We welcome strength and conditioning coach Luka Hocevar to the podcast for a thorough discussion on a variety of physical preparation topics, ranging from coach development, to program design, to athlete assessment. Luka also spoke to some key factors that contribute to so much athletic success in his native country of Slovenia as well. If you're an up-and-coming coach, you'll find this to be an extremely beneficial episode. And, if you're a player, Luka's story will yield a lot of perspective on how hard you have to chase your dreams.

A special thanks to this show's sponsor, AG1. Head to https://www.DrinkAG1.com/cressey and you'll receive a free 10-pack of AG1 travel packets with your first order.

You can find Luka on Instagram at @LukaHocevar and YouTube HERE.

Sponsor Reminder

This episode is brought to you by AG1. AG1 (formerly Athletic Greens) is your daily foundational nutrition; it has 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s foundational nutrition needs across five critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. It is the new and future way of getting a multivitamin, and a whole lot more. Head to www.DrinkAG1.com/cressey and claim my special offer today – 10 FREE travel packs – with your first purchase. I use AG1 daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I’d encourage you to give it a shot, too – especially with this great offer.

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Here's a list of recommended reading/listening since our last update on this front.

EC on the Vigor Life Podcast - I recently joined my buddy Luka Hocevar on his podcast to talk about career development and the skill sets fitness professionals will need for the future.

Athletic Shoulders with Eric Cressey - I was also a guest on the Science for Sport Podcast, where we discussed preparing shoulders for competition, and touched on the difference between the private sector and working for a team.

Youth Single-Sports Specialization in Professional Baseball Players - This study was recently published in the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine, and it shows the early specialization isn't the right path for developing a professional athlete. I thought that the most interesting part of the study was Figure 5, the Reasons for Single-Sport Specialization. It's implied that pressure from parents and coaches isn't a leading cause of early specialization, but I have a hard time believing that kids specializing before age 14 make that decision all on their own, and without outside influence.

Top Tweet of the Week

Anecdotal observation: some of my best training sessions of all time came on days when I wasn’t super motivated to train, but convinced myself to just go warm up and see where it led. Before you write off an entire day, see where a little movement takes you.

— Eric Cressey (@EricCressey) April 25, 2020

Top Instagram Post of the Week

 

 

 

 

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Everything works - until it doesn't. And, pushing maximal strength is certainly no exception. 👇 Early on, building strength is an absolute game changer. A little strength goes a long way in providing the foundation for joint stability, power, and endurance. Over time, though, added levels of strength don't provide the same significant return on investment (point of diminishing returns). Instead, you need more specificity to develop these qualities. And, the stress of continuing to push for maximal strength effectively squeezes out other training initiatives because it's competing for a limited recovery capacity. Eventually, pushing maximal strength actually interferes with the development of those qualities because it's such a massive toll on the body to preserve. And, the risk of injury during training rises exponentially. Quality of life goes down dramatically as lifters are constantly banged up in their quest to gain 5-10 pounds of bar weight in an entire training cycle. "It is what it is" if we're talking about a strength sport athletes where all that matters is what's on the bar. It's a terrible path to be on if we're talking about an athlete or just someone who wants to feel, look, and perform well in their daily lives. #cspfamily

A post shared by Eric Cressey (@ericcressey) on Apr 30, 2020 at 5:37pm PDT

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I hope you had a great week. Let's kick off the weekend with some good recommendations from around the 'Net:

Connor Ryan on Training, Therapy, and Working to Blend the Model - Connor is a former CSP intern who now works as a physical therapist for the Phoenix Coyotes. He always offers great insights into how to help people get better, and he's less married to particular philosophies than he is to getting results. That makes for a great educator, and this chat with Mike Robertson is a good example.

Joel Jamieson on the Vigor Life Podcast with Luka Hocevar - The information Joel shares in this podcast with Luka Hocevar is invaluable for every coach and trainer. I don't normally share podcasts with so much swearing, but the knowledge shared in this one overcomes it!

What if Your Gym Was Chasing a a 3-Star Michelin Review? - My business partner, Pete Dupuis, offers up some tips on how hospitality from the restaurant business has direct parallels in the fitness industry.

Top Tweet of the Week

He said it, not me. https://t.co/kRCTxIPoUl pic.twitter.com/e8ZM9akz2e

— Eric Cressey (@EricCressey) May 24, 2019

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My business partner, @pete_dupuis, received this thank you note 5 years ago today. It was from a candidate who was turned down for a summer internship. With the feedback he received after this note, this individual went out and addressed his weaknesses. He reapplied and was accepted as an intern that fall. He was an outstanding intern, then went on to get his doctorate in physical therapy. He’s an incredibly popular member of the extended #cspfamily now. Failure can be an amazing thing if - instead of taking it personally - you use it as honest feedback and motivation to be better.

A post shared by Eric Cressey (@ericcressey) on May 21, 2019 at 10:48am PDT

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