In this episode of The Exponential Athlete, we break down “The Method” that Bob Bowman describes in his book The Golden Rules. This episode takes a deep dive into a coaching philosophy that created one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian and Swimmer of all time. He earned 28 medals, 23 of them gold. By the time of his retirement from swimming in 2016, he had won more Olympic medals by himself than 161 countries. In this episode, we break down all of the tools Michael used to dominate swimming like no other.

Today, I talk with Dr. Steven Reinlie an advocate and student of Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) to dispel some of the myths around raising kids to become great athletes. We touch on the stages of athletic development in kids, how to effectively communicate with kids at different levels of psychological development, and how and when kids should specialize.

In this episode we touch on what makes an effective coach at all levels, the challenges associated with going up each level of sport, and how diet and stress could be the biggest kryptonite or secret weapon for aspiring athletes.

In today’s episode, I talk with Zak about why knee injuries are increasing, how athletes can lower risk of knee injury, and his philosophy on how athletes can come back stronger after surgery. Recovery from injury can have massive implications on sports performance and sports psychology.

In sports performance, we spend so much time talking about the tangible aspects of size, speed, and strength that we often overlook the colossal impact that the brain and the motor control system have on skill. In this episode we talk about how athlete brains differ from non-athletes, what is the real meaning of genius in athletes, and why promising new technology often doesn’t get adopted by elite athletes.