ASCA Podcast #110 - Nathan Spencer

Nathan Spencer is an innovative and passionate practitioner with over 10 years experience developing and coordinating cutting edge strength and conditioning, sports science support and end stage rehabilitation service to elite athletes across the world at the professional level. Currently the Strength & Power Coach at the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL, Nathan has worked extensively in both rugby league and basketball both domestically and internationally. Nathan has held roles at the Wests Tigers, Illawarra Hawks, New South Wales Institute of Sport and Orlando Magic. QUOTES “It was an epiphany moment when you think back to what we are taught and it is a bit more old school periodization; whereas the influence of CBAs, 3 games a week, TV deals etc, our ability to make decisions on training periodization are dictated by schedule which is dictated by money” “In the professional basketball environment, frequency of strength and power work wins out so the initial method was to try and get 2 sessions in a week in season” “The luggage crews with the airlines did not like us when we would travel with around 400kg of weight and bars when we went on the road” “We used CMJ eccentric peak velocity as a marker of whether the athletes were putting in and jumping with intent” “When you are measuring things with force plates, you always stick to the source of truth which is force and time” “Most of us would assume that after an activity that is high intensity in nature, it is fatiguing, not potentiating, but the fatiguing response typically occurs a day or two later so how you capitalise on that potentiation is the next question” SHOWNOTES 1) Nathan’s journey from UNSW undergrad to the NBA and back to professional rugby league 2) Strength and power periodization and programming in a heavily congested competition schedule 3) What to focus on after games in NBA for strength and power work and what these sessions would look like at the Orlando Magic 4) Monitoring neuromuscular responses to games from a CMJ and how these responses changed strength & power prescription 5) The metrics to focus on when using the CMJ and force plates to monitor neuromuscular response 6) The differences between pushing isometrics (overcoming) and holding isometrics (yielding) and their use in the NBA strength & power work 7) Adapting and taking what worked in the NBA to an different sport like Waterpolo 8) How to make this model work of monitoring responses and adapting strength & power work for athletes if you do not have force plates PEOPLE MENTIONED Alex Natera Julian Jones Beau Ryan Caitlin Foord Terence Ross Aaron Gordon