Meraki Performance Podcast: Recent Episodes
Daniel Lucchini
The Meraki Performance Podcast is devoted to featuring coaches, health professionals and other experts who are in the game of increasing athletic performance. The podcast features episodes on speed, power, strength, nutrition, psychology and all other elements related to athletic improvement. Sit back and soak in the valuable information our guests have to present. Hosted by Daniel Lucchini of Meraki Performance
Micha ( https://www.instagram.com/human.mvmnt/ ) is a movement coach from Stockholm Sweden who teaches handstands, calisthenics, strength and flexibility. Today we discuss his methodology around flexibility training and building relationships with his clients
In today's episode, dietician and sports nutritionist, Steph, breaks down the three main macronutrients for us. We go through what they are, what they do and how to consume them. We then discuss how we can use those macronutrients to fuel our training and performance. We also look at intra-workout nutrition and hydration
Pei is the Head Physio and Owner of PB physio. She is both a competitive powerlifter and weightlifter. Pei works a range of clientele, but specialises in athlete rehabilitation including divers, team sports and of course, strength sports. Pei and I have shared a range of clients over the time and has always been a pleasure to work with. Pei believes strongly in progressing and developing the current healthcare system in a way that better suits the needs of athletes. She has a strongly movement and active treatment based approach to rehab and is always looking to get her athletes back competing as soon as possible.
It was a pleasure chatting to Pei and I hope you enjoy today’s episode too.
On today’s episode we welcome Gary Stockdale from Southern California. Gary is a kinesiologist and movement and aquatics coach with over 15 years of experience working to improve and optimise the bodily dynamics of his clientele. Gary and I have had many conversations over the last couple of years from all things movement to self discovery and anything in between. He brings a deep thoughtful approach to the movement world and pays particular attention to the seeking of symmetry and balance both inside the movement world and just outside of it. Gary is an expert in gait and aquatic development and it was an honor to have him share is vast knowledge on the show today
In Today’s Episode we talk about triplanar movement, distribution of load through various dynamics, the gaps in movement education, rotational movement for power expression, anatomy trains, how to organise thoughts around improving movement, the quest for symmetry and balance, the role and understanding of posture, environmental cueing verse specific drilling, the importance of educating people on what the body does especially in early education, the role of understanding self in empowerment, movements effects on the body as a whole, personal empowerment in movement and its implications to other elements of our lives, awareness of self vocabulary, personal responsibility in our relationships with our body, foundational movements including spinal elongation, breathwork and elasticity and finally the importance of understanding self in our development as coaches
**On today’s episode we welcome Steph who is an Accredited dietitian and sports dietitian. Steph has an extensive background in private clinical dietetics and also runs an online nutrition coaching business. I have had the pleasure of presenting a seminar with steph before as part of a holistic coaching course. Steph brings a science backed, realistic approach to nutrition. She does a great job of keeping an open mind and placed a particular emphasis on relationship building to give her clients the most out of her services.
In today’s episode we talk about Steph’s history and current roles as a dietician, the differences between clinical and athletic populations in approach, the psychological elements within nutrition, various eating strategies including macro guides and mindful eating, the process of creating change within diet, we go in depth to the benefits and strategies around mindful eating, helping people form a relationship with their body, theoretical vs experiential understanding of our bodies and diets, contraindications of meal plans or macro guides. Then we discuss eating disorders and eating disorders. We go into the warning signs and what to do if we start to notice the signs with a client including how these small signs might snowball into something more dangerous, we talk about the role of intent and understanding within nutritional changes.
Thank you for listening.**
Brian Nevison is a personal trainer with a degree in kinesiology and a FRC practitioner. He brings a uniquely beautiful energy to instagram, full of smiles and positivity. He owns his own training space called smiles and shares various forms of FRC and jumping tutorials on his Instagram. I have always been drawn to his positive energy and clear instruction of various exercises and clear description of ideas. It was a pleasure to have him join us from Philadelphia.
**In today’s show we talk about Brian's history as an athlete and coach, we go in depth about FRC and what separates it from other training methods, how to structure it and how to utilise it within the grand training plan, we talk about empowering clients with certain skills and information to give them better body autonomy. We talk about internal stimulus versus external stimulus from various tools, we talk about pre-requisite joint movements and the consequences of not having suitable independent joint function when performing more gross motor skills, how mobility creates for better performance and reduced injury risk. We talk about the role of the nervous system in training and movement, we go through a case study on how FRC can help a return to the spot after an ankle injury. Then we go into developing a positive attitude and how to help our clients develop towards there too.
Thank you for joining us.**
**On today’s episode we welcome Alex Kertesz. Alex is a strength and conditioning coach who is one of the owners of Integrated Bodies. They focus on delivering complimentary training services to a wide range of populations but with a major focus on youth athletic development. Alex has previously worked in professional and semi professional Rugby League and carries with him a strong formal education background and array of practical experience. Alex was actually my supervisor when I spent time at the Wests Tigers Rugby League between 2015 and 2017. This episode is not only full of practical coaching advice, but also great career progression advice.
