike Robertson
Guest: Ben Sporer
Topics covered
- training sequencing
- performance output
- marginal gains
- recovery strategies
- goal setting
- fundamentals in training
Keywords
- performance
- training adaptations
- marginal gains
- recovery modalities
- net performance impact
- high performance sport
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Vancouver Whitecaps, Olympic sports
Places: Canada, MLS
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