Today’s episode features Dr. Tommy John, chiropractor, sports performance specialist and pioneer in youth sports injury prevention.
Dr. John is the son of the famous major league pitcher, Tommy John, whom the famous elbow reconstruction surgery is named after (I actually went through that surgery myself as a result of throwing the javelin, but more so due to poor technique than the typical chronic overtraining and lack of rest and movement most young athletes encounter). He carries Master Degrees in Health and Exercise Science from Furman University and brings over 17 years of health experience to the table. He had stints as a professional baseball player himself before a shoulder infection from a surgery ended his career.
I first came across Dr. John’s work in my search for a better explanation of Jay Schroeder’s methods. As I learned more about him, I found that he is a wealth of knowledge, not just on some of the things he learned from Jay, but also on human movement and performance, training psychology and youth injury prevention. Dr. John combines his extensive background in sports performance and chiropractic to deliver a unique training experience and insight that can push forward our coaching.
On today’s episode, Dr. John will go into his time learning from Jay Schroeder, bodyweight training as a staple, how and when to utilize barbell training, movements all athletes do well, and thoughts on injury prevention in youth and general athletic performance. Dr. John has a new book coming out on exactly that topic called “Minimize Injury, Maximize Performance, A Sport Parent’s Survival Guide” which I would highly recommend.
Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster, supplier of high-end athletic development tools, such as the Freelap timing system, kBox, Sprint 1080, and more.
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Key Points:
- Dr. John’s background as an athlete, sports performance specialist and chiropractor
- Dr. John’s experience with Jay Schroeder and how it changed his program
- Primary reasons for the 10x increase in youth sports since the 1990’s
- Why free movement training and bodyweight training is a core facet of programming
- How and when to utilize barbell training in an athlete’s training regimen
- Ideas on injury, recovery, and training
- 3-4 Movements Dr. John really likes to see athletes do well
- Thoughts on extreme isometrics and large training volumes or durations
“Jay wouldn’t just give you information… it forced you to almost challenge him, and go find out for yourself”
“With Jay, there was no icing, no stretching, and no running to condition”
“If you can’t hold on to the picture (of your goals), it’s not happening”
“Pick any program, but if (your intention, emotion and direction) is fueling you, your results are going to be pretty amazing”
“Soft tissue revenue is plugged to hit 17 billion by 2022 with the main driver being youth sports”
“The movement should be very similar when you are unloaded or loaded”
“Promote freeplay as much as possible, keep the smartphones out of their hands until their teenage years, and then (get them outside to play)”
“The ones that function better are the ones that explored (movement) on their own”
“It’s not a weight in sports that is breaking us down, it’s force (as a function of velocity)”
“If I can take a bodyweight and generate a massive amount of force, with just them generating the stimulus from inside them out, instead of outside them in, the better the tie into life, the quicker the person becomes more athletic”
“If we resist a poor movement, then we are locking (that movement in) under resistance (training)”
“There is no difference between rehab, and performance and recovery and building and power, and training is training is training”
“In America, orthopedics and medical reign supreme”
“Move every joint you have a day, the number of times years you are old”
About Dr. Tommy John
With Master Degrees in Health and Exercise Science from Furman University, Dr. Tommy John brings over 17 years of health experience to the table. At the completion of his studies, Dr. Tommy played professional baseball for three years with teams such as the Schaumburg Flyers, Tyler Roughnecks, and the LA Dodgers.
Dr. Tommy was drawn to chiropractic because he realized there was a higher element missing from the healing, performance process, and proper function of the human body in the innate intelligence and the nervous system: brain, brain stem, and spinal cord.
The primary goal of Dr. Tommy John Performance and Healing Center is to provide entire families with integrative, individualized care plans and treatment to improve their quality of life by reducing physical and emotional pain from injury and aging and minimizing the use of pharmaceuticals or surgery.
Dr. Tommy John also has a book coming out in June 2018(Da Capo) which is a unique program: a diet, lifestyle, and movement plan (Rethink. Rebuild. Replenish. Recover) for injury- and performance-proofing young athletes in every sport. Dr. John’s book is a fusion of thousands of hours of research, clinical experience, and personal experimentation he has used with kids and clients alike for years, merged with the same simple philosophy of healing his Dad used 40 years ago. But his book isn’t just about injury avoidance—and it’s more than just sports. It’s about correcting the developmental deficiencies that are happening right now in youth athletes. It’s a return to traditional methods and techniques—through making the right diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices—to reestablish the functional movements lost today.
It’s not just about saving an elbow—it’s about saving a life. And it’s about finally attaching the name Tommy John to something positive again.
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