In today’s show we discuss Alex’s background and how he got to where he is, developing your own coaching style and knowing when to move forward with your career, complimentary training, the foundations of athletic training for youth, the role of fun and enjoying the training, we discuss alex’s philosophy around position/ pattern/ power, the importance of foundations. Alex generously shares his training strategies and we discuss how to maintain motivation and buy in, competency based progression, considerations around weight training with youth, force vs complexity progression, using training as assessment,specificity in training and where it fits, speed training strategies, implications of early specialization, and some useful advice for new coaches.
I hope you enjoy today’s episode and once again, thank you for listening.
@intergratedbodiesgym
@Coach_kertesz**
**In today’s episode I welcome Nikki to the show. Nikki is a mobility and movement trainer and a precision nutritionist with a particular interest in food sourcing and works with a vast array of clientele from professional athletes to the general population. She offers ingredient sourcing education, hormone balance comprehension and sport specific menu development for performance. Nikki works hard to bridge the gap between food and body. I have known Nikki through the media world for a number of years now and she has had a profound influence on the way I think about nutrition. Not just at the macro nutrient level but also in the sourcing and preparation of the food. I was really excited to have Nikki on today to discuss the importance of of food sourcing and food quality as well as to discuss the process of educating clients and the wider community on the how and why.
In today’s episode we cover Nikki’s journey as a coach and what inspired her down her current path, what it means to meet a client where they are to start the process of making change, the influence of emotional, cultural and social factors around food choices, the differences when working with athletes versus general population, information around gluten, why heavily processed foods are a challenge for the body, we discuss the role of awareness and mindfulness around food to listen to the body, when to eliminate certain foods, how to gather information about a client's current habits, we discuss Nikki’s process of working with a client depending on their goals, the role of blood tests and considerations around reading the results, the role of medication, staying within our scope of practice, creating the shift in mindset around food, the importance of ingredient quality, reading food labels, the difference between high vs low quality beef, the difference between various types of sweeteners, the importance of education around nutrition. This is an information packed episode with countless important considerations worth listening to. I know I have lots more questions for Nikki
I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.**
In today’s episode we welcome Oliver Crossley to the show to discuss all things pain and yoga. Oliver is a Physiotherapist, experienced Yoga teacher and practitioner. Oliver is consistently providing quality information and education on his social media. He has a sharp eye and a great ability to critically think and analyse research. He has an impressive understanding of the history of pain (amongst other things) which he utilises to form a well rounded and contextually relevant view on what pain is and how it fits into current models and society.
In today’s episode we discuss Oliver’s history as a Yoga practitioner and how it’s influenced his development, his journey into physiotherapy, the philosophy and tradition of yoga, the blending of mind and movement training, the role of rest and parasympathetic states to reduce stress, the impact of teacher, the role of stress in ailments, blending yoga with scientific realities, yoga in a safe way, progressively overloading mobility. We talk about what pain is as an experience, the cultural influence of pain, linear mechanical approach to pain, rethinking how we perceive and treat pain, how language and validation can improve our relationships with pain, the role of experience, treatment methods, motivational interviewing, manuel therapy, reframing how relationship to tools, the important of touch, manipulation and control, dishonest treatment, self efficacy and control, human resilience, a star wars reference and some timely wisdom
In today’s episode, guest Nick Muduliar joins us to discuss holistic training protocol and his experience with The Real MVMNT Project. I have known Nick for a number of year and have always been impressed by his willingness to continue learning and to be open to new ideas and strategies. We have presented a workshop together and spent a good amount of time training in the same gym. He is someone who walks the walk as well as talks the talk. He trains hard and is constantly looking for ways to improve himself and set standards for his clients. It was great to sit down with Nick and have an in depth conversation about his training strategies and the tools and systems he uses and is a part of that have helped his and his client’s development.
In today’s episode we discuss Nick’s coaching history, The Real MVMNT Project and how the community elements has helped his own personal development and how their systems have influenced his holistic coaching approach, range of strength and the benefits of training through full and sometimes more extreme ranges of motion, finding purpose, the use of gymnastics and other skills such as juggling for developing mental attributes needed to be successful athlete and progress in other elements of life, foundational elements in training, mobility training and how his strategies have developed, the role of movement capacity in the ability to execute skills and mitigate injury risk, how to progress into loading more full ranges of motion, how to incorporate different ranges of motion within an athletic population, program structure to include multiple elements, the role of passive modalities in recovery and their effect on the nervous system, various mental training strategies and how they relate to physical training methods, getting to know your athletes, accountability, self determination theory, the role of journaling and gratitude practices for training populations, body awareness, non-negotiables and global standards, the progression of prep work, how to turbo charge your warm ups, the role of community within a training environment and the role of mentors
Tyrell is a strength and conditioning coach, exercise physiologist and mixed martial artist. He runs his own business called TyPerformance and also works out of UFC gym. Tyrell has spent time interning in the USA at American Top Team and brings with him a wealth of experience in martial arts as a practitioner and coach. Tyrell has a great understanding of where to direct the energy and time he has with his clients to breed the best results for their sport. I have had the pleasure of presenting alongside tyrell and I think he does a great job of presenting information and cueing appropriately for the athlete to get the most understanding.
