Matthew Ibrahim currently serves as the Assistant Professor of Exercise Science at Quincy College, Adjunct Professor of Exercise Science at Maryville University, founder of Athletic Performance University (AthleticPerformanceU.com) and Ph.D. Candidate in Human & Sport Performance. As a public speaker, Matthew has presented nationally in over 25 U.S. states, and he’s also in the midst of writing a book through Human Kinetics on the topic of training for athletic performance. And last but definitely not least, Matthew is still a coach – and I think that’s a big reason we had so much fun chatting here today. In this episode, we take a deep dive into deceleration and building the brakes. As strength coaches we love to build higher vertical jumps, faster 40’s, and bigger squats and deads, but on a field, court or pitch you better be able to manage and redirect those forces if you want to be successful!   The big lifts are the steak, the accessory lifts are your rice and broccoli, and your targeted isolation work is the salt, pepper and seasoning. – Matthew Ibrahim   This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast: * Why building the brakes are so important, and how Matthew originally got into this topic. * The role of the weight room, and why we can’t forget about force production and strength development. * How compound lifts, accessories, AND targeted isolation work all have a role to play in your training program. * Why training deceleration is a big piece of the puzzle, and why you can’t just train in the sagittal plane. * Learning how to attenuate vertical forces and LAND more effectively. * Why snapdowns and low-level vertical landing progressions aren’t enough over the long-term, and how to progress these activities. * How to take a standard training session and seamlessly integrate your deceleration work into it. * What Athletic Performance University is, and why Matthew created it. * How to better integrate the philosophical/educational side of S&C with the applied and practical to create the next great generation of coaches.     Connect with Matthew: * Matthew on IG * Athletic Performance University   Related Links: * Ben Ashworth Podcast   Build Savage, Athletic Beasts with Exerfly! This week’s episode of the Physical Preparation Podcast is brought to you by Exerfly. Flywheel training is a method of strength training where your athletes generate resistance by using the inertia of a flywheel instead of traditional gravity-based resistance training By accelerating and then decelerating a disk, your athletes generate resistance in both the concentric and eccentric portions of the lift, WITHOUT the need for ridiculously heavy weights. Standard free weight training is great for the early preparatory phases, but as athletes develop there’s more to it than just getting stronger at all costs. At some point, you need to prepare them for the massive eccentric forces they’ll experience on the field, court or pitch – and with Exerfly’s motorized technology, you can increase the eccentric overload of the lift anywhere from 1-80%! Exerfly is used by numerous teams in the NFL, NBA, over 50% of the English Premiere League,