UNC Exercise Selection Workshop
This past weekend had the opportunity to speak at the University of North Carolina on
In the Lab – Buying a Non Motorized Curved Treadmill
So I got a treadmill recently and wanted to break down why. To be more
Pragmatic Thinking & Learning, Andy Hunt
Before I review this book I want to share with you how I find books.
Strength Coach Chronicles – Strength Coach Diversification
I feel as though we are experiencing an evolution within S&C for strength coaches. There
What I am Reading – Injury Free Running by Tom Michaud
This was a good book. If you work with clients that run, you will get
In the Lab – Strength Coach Conditioning Tests
Let’s talk conditioning tests, not for our athletes, but for ourselves. What is fitness for
Limitations of Concentrically Oriented Training
Here’s a thought, all of your results are probably 30% less than they should be,
In the Lab – Buying a Back Extension/Glute Ham
There are a lot of options for buying a back extension now. The advent of
What I am Reading – When Breathe Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
Mortality is an interesting conversation. I read these books from time to time. Not because
In the Lab – Buying a Cold Plunge
Why would anyone need a cold plunge? I have a driver for this decision, which
Strength Coach Chronicles – Internship Programs
Chances you have an internship program if you are in the team setting. The biggest
What I Am Reading – Takeoff, Daniel Bove
This is the best resource on Force Plate evaluation I have personally seen. For context,
In the Lab – Buying Specialty Bars
This one will be primarily about the need for speciality bars. I am going to
Strength Coach Chronicles – Strength Coach Budgeting
This is probably not the most exciting topic, but it is one that I think
What I am Reading – Gym Launch Secrets, Alex Hormozi
This is a book that as a gym owner you are going to resonate with.
In the Lab – Buying Plates
This one is pretty straightforward, are you going to olympic lift or not olympic lift?
Strength Coach Chronicles – Strength Coach Retirement Plan
Here’s a fun topic, retirement planning. What is a good plan for a job with
What I Am Reading – The Thought Leaders Practice, Matt Church and Peter Cook
I will start with this: you are probably running a Practice disguised as a Business,
In the Lab – Buying a Rack(s)
So this is a big one, and will largely have the most impact on how
Strength Coach Chronicles – Wearables Impact on Training
At this point, most people have been exposed to some sort of wearable technology. Tracking
What I Am Reading – Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton
I’ll just kick this off with this, I am a huge Eastern Medicine advocate but
In the Lab – Buying Cardiovascular Equipment
So this will be an interesting blog post for a number of reasons. One reason:
Strength Coach Chronicles – Finding Time to Workout
I have been a strength coach for almost 20 years, one thing I have prided
What I Am Reading – Noxx, Evan Peikon
If you are not familiar with Near Infrared Spectrometry (NIRS), it allows you to see
Strength Coach Chronicles – Managing Burnout
A common thread I deal with coaches is the idea of burnout. I work with
What I Am Reading – Designing Strength Training Programs and Facilities, Mike Boyle
This was a petty classic Mike book. Good practical information, very open with his system
In the Lab – Fractal Facility Design
A dilemma I am facing here is designing my home gym. Part of the dilemma
Strength Coach Chronicles – Who’s in Charge?
The idea of any organization is that someone is in charge of someone else. Assistant
What I’m Reading – Movement over Maxes, Zach Dechant
First off this is probably the best practical approach to long term athletic development I
Strength Coach Chronicles – Career Procrastination
This has become a common thread for S&C coaches I have been interacting with lately:
What I’m Reading – High Output Management, Andrew Grove
This is a monster book.You can see the chronicles of someone that has worked in
Strength Coach Chronicles – Do you really care what someone else is doing?
Why do other strength coaches care what someone else does with their programming? I’ve always
What I’m Reading – Outlive, Peter Attia
This is a really good book. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth mentioning again:
What I’m Reading – The Demon Haunted World, Carl Sagan
The question is not whether we like the conclusion that emerges out of a train
Strength Coach Chronicles – Building your Brand
This is something I have finally come to grips with as a critical aspect of
Strength Coach Chronicles – Getting a Masters Degree?
This is a critical question. It is one that needs some sort of perspective. For
What I’m Reading – Agile Periodization Vol 1&2, Mladen Jovanovic
This is a monster book filled to the brim with information. As S&C books go,
Strength Coach Chronicles – Accepting Blame vs Credit
At the end of a loss with a team you are working for, what is
What I’m Reading – Thinking in Bets, Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All The Facts. Annie Duke
This book is applicable to any coach out there. The central idea is that we
Strength Coach Chronicles – The Issue with Reductionist Based Thinking
What we have to understand is that complex problems are never going to be the
What I’m Reading – The Only Rule is It Has to Work
The reason why the feeling of losing is worse than the joy from winning is
Strength Coach Chronicles – Was the High Performance Model a Failure (Part III)?
Part I – Organizational Structure we went through why the High Performance Model is not
What I’m Reading – Maximum Muscle Bible
I got to come out and say this, I did not enjoy this book. I
Strength Coach Chronicles – Was the High Performance Model a Failure (Part II)?
Part I – Organizational Structure we went through why the High Performance Model (HPM) is
What I’m Reading – Imagine it Forward
Imagine it Forward I try to read as many books that are going to accommodate
What I Am Reading – The Great Starvation Experiment
The Great Starvation Experiment One of my favorite podcasts is Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History Podcast.
Strength Coach Chronicles – Was the High Performance Model a Failure? (Part I)
I have this image of a European soccer club having this beautiful set up of
Strength Coach Chronicles – Preparing for Post Season
There is a certain amount of anxiety or relief going into the final parts of
What I’m Reading – Team of Teams (Gen. Stanley McChrystal)
Team of Teams What is amazing about this book is that it was a solution
What I’m Reading – How to Create a Mind
How to Create a Mind For those not familiar with Ray Kurzweil, you should be.
