Today’s show is with Angus Ross.  Angus is a senior strength and conditioning specialist with High Performance Sport New Zealand, with a particular interest in track and field athletes.  He has worked with a number of sports at an elite level within the NZ system, including sprint cycling and skeleton in recent years. Angus has a PhD in exercise physiology from the University of Queensland, and is also a Winter Olympian in his own right having competed at the 1998 and 2002 Winter Games.

Angus has been a two time previous guest within the first hundred episodes of the podcast.  In the time since we last talked, Angus has traveled the world and has spent time with some leading edge strength coaches, such as Jerome Simian.  His curiosity and angles of looking at performance training has made him a truly enjoyable guest to have on this show time and again.

One topic I’ve heard in the world of training is “the spinal engine”.  I have been working extensively in the last year in the realms of getting the ribs and spine to work alongside the hips more effectively in sprinting, throwing, jumping and overall athletic movement.  When Angus told me he had been doing a lot of research into spinal engine work over the last few years, I was excited, and when Angus actually went into the details of it all, I was truly inspired.  Angus’s work connects so many dots in regards to concepts I’ve been thinking of on my own end.

On the show today, Angus speaks about his take on spinal engine theory, rhythmic movement, sprint (and iso hold) asymmetry and how some athletes may need to take advantage of the movement of the spine more than others.  He also talks about long and short hold isometrics, and proprioception training.  This was a phenomenal chat with lots of immediate ideas for any athlete or coach.

Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster and Lost Empire Herbs.  For 15% off your Lost Empire Herbs order, head to www.lostempireherbs.com/justfly



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Timestamps and Main Points

5:15 – Spinal engine theory vs. a leg spring model

11:26 – How the mobility of spine and ribs can benefit you as an athlete

15:42 – Resources and inspiration for exercises and drills to improve spinal mobility and range

19:09 – A discussion on asymmetry in sprinting

21:43 – Benefits of looking at data & the role of intuition and feelings in martial arts

24:58 – Rhythm in Athletes: What you can learn from trying martial arts and other rhythmic sports

32:17 – Who can benefit from spinal engine theory?

34:21 – Asymmetrical training & What Angus learned from training with Jerome Simian

48:38 – How and why to use long duration isometrics in training

54:03 – Static stretching before sprinting & Pros and cons of extreme iso holds

57:11 – Insights on short isometric holds

1:01:07 – Thoughts on proprioceptive training: Weight lifting, joint proprioception, and utilization of balance and stability



“The concept (of spinal engine theory) is that if you laterally flex a lordotic spine, is that it induces an axial torque and a rotation of the pelvis”

“When you look at things through the spinal engine lens, it’s really very different to the leg spring model.”

“It begs the question: Should we be training lateral flexion per say and is range of motion a critical factor?”

“Most of our elite runners are short trunk, long legs and that’s what we say is the normal, but if you don’t have that, can you compensate by becoming a different style of runner and using what you do have to facilitate your ability to try and relate?”

“You need the hardware to be able to run that software and if you can’t get them in those positions…you’re gonna give them coaching cues all day long and it won’t do them any bloody good because they can’t get in those positions anyway.”

“I’ve found the lateral drills to be fantastic with helping people eliminate crossover running.