**In todays episode we talk about where his interest came from, his experiences interning at ATT, the importance of prioritising their sport performance over their training performance, his experience as a fighter and how it helps his coaching, the mindset of a fighter, rotational elements of fighting and how coordination plays a role there, assessment protocols for fighters including both stand up and grappling, structuring a fighters training week, how training needs to change during a fighters career, the importance of mobility and how to develop it, medicine ball training, developing power, plyometrics, periodisation, road work and where it fits, breeding motivation in the weight room, specifics of a fight camp, coordination training, FRC principles, common mistakes in fight camps.
I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did**
**Allan Pham is a strength and conditioning coach and the owner of Adonis Athletics Campbelltown. Allan has worked with youth rugby league, taekwondo and a range of other sports both in a team and one on one environment. Allan brings over 12 years of experience to the table and understands the role of training the athlete to compliment their sport.
In today’s show we talk about the rising role of private strength and conditioning coaching in sport (especially youth), the role of strength and conditioning in youth sports, the role of mentors for youth sport, current movement standards across youth athletes, the relationship between play and motor skills and spatial awareness, early specialisation, general skill development, building foundations, power training for youth athletes, movement and performance assessment, assessing biases, how to progress youth athletes, building trust and rapport, skill acquisition, using competition as a tool to get the most out of each athlete.
A lot of great considerations for training youth athletes in todays episode, I hope you enjoy.**
Thanks for tuning in, on today’s show I had on Isaac Chang. Isaac and I have connected on a range of training and life topics and philosophies of a number of conversations. I was really excited to have him on today. Isaac is strength and conditioning coach at Virgin Active, he has a sport science degree and has spent time in the US attending various university programs. Isaac is an abid athlete himself, playing a large range of sports, namely track and most recently ultra marathon running. Isaac is a coach who isn’t afraid to go against the grain, but always from a strong rationale and client autonomy centred approach.
**In today's show talk about Isaacs work and education background, understanding principles, application to sport, understanding the individual, autonomy, SAID principle, variability in programing, range of motion, physical literacy, breaking the rules, programming consideration, internal vs external cueing, environmental constraints, contrast training, athlete to coach relationships, non conformity, smith machine, M3, becoming a polymath.
It was a pleasure having Isaac on and I hope you gained some value from the show.**
Tait Brown is an accredited Exercise Physiologist and takes a particular interest in pain science and application of bio-psycho-social model. He owns his own business and works with a range of clients ranging from general population to strength athletes and everyone in between. Tait has devoted lots of time and money into developing his skills through his years of experience and his relentless attendance of different workshops, constantly trying to expand his perspective. Tait brings an eloquent critical thought on pain and how it’s presented to his clients and believes strongly in improving the way we communicate with our clients to help achieve the best outcomes for them. Tait does a fantastic job of diving into the topics in today’s show with plenty of detail and practical application
Today’s shows goes into the biopsychosocial model, the complexities of pain, what pain is, the effect of language on the pain experience, the role of stressors on a pain experience, different narratives around pain, load management, what we can control around pain, self efficacy, gradual exposure to load, assessment protocols, the importance of communication, application of knowledge, training through pain, when to push and when to pull away, individual considerations, how to manage our bias’, differences between athletes and general population in the management of pain, manual therapy.
It was a pleasure to speak to Tait today and I believe this is a really great episode. You will walk away from this one with a new appreciation for the complexities of pain and value of proper communication when working with clients.
Mitch is a current PHD, Sports Scientist and Performance Coach. He is currently working with Australian Men’s Rugby 7’s and has previously worked with the Women's Rugby 7’s and the Wests Tigers Rugby League. Mitch brings in his knowledge of athlete monitoring and what it really means to be an evidence based practitioner and delivers multiple practical and easy to deliver practices to consider and apply to your athletes. Mitch his currently completing his PHD at UTS and is investigating practical strategies for female team sport athletes to combat hot and humid competition conditions. We speak about some of the applications and current information around this.
