Ben Sporer on Sequencing Training, Clear Objectives and Marginal Gains

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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