What a way to kick the podcast off with UBC’s head S&C coach, Joe McCullum.
We cover the importance of exercising creativity for varsity athletes, why Joe believes tumbling holds secrets for injury prevention, and some advice for new S&C coaches on their journey through an inflated market.
Timecodes
00:00 CBD Mountain
00:21 The Covid challenge of programming 650 athletes across 25 different teams, to be able to train at home with no equipment
06:40 The importance of consistency over equipment availability, and adaptations for the rowing and swimming teams.
08:46 Joe’s beliefs on increasing performance over maintaining performance markers, even in-season. How this challenging time has influenced adaptability, creativity and motivation.
11:19 The 80s training approach towards off-season modalities vs current methods, hypothetical return dates and returning to the gym space in a clean manner when by default, gyms are dirty
13:35 Gym space management parameters if groups are not allowed to form, and adaptability being forced mentally and physically.
16:28 Advice to the varsity athletes who are feeling frustrated, framing this time as an opportunity, and changing how we behave post-Covid to avoid cognitive dissonance.
23:35 Reorganising our time to avoid the superfluous, appreciating the art of preparation and gaining a competitive edge
Nassim Taleb – Antifragile (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifra…)
25:58 The concept of “low hanging fruit”, how it applies to training through the Covid period and why it is different to “bottom feeding”.
30:01 Getting off Netflix, start reading books and be grateful.
The Book of Five Rings – Miyamoto Musashi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boo…)
The Art of War – Sun Tzu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art…)
The Tao of Jeet Kune Do – Bruce Lee (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_of_…)
The Red Wheelbarrow – William Carlos Williams (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red…)
36:06 How UBC athletes are getting creative with their training, learning new skills and maintaining routine
37:14 Wrestling, what drew Joe to training one of the hardest sports, how his coaches employed the multi-sport model, and the importance of staying inoculated for contact year-round.
39:50 What wrestling did for Joe’s rugby and American football skills, and attributes of sport; falling, yielding and learning how to hold tension.
44:54 Why kids need to be coached on the skills of perspective, and why Joe believes tumbling and falling to be paramount for injury prevention.
49:10 Why falling is taught first in the (bullshit-free) martial arts world, why learning to dissipate force is vital, and how kazushi is a principle that translates to any sporting situation
51:50 Fear of failing, being comfortable with the uncomfortable and how it translates to work in the gym
53:25 Joe’s footballing career, realising how wrestling gave him an advantage and the average football career lengths.
58:01 Joe’s journey to becoming an S&C coach, why he decided to leave the private sector to work in the varsity realm, and thriving in chaos.
1:04:50 Academic inflation, how it affects the S&C industry and if experience is any better than education.
1:12:25 Is there an ideal route that new strength coaches should take?
1:15:20 Why professionalism matters
1:17:28 Social Media, how it relates to a crisis and whether it’s needed. Joe McCullum and Carmen Both on landing S&C jobs (https://simplifaster.com/articles/str…)
1:21:04 What the future holds for Joe’s coaching career
1:24:20 CBD Mountain UBC Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ubcperforma…)
The MoveMind podcast explores all things body and brain; hosting a variety of experts, coaches, high achievers and pioneers to give you the tools for a personal, holistic upgrade.
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