Even before I was a certified DNS practitioner and well before I was brought on as an instructor, I was presenting DNS concepts to strength coaches and personal trainers at conferences and clinics all over the country.

In 2016, after being brought on as an instructor, I presented to the DNS team how one would apply the DNS principles to strength training. Soon after, I started teaching DNS Weight Lifting, a 3 day DNS Exercise 1 course with some time tacked on the end for strength training. This was version 1.0 of what is now a fully established, 3 course training track to help coach improve their results and reduce risk of injury.

Over the next decade, with the help of Jakub Novak (from the Czech Republic), Michael Maxwell (from Canada), and Han Lindgren (from Australia), I evolved, tweaked, and pruned, DNS strength training into a comprehensive 3 course track.

Two people/athletes/coaches who were absolutely critical to this process (patient 0 and 1 if you will) were Drew & Chelsea Dillon of Project Lift (www.Project-Lift.org). It was 2012, right before the US Weightlifting Olympic Trials and well before I was brought on an instructor, when I met these two special humans without whom DNS Strength Training would have never come to fruition. It was on them that the DNS principles were applied to training. Previously, DNS' involvement in sports was confined to the treatment of athletes. They had not yet been applied to training.

Using DNS principles, I was able to rehab both of them through near career-ending injuries, getting them both back to the National level where they belong. In this process where DNS Strength Training was truly born, I rehabbed them through their injury, tweaked their technique to align with DNS principles of movement, and programmed for them for nearly 6 months to get them back to National level athletes. This process was crucial for bringing DNS Strength Training to fruition.

Since that time, both Drew and Chelsea, both certified DNS strength coaches (DNS-SC), have been applying DNS to Olympic weightlifting at its highest level out of their gym Project Lift right here in Columbus, Ohio. If you want to learn about applying DNS to strength training, particularly Olympic weightlifting, there is no one doing it better...literally. Check out www.Project-Lift.org for more information on Project Lifting. Tell them I sent you!

In this long overdue conversation Drew, Chelsea, and I talk about this process, this evolution of DNS Strength Training.

I am eternally grateful that I was able to meet them, about the gracious way they allowed me to "experiment" on the them (if you will), and that I have them as close friends.

Please enjoy this conversation with two of my favorite humans on the planet, Drew & Chelsea Dillon.

On December 29th, Mike Boyle put up a post that caused quite a ruckus. He said "I'm going to say it again, 5-10 reps done to failure is heavy enough. The risk of 1-5 is not worth the reward." While this statement does not seem to be all that controversial, the social media influencers of the world got riled up and stated to attack.

I thought this created a terrific opportunity to discuss some important issues strength coaches face every day:- In what scenario do we need to lift to failure? - What does lifting to failure mean? - Do adults need to lift heavy?

Mike is a brilliant strength coach with a world-class pragmatism. In this conversation, we dig into the weeds and actually explore the nuances of these critical questions instead of just throwing out attacks.

In this episode, we neatly summarize the OPEX concept "Sustain" and then we dig a lot deeper into its application.

Later in the episode we tease out the difference between sustain and repeatability - both important for any coach who works with the general public or athletes.

I really enjoyed this conversation and was grateful that Carl was willing to make extra time.

Enjoy!

#KnowTheWhy

#AthleteEnhancement

OPEX has many foundational concepts, on which their system is based. Once such concept is "Sustain". In this episode, we start digging into this concept, one which about which any coach or trainer should be aware.

Huge thanks to Carl for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with me.

#KnowTheWhy

#AthleteEnhancement

Again, while flexing the lumbar spine under load (repetitively at that) seems silly, it is actually more complex than a blanket, black and white statement, that one should never allow an athlete to flex their lumbar spine. For this reason, this will be a 2 part podcast.

Enjoy!

#KnowTheWhy #TrainHardTrainSmart #AthleteEnhancement

While most of these have focused on the effects nasal respiration has on aerobic performance and also health, I was curious how it might influence stability in both traditional strength training and also high intensity metabolic intervals with heavier loads.

In this episode, Dr. Ulm discusses these benefits, the challenges with using nasal respiration in training and also proper implementation.

#KnowTheWhy

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It was inspired by a great conversation I had with Henry Turaño, a fantastic coach and owner of OPEX San Juan. He is also one of the head coaches for Crafted Coaching, a remote coaching organization.

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No matter how good the coach, programming is nothing more  than an educated guess. How the athlete interprets and executes the program has a huge impact on the efficacy.

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@coachtorano 

@opexsj 

@crafted.coaching 

Mike is a busy fellow. He works as a strength coach in the Boston area at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning (www.bodybyboyle.com). He is the author of a functional training classic, Functional Training for Sports. He has a functional training certification, Certified Functional Strength Coach (CFSC | www.certifiedfsc.com) and he is a regular presenter on the Perform Better Functional Training series (www.performbetter.com/3-day-functional-training-summit).

