SS 166 – How To Train Smarter With Data ft. Justin Roethlingshoefer & Devan McConnell

With all of the data on sports science available today ー health apps, heart monitors, Apple watch, etc. there’s a LOT of info out thereー problem is, that data isn’t useful unless you know how to utilize that information to adjust your training.  This and more on this episode!

 

Grant and Heavey are joined by Devan McConnell and Justin Roethlingshoefer.

Devon is the Head Hockey Performance Coach at UMass Lowell, and Justin is the Head Strength Coach for San Diego Gulls and primary coach at the Anaheim Ducks.

 

Today, they talk about their book, Intent: A Practical Approach to Applied Sports Science for Athletes and how you can use data to do better in your performance physically, physiologically, and emotionally.

 

Thanks to this week’s sponsor Health IQ, that offers programs specifically for athletes and fitness enthusiasts so they can get the best rates and prepare for their families.

 

[02:00] Taking Ibuprofen? Beware, Your Balls Could Shrink!

 

Grant mentions this articles about a study published on Ibuprofen and how it affects men’s balls. The study shows that people taking Ibuprofen even for a short amount of time daily have developed hypogonadism characterized by the shrinking of their balls. This leads to reduced sperm count, sperm activity, and testosterone production.

 

The researchers said they’ve seen a declining sperm count in developed countries, and this is true in the case of other drugs like Tylenol and Aspirin.

 

This is clearly a significant finding especially because many people in the gym are taking it everyday for general aches and pain. Most don’t think of it as medication when in fact, there could be side effects to these over-the-counter drugs. The side effects these drugs typically list are only stomach aches, headaches, among a list of other common issues. They don’t actually talking about what could happen if you take them everyday for a couple of weeks. It may even cause trouble getting pregnant or things like slowing down recovery time from workouts. Athletes who take this stuff because they’re sore and want to perform better might end up hindering their recovery time.

 

[05:52] Are Athletes Taking These Stuff Regularly?

 

As fitness trainers, Devan and Justin can attest to this. Guys would ask trainers and medical staff for Ibuprofen, Tylenol, etc. This is a common occurrence, especially among the college and pro levels where there’s a lot of wear and tear as well as bumps and bruises so guys are sore all the time. They’re always looking for something to take the edge off.

 

Justin adds that with the continual use of it and the effects of what drives it, ultimately, people don’t really think of the long term effects. Our economy and country as a whole, are coming across that negative downturn in terms of testosterone and sperm counts. Part of the reason for this is that we’re living in a negative feedback world.

 

[08:30] What Do Devan and Justin Do?

 

As the Head Hockey Performance Coach at UMass Lowell, Devin’s role is everything they can do off the ice to help their players be better on the ice – the strength and conditioning piece. It includes nutrition, recovery, regeneration, sports science, etc.

 

Justin’s role is the Head Strength Coach for the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League and the primary coach of the Anaheim Ducks. He looks after all aspects of off-ice performance- fatigue monitoring, fatigue tracking, reporting, strength conditioning, nutrition, and supplementation of the players throughout the year. Additionally, he does all the technology data and reporting for their Head Strength Coach of the Anaheim Ducks.

 

[10:00] Writing the Book, “Intent”

 

Devin and Justin wrote a book together called Intent: A Practical Approach to Applied Sports Science for Athletes.

 

It was at an event where the two were speaking separately at a conference. After realizing how they shared similar philosophies and beliefs, and several people reaching out to them to ask questions, that they decided to come together. These people didn’t understand how to utilize technology and data, and practically apply it to their everyday setting. They have copious amount of data that they have no idea how to apply or how to navigate the waters of strength and conditioning and athlete development.

 

Hence, they came up with the concept of writing a book to give people an outline on how they can help develop athletes with the utilization of this data.

 

In this book, they exactly outline the way they can collect valuable data and this is how you can actually use it. Heavey finds this to be very compelling.

 

[12:50] Low Budget, No Problem

 

Justin adds that people in sports technology often think about a high budget. However, what he and Devin did was break it down so if you have a pen and paper budget, whether it’s $100 or $100,000 to spend, you can use technology. You can use data. You can use quantifiable numbers to measure and actually start applying and training your athletes no matter which sector or setting they belong. You can hit the whole spectrum with any type of client or any type of budget and make progress.

 

Devin goes on to explain that they’ve been utilizing sports science for over a decade and they’ve made a lot of mistakes along the way. They figured talking about the lessons they’ve learned and how people can learn from their experiences. When people see cost as the barrier to entry and don’t know what to do next, this book seeks to help them regardless of their budget level and where they’re at through multiple approaches. You learn about how to develop a system and what you do with the stuff once you have it.

 

[15:00] Who Can Benefit from the Book

 

The book is catered to multiple levels from high school level personal trainers to recreational athletes. At the same time, this book is also geared towards the professional, elite-level athletes. They’re trying to bridge the gap between both and provide insights from both sides of the coin based on their personal experiences where they started with a pen and paper budget.

 

[16:50] Coolest Systems They’ve Used: A Motion Capture Scanner

 

Justin says the coolest thing they’ve had is a marker list, motion capture machine. The athlete stands inside the box and an algorithm creates an avatar of the athlete. They go through a series of movements and the motion capture identifies how the athlete actually moves and where different asymmetries in the body are. They also identify, what muscles are being activated, what are the primary movers and the accessories, the torque angles through the hips, ankles, knees, and where is an athlete potentially at risk for injury or where are they pre/post operation, rehab, etc. The ability to see performance gains and injury reductions was huge.

 

This machine has been used by some teams. Some doctors have it and they bring in 7-8 different pro teams and use it for their clients. Different hospitals have it and they contract it with different schools, programs and organizations around the city.

