Today’s podcast features strength coach and sport scientist John Wagle.  John is an expert in eccentric loading, periodization, muscle structure and many other aspects of athletic performance.  Today we are going to dig into the relationships between various training methods and physiological outcomes. In other words, we are talking about how various barbell exercises affect the actual structure of the muscles themselves, and how this can fit in with exercise selection, planning, and the tapering process.

Dr. John P. Wagle is a fellow in the Sport Physiology and Performance program at East Tennessee State University. He serves as the Strength & Conditioning Coach and Sport Scientist for ETSU baseball. Additionally, Wagle assists Dr. Brad DeWeese in training Olympic Training Site athletes.  Previously, John was the director of sports performance at DePaul University.

Ever since I started the process of training myself as an athlete, and eventually coaching others, I’ve always thought about the benefits and potential drawbacks of various exercises, as well as how to sequence these movements based on this dynamic.  For today’s episode, John will go in depth on why muscle architecture is an important factor to look at in training, and how barbell and supramaximal barbell training impact this architecture.

John is an expert on eccentric loading for athletic performance training, so he goes in detail on how weight releasers impact the rest of the set when the first rep is extremely heavy.  We’ll also cover the impact of full versus partial range work, as well as some fine points of cluster training and finally touch briefly on jump testing and monitoring.

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.  



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Key Points:

Concepts on muscle architecture: pennation angle and fascicle length
How different training means impact muscle structure, such as strength training, eccentric training
How ultrasound can be used to assess changes in muscle architecture throughout a training program
Use of AEL (Accentuated Eccentric Loading) training in terms of percentage differential and rep ranges
Full versus partial range of movement physiology
Uses and advantages of cluster training for athletes
Paradigms of sequencing training from straight sets to clusters
How John utilizes RSI work in jump testing and analysis
The difference between short and long SSC performance in sport

Quotes:
“Pennation is going to be associated with force production, muscle fascicle length is going to be associated with shortening velocity”

“Strength training adds cross sectional area and increases the pennation angle.  Speed training

“Sprinters tend to have longer fascicle lengths”

“Really good coaches pair methods of physical development with aspects of motor learning”

“Eccentric training tends to make muscle size changes at the distal portion of the muscle”

“Overload does not need to be over 100% 1RM in accentuated eccentric loading”

“With eccentric overload training you see a lot of changes at the cellular level with the myosin heavy chain”

“Partial range of motion movements are not just reserved for the taper period”

“A combination of both full and partial range movements is the most advantageous”

“You still want (full ROM) work in the workout as a warmup if your main sets are partials… you want a blend”

“Clusters have higher power outputs and increase the power generation capacity of the athlete.  Cluster sets influence the nervous system more than anything.”

“If you seek potentiation, maybe a moderate-heavy-light sequence could work (in cluster training)”

“Keeping cluster sets simple is important so you can determine what manipulation is causing what effect”





About John Wagle

Dr. John P.