In this entry of the Athlete Development Journal, Dr. Zach Guiser outlines a six-bucket framework for in-season training designed to maintain maximal speed, power, and compound strength while addressing specific injury risks through isolated exercises . He concludes by discussing the "burden of the reward," emphasizing that high-level success requires an acceptance of the specific struggles and trade-offs that accompany it.

Everything in these newsletters, podcasts, social media, and on our website is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice for you or your athlete. Consult directly with a healthcare professional .

IN THIS EPISODE:

• 00:00 – Introduction: Struggle as an Opportunity
• 01:05 – Six Buckets for In-Season Training
• 01:14 – Bucket 1: Compound Strength
• 01:46 – Bucket 2: Maximal Speed
• 02:30 – Bucket 3: Maximal Jumping
• 02:59 – Bucket 4: Isolated Strength
• 04:15 – Bucket 5: Proprioception & Vestibular System
• 05:10 – Bucket 6: Mobility & Soft Tissue
• 05:43 – The Burden of the Reward: Avoiding Jealousy

In this entry of the Athlete Development Journal, Dr. Zach Guiser introduces three powerful mental models to improve athletic performance and perspective.

He begins with Occam's Razor, urging athletes to avoid unnecessary complexity in training and rehab, noting that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

Next, he introduces his own concept, "Zach's Law" (The Law of Mechanical Idiopathy), which states that the more obscure and confusing an injury's cause is, the faster it typically self-resolves; provided it is mechanically reproducible.

Finally, he applies Hanlon's Razor to sports and life, reminding listeners to never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by ignorance or stupidity.

Everything in these newsletters, podcasts, social media, and on our website is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice for you or your athlete. Consult directly with a healthcare professional.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 00:16 - Occam's Razor (The Simplest Explanation is Usually Correct)
• 00:43 - Examples of Occam's Razor in Sports & Rehab
• 01:14 - Introducing "Zach's Law" (The Law of Mechanical Idiopathy)
• 01:34 - Why Obscure Injuries Tend to Heal Faster
• 01:51 - The "Soccer Player vs. Cow" Story (Strange vs. Obscure)
• 02:30 - The Important Caveat: Mechanical Reproducibility
• 02:45 - Hanlon's Razor (Stupidity vs. Malice)

In this entry of the Athlete Development Journal, Dr. Zach Guiser helps you train your mind, build your body, and fuel your soul.

First, he tackles Training Your Mind by distinguishing between process and outcome. He explains that in a complex world, you can do the wrong thing and get a good outcome (or vice versa), but you shouldn't confuse luck with a good strategy . He warns against "history revisionism"—assuming that just because an athlete played year-round or did fancy footwork drills and succeeded, those methods were the cause of their success . Instead, he encourages athletes to think probabilistically: good processes enhance your odds, even if they don't guarantee results.

Next, he dives into Building Your Body by challenging the popular obsession with mobility. He argues that mobility is not a "more is always better" quality. While you need enough mobility to get into required positions, having passive flexibility that you cannot actively control can actually cause your injury risk to skyrocket. Finally, he Fuels Your Soul by breaking down the equation: Happiness = Reality - Expectations. He discusses the tension between chasing excellence (which requires high belief) and being happy. The solution? Keep insanely high expectations for the process (your daily habits) but release your expectations for the outcomes (things you cannot control, like scholarships).

Everything in these newsletters, podcasts, social media, and on our website is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice for you or your athlete. Consult directly with a healthcare professional.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 00:02 - Train Your Mind: Good Things Can Happen to "Bad" Processes
• 00:36 - The Danger of "History Revisionism" (The Susie, Johnny, & Kyle Examples)
• 01:13 - Thinking Probabilistically: Enhancing Odds vs. Guarantees
• 01:41 - Build Your Body: Knocking Mobility Off Its High Horse
• 02:08 - When Too Much Mobility Becomes Detrimental
• 02:45 - Fuel Your Soul: The Happiness Equation
• 03:22 - High Expectations for Process vs. Outcome

Here's the hypermobility article.

In this entry of the Athlete Development Journal, Dr. Zach Guiser helps you train your mind, build your body, and fuel your soul, specifically addressing the athlete who thinks they are "too busy" for in-season training.

First, he tackles Training Your Mind by reframing "busyness" not as a negative, but as a necessary stressor to build work capacity. He uses the analogy of a waitress in a small town versus a busy New York City restaurant to illustrate how high-volume work eventually becomes manageable through adaptation. He explains that students who stretch themselves in high school often thrive in college because they have built a higher capacity for work .