 

[20:25] How and How Often?

 

The machine compiles a complete report so they’d know what’s going on with any athlete. Within the report, you get the area of the body concerned, highlighting certain things to be addressed, which enables you to create a prescription based on what’s within your scope of knowledge.

 

Regardless of technology, Justin points out that the repeatability and the cost of measuring, retesting, and reevaluating are always going to give you better results. The body is going to be having ever-changing markers and characteristics, be it power, strength, fatigue. Constantly measuring and analyzing is definitely the best way to go.

 

[22:10] Systems for the Average Joe

 

Devin illustrates a few basic tools that can provide a tremendous amount of insight and feedback for individuals. One is a subjective questionnaire, which is a formalized way of keeping track of how they’re feeling. With college athletes, they simply answer a handful of questions – feelings, fatigue levels, soreness, etc. As a coach, he looks at those things and they make adjustments based on where the team is at or where the players are at.

 

On an individual level, they recommend just having a way to look back, see and cross-reference. You can have a sort of a questionnaire where you can review and see where you’re at to better understand how you respond to stress. At the end of the day, that’s really what training is – an application of stress. Then, allow for appropriate recovery and get adaptation.

 

The second piece of technology is cheap, affordable, and mainstream but gives a host of valuable information – the basic heart rate monitor. This can be applied at multiple different levels. This device can give feedback about different workloads and heart rate at different intensity of exercise. This is an easy way to track where you’re at and be able to cross-reference how you’re adapting to stress.

 

If you can use HRV from a readiness standpoint, this is now commercially available and can be really cheap. Devin says this is a tremendously powerful tool to understand how people are adapting to stress. What it can tell you is when to hit the gas pedal, when you’re ready to go, and get better, or when it’s time to throttle back a bit and adapt to what’s going on and not push the envelope. It gives a great insight into an individual’s physiology and their adaptation to stress. With this, they also use heart rate monitoring from a life perspective to understand how players are responding to competition.

 

Then at the back end, they look at the heart rate response and the workload scores from that to better understand what practice was from a physiological perspective. It’s similar to a car dashboard where you get to see how much gas you’ve burned, how many miles you have left, how fast you’re going, etc. This is what the heart rate can tell you along with other metrics.

 

[28:00] The Beauty of a Subjective Wellness Questionnaire

 

Regardless of the type, stress is stress. The impact of stress in the human body is the same regardless. One of the things they see all the time is that during Finals Week, athletes may de-load from a physical standpoint, but their stress scores from the subjective questionnaires are through the roof. Their heart rate variability scores are in the tank and the measurements are picking up those external stressors.

 

By paying attention to how people feel, this can give a tremendous amount of insight as to what’s going on outside of the competition from a physical standpoint.

 

This is where the book also comes in as they provide a gold, silver, and bronze level. Gold being the pro level, silver being the college/high school type budget process, and bronze being below that. Regardless of the budget level, there’s an option in any of those that’s going to give you insights.

 

Just collecting some basic information and taking a peek of that is going to tell you a lot about where you’re at. The book can help you develop a system that creates an impact on your physical and emotional gains regardless of where you’re at.

 

[32:40] Paying Close Attention to Detail

 

Devin explains that it’s ultimately about paying close attention to the details and then making some different inferences and actions upon that.

 

Along with listening to how you’re feeling, being able to record it can make a really big difference. That’s what sports science is all about, paying a little more attention to the details so you can apply the right training, apply the right stress, and back off when necessary. The body is going to tell you a lot about that. The reality is most people just don’t listen very well. It all comes down to really listening to what’s going on.

 

[34:18] Sorting Through the Clutter

 

With so much misinformation out there, how do you actually what works and what doesn’t? A lot of it comes through just utilizing it and testing it. Justin stresses that there’s not one piece of technology that is ever (A) going to replace a coach, (B) going to replace human communication, human interaction, and human contact, or (C) be the one answer to everything.

 

You have to become in tune with your body and be able to observe yourself into and more dialed into what you need for yourself, when you need it, and how you need it done. This is all important.

 

These tools are giving us a better way to ask more informed questions, better questions, that allow us to be more informed of our body and make better conclusions.

 

[36:15] Lab Testing and Practical Examples for Individuals

 

Although Dustin and Justin are doing lab testing for their athletes, they want to clarify that this is just one piece of the puzzle. You can’t just look at one data point and extrapolate from there. It’s an ongoing process. Through lab testing, they’re able to identify how to supplement their athletes, check for disease, etc. on a high level.

 

Justin explains how you can do this as an individual. For instance, once you see that your resting heart rate is 54. How do you feel this morning? Good. Go to the gym and get your speed measuring device on your wrist for $50. Then you have an app on your phone. You do a simple 10-yard sprint and see where your acceleration is at. Then you see it’s faster than last week. You resting heart rate is right where it should be. You feel good and you’re doing the right thing. You’re becoming more powerful. You feel stronger.

 

In contrast, you may have heart rate monitor up and the alarm goes off. You’re hardly able to open your eyes. Resting heart rate is 60 and coming at a 72. You’re not feeling great and have been fighting of a certain sickness. Then you realize maybe you could change something up with your training. Maybe running 12 miles wasn’t the best when you can do it differently.

 

These are practical examples and blueprints that you can go utilize that you will find in the book.

 

Again, if you want to take your training to the next level, check out Justin and Devin’s book, Intent on Amazon and www.thehockeysummit.com/books. Enter intent10 at checkout and get 10% off.

 

Links:

www.healthIQ.com/scotch

Intent: A Practical Approach to Applied Sports Science for Athletes