Strength Coach Chronicles – In Season Varsity (Travel) Workouts (Part II)
We have talked this about in other blog posts and how hard this part of
Periodization in the Private Setting is Alive and Well! (Article from 2018)
IS PERIODIZATION DEAD? I hear this from time to time, it is not a new
Band Assisted Pullups Are a Waste of Time (Article from 2019)
(Want a program that doesn’t waste your time? Check out Allegiate Online Programs here) You
Strength Coach Chronicles – In Season Developmental Workouts
This is easily the biggest opportunity for a S&C coach during the season to contribute
What I’m Reading (S&C Classic)- Poliquin Principles
I can tell you where I was when I first read this book. I was
Strength Coach Chronicles – Injured Workouts
To me this is arguably the most important part of the job. At least during
5 3 1 for Athletes (Article From 2007)
I am absolutely obsessed with Jim Wendler’s 5-3-1 program (2); I think it is a
What I Am Reading – Transformer
What I would say about any of Nick Lane’s books is that they make a
Strength Coach Chronicles – In Season Training (Part I)
This is the most important period of training you will have in a calendar year
Strength Coach Chronicles – Transitioning Back to Season
Transitioning back to in season is a lot more than S&C coaches really let on.
Strength Coach Chronicles – Working with Highly Motivated Athletes
We discussed in the last Strength Coach Chronicles how to work with unmotivated athletes. In
What I’m Reading – The Business of Movement
If you have been following Functional Movement Systems for a while, you have been waiting
Strength Coach Chronicles – Working with Unmotivated Athletes
Anyone that has ever worked in a team setting knows there is a natural standard
What I’m Reading (Classic) – Strongest Shall Survive
Bill Starr’s First Book If you are unfamiliar with this book, it is a
Strength Coach Chronicles – Working with Sports Nutritionist
This is one that is exceptionally hard for me. I get a lot of calls
What I’m Reading – Future Perfect
When you give people more control over the flow of information and decision making in
Strength Coach Chronicles – Working with Sports Medicine
I want to establish that an Athletic Trainer that gets their CSCS is not productive
What I’m Reading – Work Rules
In a previous blog I reviewed the book Working Backwards on how Amazon creates a
Strength Coach Chronicles – Working with Sport Coaches
Working with coaches was always my greatest weakness. I always struggled with the power dynamic
What I’m Reading – Movements that Heal
This book was referenced on the CVASPS podcast, which caught my attention on application of
Strength Coach Chronicles – Working Multiple Sports
Anyone that has ever worked in college S&C has had to work with multiple teams
What I’m Reading – Strength training and coordination: an integrative approach
I recently spoke on a Panel for the Dodgers Sport Symposium and got access to
Strength Coach Chronicles – Stamina In the Trenches
I wanted to write this blog post because we are going to be hitting the
What I’m Reading: MVP Machine
I was recommended this book by Brandon McDaniel of the Los Angeles Dodgers. I was
Strength Coach Chronicles – Interviewing Part II
We discussed last month how to interview someone. This month, we are going to dive
What I’m Reading – Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment
The big take home is that humans create noise because we have bias. That bias
Strength Coach Chronicles – Interviewing Part I
It’s that time of year again! Can we find that perfect fit for our department
What I’m Reading: Stop Being Reasonable
We work in the influence business. We have to change people’s behaviors from negative to
Strength Coach Chronicles – Delayed Gratification
Does every workout need to be really challenging to be effective? This is a really
What I Am Reading – Boundless
For the record, this book is more of an encyclopedia than a single subject book.
Strength Coach Chronicles – Pre/Post Mortem
If you are familiar with goal setting, you should be familiar with the concept of
What I’m Reading – The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn
This is an engineering book. The idea of thinking like an engineer is built upon
Strength Coach Chronicles – Grass Is Not Always Greener
Let’s be real, everyone right now is looking at potential jobs for next year. Looking
What I’m Reading – Great Mental Models Vol III
I’m a big fan of this series. This is Volume 3, and I can say
Strength Coach Chronicles – Mentors
This is the area I personally struggle with. I get a lot of requests for
What I’m Reading – 12 Rules for Life
There is a lot out there on Jordan Peterson and his stance on specific issues.
Strength Coach Chronicles – Willingness To Change
I personally think it is incredibly sad when I see an S&C Coach who was
What I’m Reading – Muscle Hypertrophy
I’ll start off by saying I have really liked Brad’s work for sometime now. I
Strength Coach Chronicles – Leave the Jersey Better Than you Found it
If you have ever read the book, Legacy, you’ll have read a chapter entitled “Leave
What I’m Reading : Measure What Matters
The summary statement from this book is that businesses and teams should be focussed on
Strength Coach Chronicles – Problem Solver
Sticking with the themes presented in Amazon’s Working Backwards, I want to look at Problem
What I’m Reading – Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon
First off, I want to explain the constant business books as of late. It is
Strength Coach Chronicles – The Art of Saying No
This will come off as polarizing, I am sure. On the one hand, someone will
What I’m Reading – Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products
Nir Eyal defined habits as “behaviors done with little or no conscious thought.” This is
Strength Coach Chronicles – Reliability
What is better: to be on time and incapable or to be late and capable?
What I’m Reading – The Goal
This is intended to be a business book, but in reality, it is applicable to
Strength Coach Chronicles – Redeemable Value
The first question I give to my staff when they transition from Intern to Associate
What I Am Reading – The Art & Science of Teaching Movement
I have seen Nick talk several times about cueing which always has been impressive. I