**Today’s show goes into understanding the roles within sporting teams, the differences when working with males vs females, the differences between pre game energy in males and females, day to day readiness assessment, wellness scale, objective measures, what it really means to evidence based, athlete value, GPS tracking, how to filter the data, role of high speed running and velocity in fatigue, the importance playing the support, periodisation, recovery strategies including ice baths, travel considerations, athlete accountability, hitting the big rocks, olympic considerations, considerations for heat and humidity heat acclimatisation, cooling strategies, adaptation and what it takes to get an change.
I had a real pleasure chatting to Mitch and gave me some great thoughts to dive deeper in to.**
**Julia is a woman’s health specialist, physiotherapist and personal trainer. I first wanted to start this podcast so I could enhance my learning, meet amazing coaches and therapists and share important and useful information to other coaches. This episode achieves all these with an information packed hour with many practical tips and implications. Julia works with a range of athletes including strength athletes, runners and recreational lifters. She specialises in women's health but has a broad range of experience. Julia treats PB physio and has given multiple talks at seminars as well as other podcasts. Julia is doing great work for females across sydney and is highlighting an often overlooked or misunderstood topic in performance.
In today’s episode we talk about pelvic floor anatomy and function, the importance of exercise even in the presence of pelvic floor dysfunction, how to tackle the uncomfortable topics, active + passive treatment, signs and symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, bracing strategies, the role of breathing and axial skeleton positioning, how to contract and cue the pelvic floor, pelvic floor in lifting, pelvic floor in running and jumping, over bracing or over contracting and its implications, programming pelvic floor exercises, assessing the pelvic floor, reflexive contractions and pilates.
As strength coaches we have a duty of care for our athletes, if we are working with athletes, especially females there is invaluable information in this podcast about what to look out for and other strategies we can implement to ensure optimal function of the pelvic floor.
Here is a link to an image showing the anatomy of the pelvic floor https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/muscles-of-the-pelvic-floor**Here is a link to the question form http://www.pelvicfloorfirst.org.au/data/files/Pelvic_Floor_First/Pelvic_Floor_Screening_Tool_for_Women_2014.pdf
**In this episode we have strength coach, elite level powerlifter and self made businessman, Amir Fazeli. I have been lucky enough to know Amir for close to 5 years now and worked for him for 2 years as one of coaches at Adonis Athletics. With 5 branches across Sydney producing some of the strongest athletes in the country it’s an honour to hear the man behind it at all talk about his coaching strategies and experience. Having competed at multiple international events and taken home gold medals and world records, Amir is no stranger to the elite level of strength sports. He has also worked with numerous other athletes including fighters and rugby players. He has built an empire of strength and is doing amazing work at developing coaches, athletes and also in the field of education. He is a big believer in developing the mindset of an athlete as you will hear today.
In today’s episode we talk about the desire required to make it to the elite level of sport, the repetition required to become elite in all sports, the benefits of being experienced in the sport you coach, how working with high level athletes will improve your coaching across the board, what to look for in an athlete if they say they want to be great, the role of communication as a coach, building base strength, avoiding early specialisation, peaking too early, utilising strength training to improve athletic performance in non BB sports, not confusing the process goal as the outcome goal, how to periodise strength sports and strength for team sports, the importance of hypertrophy training, the balance between “ego lifting” and spending too much time trying to perfect technique without ever progressing weight, the benefits of having a mentor.**
Amir shares a few big wake up calls and some really valuable information that will benefit all coaches, especially those who are starting out and need some direction in what it takes to become a great coach. If you liked todays episode please share it to another coach who will share in that benefit.
On our first episode we have weightlifting coach, personal training and physiotherapist Phil Liao. Phil has competed at the commonwealth games, representing Australia in the 56kg class. He is the coach of his weightlifting club, Core Weightlifting, one of the owners of the M3 Initiative, which is an online personal training education company. He also spent multiple years as a practicing physiotherapist and works as a personal trainer. I have been lucky enough to work with Phil within the M3 business as well as having him as a weightlifting coach in my 3 short stints at that discipline. Phil is a young hungry coach who is doing really great work both as a coach and educator. He has a truly widely versed knowledge base combining sports science, rehab and performance into his coaching and takes a very holistic approach as you will in today’s show.
In today’s show we cover what it takes to be a high performance athlete, what it takes to coach a high performance athlete, current issues with the disconnect between physiotherapy and performance, the role of critical thinking in coaching, blending rehab, general population and performance training, the role of individualisation within a principle based system, the current use of and role of manual therapy, what evidence based really entails, understanding the individual in front of you, looking at the physical, social and psychological aspects of designing a training plan, honesty within goal setting, how to manage and progress workload, realistic outcomes after injury, how to implement prehab, movement assessment for weightlifters and it’s role, the importance of sleep and not always smashing your athletes just for the sake of it.
There is some real gold in the episode and anyone who works in the training realm will benefit from hearing this episode. It will force you to think beyond the research and beyond the systems you are a part of.