We’re excited to welcome physical therapist Bill Hartman to this week’s podcast. Bill discusses how his approaches to training and rehabilitation have evolved over the years, and emphasizes the importance of range as a professional rather than early specialization. We converse on the common mistakes made with training rotational sport athletes, and delve into more complex topics like infrasternal angle and sacral positioning.

A special thanks to this show’s sponsor, Athletic Greens. Head to https://www.athleticgreens.com/cressey and you’ll receive a free 10-pack of Athletic Greens travel packets with your first order.

Show Outline

• How Bill became involved in the world of rehabilitation and how have his practices evolved since he first entered the field nearly 30 years ago
• What tools have remained consistent throughout Bill’s professional career and how his perspective has changed despite this consistency
• Why Bill is still constantly tweaking, adapting, and refining his processes as a physical therapist and how he is working to master his model and find true efficiency in his craft
• Why professionals should be wary of specialization and should avoid limiting their perspective to the insights of one profession
• Why the common hierarchical perspective of movement rehabilitation doesn’t capture how we truly drive adaptation in individuals
• How coaches and rehab professionals alike can start at the ideal outcome and work backwards to create an actionable plan to drive change
• Why asymmetry may actually be the recipe for elite athletic performance
• What infrasternal angle is and how this measurement is utilized as an assessment tool
• What specific insights does infrasternal angle give us for rotational athletes and their capabilities to move efficiently for their sport
• What the two types of infrasternal presentations are and what action-based plan Bill has for dealing with each respectively
• Why the dynamics of the rib cage are more important than static infrasternal angle presentation and how professionals can observe an individual’s capacity for movement at the core of the body
• Why the position of the sacrum is an overlooked factor for analyzing optimal movement
• What sacral position demonstrates to professionals about an individual’s movement profile
• Why quality training isn’t about changing someone but rather about reinforcing what someone was meant to do
• Why exercise selection is vital for transforming athletes into the best version of themselves and how professionals can create programs for individuals that match their movement capabilities
• How much strength is too much strength for athletes and how the dosage of training can drive adaptations that actually make an individual worse at their sport
• Why defining the amount and rate of force production needed for a sport is essential for properly training athletes of the sport and how these insights set the parameters for training strategies
• How blind exercise prescription and an overemphasis of strength training are limiting the capabilities of rotational athletes and what Bill’s big rocks for creating elite throwers are
• Why more strength training is not always better and what key performance indicators professionals can monitor to maintain progress and limit the negative effects of training
• Why strength training is not inherently bad, but professionals should be more particular about its implementation
• What Bill’s key competencies for high level learners are and how you can be the best learner possible
• What three books all performance professionals should read
• What research Bill would like to see done to progress the field

You can follow Bill on Twitter at @BillHartmanPT and and Instagram at @BillHartmanPT. You can also learn more about him at www.BillHartmanPT.com.

Sponsor Reminder

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