Mike is a fantastic presenter. If you ever get a chance to hear him present, you should definitely take it.

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Enjoy!

In this Podcast, I discuss the differences between these two concepts in hopes of helping coaches better program and prepare their athletes for sport.

#KnowTheWhy

While carries in general are overlooked and underutilized in the strength training community, we tend to favor one style of carry and that style isn't the best one.

Each type of carry has utility and purpose in a program, but one type is vastly superior to the others and does not carry with it (#PunIntended) the deleterious effect associated with the other two.

Let us know what you think!

#KnowTheWhy

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James has a unique mind with a proclivity to always think about the larger picture, which makes for a great conversation. He has unrivaled conviction for his approach, which is both captivating and inspiring. I enjoy any time he and I can chat. I am thankful that we were able to record this one. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. 

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In this discussion we cover the following:

• The importance of proper programming so that clients and athletes “express well” in their workouts. We dive in deep into what exactly James means by “expressing well”.
• The 7 factors that should be considered when writing programs.
• The importance of knowing one’s intentions, which applies to both the coach and the client. 
• The “Distraction” model that has negatively impacted the fitness industry. 
• Proper programming and stabilization. Here, we have a nice discussion/debate that ends with disagreement. It was a nice cordial discussion during which we both challenge each other’s beliefs, ultimately agreeing to disagree.

The “Vitality Model”. This is clearly James’ passion, legacy even. It has to do with the deepest sense of “why” we engage in fitness and what James believes is the ultimate purpose for this endeavor.  

For more information about James you can listen to one of his podcasts:

• Big Dawgs
• Fitness in Philosophy

OPEX Fitness also has their own podcast.

• Back Room Talk 

For more information on OPEX, visit:

• www.opexfit.com

OPEX on Instagram at 

• @OPEXFitness

OPEX on YouTube at

• @Opex Fitness

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For more information about Dr. Richard Ulm, visit:

On the web: www.Athlete-Enhancement.com

On YouTube: @AthleteEnhancement

On Instagram: @AthleteEnhacement

Over the last 4 decades, Jud has been a force in the track and field community. First, he was dominant athlete who broke the American Record in both the hammer throw and the weight throw multiple times and represented the United States in 4 Olympic Games.

In the mid 1990’s, he transitioned into coaching, where he has now become one of the most respected and decorated coaches in the country. He has coached multiple Olympians (including my wife Jackie), dozens of All-American’s & national champions. 

In many ways, for me, Jud is where it all started. I was lucky enough to compete for him as at athlete at Ashland University in his early days as a coach and he coached me through college and to my first Olympic Trials. It was at Ashland where I became passionate about human performance (periodization, precise load management, exercise prescription, personalized programming, tempo, biomechanics, lifting technique, etc.). This passion initially drove me into the coaching profession and eventually into the medical profession. Jud has been a huge influence to me on multiple levels, which is why I started this podcast with him. 

While Jud was a stand-out talent as an athlete, a quality he possesses that was integral in his success is his incredible ability to focus, maintain a positivity and goal set. I trained with him through 2 full Olympic cycles where I watched him set goals that would not be achieved for 4 years. During the pursuit of these goals I got to see him sustain a positive mind-set through the good times and the bad. I was able to see him express the ability to sustain light focus on a goal for years without wavering and I was able to watch him hyper-focus on a task such as execution of a lift or a throw. For me, his intensity in the weight room is as legendary as his physical talents or his accomplishments. 

Perhaps because he was so physically gifted, his incredible mental/psychological ability went unnoticed.

Because of the importance of mind-set/goal-setting/metal focus/positivity in performance, and because of Jud’s incredible prowess in these attributes of an athlete, the focus of this podcast is here.

For this episode, I brought on a surprise guest, my wife Jackie.  Jackie was a 13 time All-American, 5 time National Champion and 2004 Olympian for Jud. I don’t think I am putting words in Jud’s mouth to say that Jackie is one of his favorite, best, and most important athletes of his career. Like Jud, she was/is a medal giant, which is one of the major reasons she was so successful. I am glad she was able to contribute.

In this discussion we cover the following:

• The importance of mind-set
• The importance of positivity
• Long term goal-setting (1 year, 4 years and beyond)
• Achieving intense focus for short events like executing a lift or a throw
• Coaching mind-set in athletes
• And much, much more  

For more information on Jud, visit:

• https://goashlandeagles.com/sports/track-and-field/roster/coaches/jud-logan/100

Jud Logan on Instagram at 

@Olympic4x

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For more information about Dr. Richard Ulm, visit:

On the web: www.Athlete-Enhancement.com

On YouTube: @AthleteEnhancement

On Instagram: @AthleteEnhacement

In this episode, Dr. Ulm discusses a variety of both objective and subjective metrics coaches can use to better dose their athletes.

Check out this episode to hear 7 different factors that every strength coach should be considering when programming for their athletes.