If you are into getting athletes faster and stronger (which I assume you are since you are reading this right now), then you need to know the name Dan Fichter.
Dan is one of the most well-read, well-traveled, and experienced speed coaches in the world. He runs Wannagetfast in Rochester, NY. He is also the head football coach at Irondequiot high school.
If you remember the old Inno-sport website, which flipped the world of training on its head, Dan Fichter was one of the coaches spearheading the site and its transformation of coaching ideologies everywhere.
He has worked with, and learned from some of the best coaches and therapists in the world, such as:
- Mel Siff
- Jay Schroeder
- Charlie Francis
- DB Hammer
- Douglas Heel (Dan was one of the first US coaches to see Douglas work in the UK)
If you go into Dan’s gym, you can expect to experience training drills and methods that can instantly put several inches on your vertical and improve your speed and explosiveness.
When it comes to anything regarding the nervous system and training speed and power, Dan Fichter is the man. There are few out there who have as broad of experience as him in the realm of training the nervous system for athletic enhancement. I’ve never learned so much about the brain and nervous system, and its relation to speed and power from doing a single podcast thus far.
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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.
Key Points:
- Dan’s background as an athlete, and what led him into coaching
- Some of Dan’s big mentors and influencers leading him to his current methodology
- How to optimally approach isometrics in training speed/power athletes
- The role of the brain in isometric training
- Dan’s go-to isometric training positions
- How to optimally approach positions and patterns in training
- Dan’s thoughts and experiences on brain-based training for speed and power performance
- How much coaching/cueing should you actually do vs. how much should you let exercises and external factors help to improve athlete’s technique
- The integration of strength and motor learning into team sport skill performance
- Visual training and its link to physiological and biomechanical performance
- Super-slow, and super-fast “robo-rep” training and its effect on muscle fibers and motor learning
- How to approach maximal intensity training for athletes
- AMT jumps, and how effective they are for improving explosive power
“Having the opportunity to spend some time with Mel Siff humbled me about all the things I didn’t know”
(Regarding isometrics) “I think you gotta learn how to stop before you learn how to go”
“I don’t think you get a transfer of training if position is off…. the most undercoached skill is position… we never talk about it in the weightroom the way it should be talked about”
“If your body and brain like what you are doing, you’ll see the (instant) result… not every exercise fits every person”
“I’ve had a kid put 3 inches on his vertical jump by doing an extreme slow walking lunge for 5 minutes… that’s what’s so fascinating about the research that’s out there with the brain, is we really have no idea yet what’s going on with the human body, and the brain, cerebellum, vestibular system, when that’s stimulated correctly, pain goes away, performance improves, range of motion improves, drastically. There’s a whole field out there that’s… untapped.”
“(Regarding cueing) There’s nobody who runs on their heels on purpose, they are doing it because their body can’t absorb force in the lower plantar region, and you had better figure out why”
“You can do simple tests by looking different ways, and increase muscle strength”
“We are all capable of running fast and jumping high, (many of us) just can’t display it”
“When there is something going on where the brain has to be (actively) involved, you get a better result”
“The most underused muscles of the body are your eyes… the nervous system goes through the eyes”
“When you stimulate maximally, you are forced to recover maximally”, “I want to be maximal as much as I can” “If you train above 97%, you can do it every day”
“When you limit what you are doing with the brain, there are unintended consequences of lifting heavy weights”
About Dan Fichter
Dan Fichter owns and operates WannaGetFast Power/Speed Training, a sports performance training business in Rochester, NY and Tampa, FL that offers training to elite athletes. Fichter’s clients have included pro hockey players Chris Thorburn (Winnipeg Jets), Stanley Cup champion Brian Gionta (Buffalo Sabres), Ryan Callahan (Tampa Bay Lightning, US Olympic Team), Shane Prince (Binghamton Senators), Olympic track and field star Victoriya Rybalko from the Ukraine, NY Yankee shortstop Cito Culver, UFC fighter Mike Massenzio, Oakland A’s 2nd baseman Andy Parrino, Washington Nationals Infielder Chris Bostick along with Washington Nationals pitcher Brian Dupra. Dan has coached athletes in all sports from all over the country. Dan is in two different Halls of Fame for his own athletic prowess in football.
Fichter is presently the head football coach at Irondequoit High School in New York.
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