Derek Hansen been working with athletes in speed, strength and power sports since 1988. Originally working in Track and Field, Derek has expanded his services to assist athletes in all sports with an emphasis on speed development. He has since worked with some of the top performers in the world as a coach and a consultant – including Olympic medalists, world record holders, Canadian National team athletes, professional sports organizations, and professional athletes from numerous sports. And in today’s episode, Derek and I are going to take a deep dive into Achilles tendon tears – an issue that’s growing increasingly common in both the general population and athletes alike.   Everybody says, “Well that’s the fastest track spike…let’s turn soccer shoes and football cleats into a track spike because we want them to run faster.” So now you have a shoe that’s light and stiff, but doesn’t have the width and structure to be stable. – Derek Hansen   This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast: A quick bio of Derek, and what’s new since the last time we chatted. * What got Derek so interested in the topic of Achilles tears. * The numbers what show us Achilles tendon ruptures on the rise, and why he thinks we’re seeing that. * How age impacts the Achilles tendon – and why sometimes younger athletes may actually be at increased risk! * Why defensive players in the NFL may be at an increased risk when compared to their offensive counterparts. * The movement strategies that may happen prior to an Achilles tear. * Why we’re actually starting to see Achilles ruptures occur in acceleration and sprinting, and what that tell us about our training programs. * The role of previous history on Achilles injury, and why we need to be looking at injury history and performance on BOTH sides of the body. * Derek’s thoughts on the “Exposed Window:” What it is, and why we need to be protective of our athletes during this time. * Can we just blame it all on turf? We dive into the nuance of this argument, and why there’s more to this question (especially in the NFL). * The interaction between surface and footwear, and how all of that impacts loading on the connective tissues and joints. * Derek’s overall thoughts on training, and how you can start to build a holistic training program that improves performance while limiting exposure to potential Achilles issues.     Connect with Derek: * SprintCoach.com * RunningMechanics.com * Derek Hasen on Instagram * Running Mechanics on Instagram   Related Links: * Physical Preparation with Derek Hansen * Derek Hansen on Con Ed, Microdosing, and Bringing Speed Training to the Masses * Derek’s Achilles article * Adam Petway an...