Next, he dives into Building Your Body by analyzing the dangers of stopping training during the season. He outlines three main benefits of continuing: staying healthier (carrying your "shield"), performing better in the playoffs, and achieving better long-term progress . He cites Patriots wide receiver Matthew Slater, noting that the team was squatting 80% of their maxes during Super Bowl week. Dr. Guiser describes a graph showing that stopping training is like taking "two steps forward and one step back," whereas continuous training leads to exponential compound growth . Finally, he Fuels Your Soul with a quote from economist Thomas Sowell: "There are no solutions, only trade-offs" . He encourages listeners to accept that every choice—whether chasing excellence or choosing family time—comes with a cost, and avoiding the "what ifs" is the ultimate goal.

Everything in these newsletters, podcasts, social media, and on our website is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice for you or your athlete. Consult directly with a healthcare professional .

IN THIS EPISODE:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 00:46 - Train Your Mind: The Waitress Analogy & Building Work Capacity
• 02:51 - Build Your Body: Why In-Season Training prevents "One Step Back"
• 04:12 - The Matthew Slater Example: Squatting Heavy on Super Bowl Week
• 05:21 - The Graph: Visualizing Long-Term Progress vs. Stagnation
• 06:29 - How to Make It Work: Individualized, Tiered, and Flexible Training
• 08:12 - Fuel Your Soul: "There Are No Solutions, Only Trade-Offs"

In this episode, Zach Guiser and John Tropeano kick things off with Turkey Bowl preparations.

This leads to the main topic: a deep dive into Ashwagandha. Is it a miracle supplement for stress and gains, or does it just turn you into an "emotionless zombie"? Zach breaks down the three proposed physiological mechanisms:

1. HPA Axis Modulation: Reducing cortisol by calming the hypothalamus
2. GABA Agonist: Mimicking the brain's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter to induce calm.
3. Antioxidant/Anti-Inflammatory: Neutralizing free radicals and blocking NF-κB to stop inflammation cycles .

They review four major studies covering stress, anxiety, sleep, and physical performance. The results are surprisingly strong—showing significant reductions in stress and anxiety, and even large effect sizes for strength and cardiorespiratory fitness . However, Zach introduces the Attia Categories (Proven, Promising, Fuzzy, Noise, Nonsense) and places Ashwagandha firmly in the Promising category due to a lack of long-term human data.

Finally, they bust common myths: it doesn't work instantly (it takes weeks), "natural" doesn't always mean safe (poison ivy is natural, too), and more is not better (stick to ~600mg) .

Everything in these newsletters, podcasts, social media, and on our website is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice for you or your athlete. Consult directly with a healthcare professional.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• 00:00 - Turkey Bowl Prep & The Greatest Cyclist You've Never Heard Of
• 06:38 - Main Topic: Should Anyone Be Taking Ashwagandha?
• 07:47 - The Public Narrative: Emotional Zombies & Testosterone Myths
• 11:25 - How Ashwagandha Works: The 3 Mechanisms (HPA Axis, GABA, Inflammation)
• 22:15 - Study #1: Effects on Stress (Big Reduction, High Heterogeneity)
• 35:48 - Study #2: Effects on Anxiety (Massive Effect Size)
• 42:26 - Study #3: Effects on Sleep (0.59 Effect Size)
• 44:03 - Study #4: Effects on Physical Performance (Strength, Power, VO2 Max)
• 50:00 - Summary: What Actually Matters (Stress, Anxiety, & Safety)
• 52:54 - Zach's Final Stance: Should You Take It?
• 57:04 - The Attia Categories: Proven, Promising, Fuzzy, Noise, Nonsense
• 1:00:38 - Mythbusters: Instant Results, "Natural = Safe," & Emotional Blunting

Learn 5 ways that you can help your athlete start getting faster today.

Submit questions for our next AMA episode here: https://forms.gle/P73NT3UA6AhMs46u9

00:00 Introduction to Max Velocity Training

01:24 Understanding Max Velocity Mechanics

03:08 The Importance of Elastic Force in Sprinting

05:09 Transitioning from Acceleration to Max Velocity

06:12 Key Objectives for Max Velocity

07:58 Negative Foot Speed Explained

08:53 Applying Force at the Correct Angle

10:58 Foot Placement and Stride Mechanics

13:05 Backside vs. Frontside Mechanics

14:49 The Kinogram Method for Sprint Analysis

22:59 Reframing Life's Bugs as Features

The full Altis Kinogram article can be found here: https://simplifaster.com/articles/altis-kinogram-method/

Hypermobility is both a blessing and a curse. If you're built like Mrs. Incredible or Mr. Fantastic, then you're playing by different rules.