Today’s show is with athletic performance coach, Dan Back. Dan Back is the founder of “Jump Science” and is also a coach at Xceleration sports performance in Austin, Texas. Dan reached an elite level in his own vertical jump and dunking ability, and has been helping athletes run faster, jump higher and improve overall physical performance for over a decade. I first met Dan in my own time at Wisconsin, LaCrosse, where I was working on my master’s degree in applied sport sciences.
When it comes to sports performance training, the two “KPI”s we are routinely searching for, are undoubtedly sprint speed and jumping ability. Improvements here are harder to come by than simply improving a barbell strength exercise that is brand new to an individual. On top of this, the higher velocity the movement, generally, the more difficult it is to improve.
This is where there is a big difference in simply knowing information about training, and spending time talking to coaches who have been working hard on this skill themselves for years, and then have transmitted that knowledge into working with others. Dan is a coach who really embodies what he is teaching on a regular basis.
On today’s show, Dan talks about how his plyometric programs have changed over the years, where his plyometrics volume has shifted, volume in performing variations of various sport jumps, as well as in submaximal plyometrics, where big rocks like depth jumps fit in now. Key elements Dan looks at when coaching speed that fit with reactive abilities RSI, Strength/speed alternation, and knowing that you aren’t losing too much “explosive or maximal strength in the pursuit of speed
Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster and Lost Empire Herbs. For 15% off your Lost Empire Herbs order, head to www.lostempireherbs.com/justfly
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Timestamps and Main Points
4:41 – Dan’s evolution as an athlete and coach & how he became interested in sports performance
9:52 – Making jump training a sport: Is low rim dunk training the most effective for young athletes?
14:10 – Sport jumps vs. “Fun” jumps & How have your views on plyometrics evolved over time?
17:24 – Filling in the gaps in athletic history
20:01 – What staple plyometrics do you use in your training besides jumping?
25:34 – Building up from small, quick, easy movements
31:05 – Are there plyometrics Dan don’t use anymore?
32:38 – How Dan utilizes sprinting, warmups, and other exercises in athletic training
39:51 – Measuring RSI in sprinting and how to “reverse engineer” RSI from a “sprint first” perspective
46:33 – Dan’s approach to elimination and reintroduction of strength training and how to ensure one is not losing their maximal or explosive strength abilities when working on speed
“I love [low rim dunk training] and I do think there’s a superiority there compared to just trying to touch the rim or touch the back board. One, because it’s just more fun. Two, to have success in the training, but then also there’s just this component of it’s not like a workout.”
“Having that fun and even that creative, ideas-based, like oh I’m gonna try this dunk or I’m gonna try to dunk off one leg or whatever… having that fun, creative environment definitely makes a difference for the motor learning side of things and the motivation side of things.”
“Hurdle hops are good but this is like a complimentary, forced development exercise. We want to have the base be not plyometrics, but the base be fun jumping and hopefully even diverse fun jumping.”
“I believe in jump technique, I don’t overdo it… Sometimes if they don’t have those key skills, it’s like you’re kinda getting strong and not realizing any of it.”
“Nowadays, really I would say sprinting is the plyometric that I have gravitated the most toward trying to make sure that is included in an athlete’s overall workload.”
“I’m basically trying to get people to move with less effort and just kind of bounce off the ground.”
“I want to just get them to a point where I like how it looks; where we have decent posture, decent relaxation, which is subjective obviously but… if we have an athlete do a 60-meter sprint with 90% effort, we’re hoping we can be not gassed after that. We want this to be pretty easy, pretty repeatable, like you could go do it again two minutes later.”
“You don’t want to chase the RSI by doing two foot plyos and getting your squat up, you want to chase speed, sprint a lot, and because of that you have this lightness on your feet, and then you do the RSI test without having to even train it and now you’re just better at it.”
“I don’t want to have to alternate between strength training and non-strength training, it’s more of something that just comes out of necessity.”
About Dan Back
Dan Back is the founder of “Jump Science” and is a coach at Xceleration sports performance in Austin, Texas. Dan reached an elite level in his own vertical jump and dunking ability, and has been helping athletes run faster, jump higher and improve overall physical performance for over a decade. Dan has been a constant source of coach and athlete education in the last decade through his website and social media channels.
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