Sets and Reps Greg Gdanian

Selected highlights from Episodes 43-48. Though there weren't many episodes of the Sets & Reps podcast, these were recorded right before my hiatus (which has been going on now, admittedly, from April to present day). 

My intro briefly goes over what I've been doing and what my plans are. I like to think if you don't give too much away it is better off for you ;)

Below are time codes and some helpful links!

The Website: https://www.sets-and-reps.com/

The Instagram: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqd9Ec-wBXEjvtNLAIAwFWA

Episodes featured in this compilation:

04:50-21:54 43. The Iron Core Way (Os Aponte)

Os's website: https://www.ironcoreway.com/

22:18-33:05 44. The Fine Line Between Medicine And Fitness (Lauren Eirk, pt. 1)

33:30-37:30 44. Force, Stress, and Muscle Activation Technique (Lauren Eirk, pt. 2)

Lauren's website: https://fitnessintegratedscience.com/

37:59-53:45 45. Uprooted And Transplanted (Mom & Dad)

54:23-1:13:23 46. Therapy And The Injured Athletes Identity (Sarah Fritsche)

Sarah's website: https://therapyisbae.com/

1:14:19-1:31:45 47. Clinician > Profession (Devyn Pioli)

Devyn's website: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAlpQLSfTC-_7B0ooSWHaqSLV3tbYQaq40pwcPZYs3n961d2StGHKg/viewform

1:32:00-1:50:00 48. The Strength Connection (Michael Kurkowski)

Mike's website: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-strength-connection/id1588270298

 

After working in the food industry, Michael Kurkowski worked his way to the management position where he built up the next generation of trainers to be authentic and welcoming in their practice. He has also owned his own studio and online coaching business. Additionally he has hosted 2 podcasts. Currently he is the host of The Strength Connection. As said in the show’s mission statement, he connects with the top minds in strength to share stories, insights and experiences to help the world get stronger everyday! I’m grateful for this episode and the connection I have made with Mike. We dove into several topics including:


Exploring the dimensions of communication
The anatomy of a conversation
Humility
Creating an environment your employees can thrive in
Being the most positive person in your client’s life
Defining and differing proactive and reactive attitudes
Strategies for communicating with your clients outside of working hours
Problems are here for us to solve
Reps for Results - Mike Kurkowski 2022
Joy is not just progressive overload

Devyn Pioli is a chiropractic student, personal trainer and former co-worker who I had the pleasure of connecting with on the podcast. Take a listen for insights and stories about overcoming burnout, the problems with valuing the profession over the clinician, all things powerlifting competitions, mentorship, filtering out bullsh*t by looking at intent and more!

Experiencing a pattern of burnout (03:54)

2 Philosophies of Chiropractic Medicine (08:00)

What does “out of alignment” really mean? (10:20)

Being a “guide” for your clients (13:15)

There’s a context where everything is useful (14:13)

Information dosages (16:18)

Authenticity builds buy-in (17:17)

Divisive individuals within the profession (19:48)

Pros and cons of having the degree as a clinician (23:37)

How powerlifting competitions work (27:97)

Training volume versus heavy sets (35:54)

Preparing for a powerlifting meet (37:00)

Mentorship (38:33)

Filtering out B.S. from people you follow (41:35)

Arching your back in the bench press (48:00)

Online personal training platform (50:00)

One trick for an hour plus of productive work to start a project (51:48)

www.sets-and-reps.com

Today’s guest is Sarah Fritsche, a therapist, athlete and future doctor of psychology! With her doctoral research she is giving back to the athletic community by building awareness around the mental side of the female athlete’s injury recovery. Having been a part of this category she questions the system and knows there is information lacking. I was grateful to learn all about what she is doing in pursuit of merging the mental and physical fields of recovery for this population. In addition, we cover a top-down view of some of the most effective therapy models and which ones might be used in certain client situations. Sarah takes a humanistic approach to her sessions with clients which means they lead in whatever direction they need. I share my own experiences with you and Sarah, and relate them to our conversation about what long and short term therapy looks like. Read the rest of my takeaways from today’s episode of Sets and Reps: the podcast below!

A lot of listening at a young age led to a therapist’s career

Learn different styles of therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy: an action-based approach for short term outcomes

Greg’s experiences with therapy

Online therapy

Debunking Misconceptions of Therapy

Increasing client “buy-in” to therapy coping skills

How to avoid playing the “therapy role” in professions outside of that scope

Fitness and physical activity for self care

Resources missing for athletes on the mental health side of injury recovery

Sarah’s doctoral research: The psychological effects of injury in female collegiate athletes

Fill out Sarah's online survey to be a part of the study! Specific criteria required!

Identity factors in highschool vs. college female athletes

Sarah’s instagram has all kinds of positivity in the form of encouraging posts that cover some of the major mental health struggles you may be going through as well as some actionable tools you can take to make some sense of it all

https://www.instagram.com/therapist_bae3/

Follow your host Greg Gdanian on Instagram for daily clips and episode updates: https://www.instagram.com/gregbuildsskills/

https://www.sets-and-reps.com/about My website is officially live! Huge thank you to my designer Nick who I will have on the show very soon. He worked hard for several months to get this thing launched for me and we did a soft launch not too long ago but I am officially announcing it to you here!
The website is:

A home for every single current and future episode of Sets and Reps the podcast
A home for my blogs (whenever I get around to writing them)
A place where you can sign up for an email newsletter to receive updates about new content and a personal short blog about upcoming episodes
All the ways to connect with me (your host!)
On today’s episode you will meet my Mom and Dad. They have stories to tell and lessons to teach from lives well lived. They happily relocated to South Carolina in their 60’s after living in a small town called Milford for about 33 years (I’ve been alive for 23 of those years). My Dad was a pastor for a long time so he’s a great communicator/public speaker, in addition to having served the cities of Nashua and Manchester as a paramedic. My Mom is a former preschool teacher, fitness technician for Curves fitness for women, and a licensed massage therapist.
Here are the main takeaways from episode 45 of Sets and Reps the podcast:

Uprooted and Transplanted (A new life)
2 honest journeys of weight loss
Why my parents never gave me an allowance and what they did instead!
Do’s and Don’ts in the process of grieving a lost loved one
What Mom and Dad share about living together for 40 years

Muscle activation technique (MAT) is a multi-tiered educational system that Lauren has been proficient in since its creation in 2002. Since then, she has watched it grow and improve while being a huge supporter and student of it for a long time. According to Lauren it largely influences how she works with individuals each day. It is a manual therapy that involves taking a look at joint symmetry in the human body and the ability of our muscles to contract. It assesses range of motion passively (on a table where the patient or client is staying relaxed). If muscles are weak in some areas and over developed in others, an MAT specialist will be able to assess you and provide you with skills and exercises to restore. After discussing MAT, Lauren and I shift gears and discuss a few biomechanical concepts as well as how forces and stresses are applied to our bodies.

“A doctor may prescribe medicine or surgery. [Fitness professionals] prescribe forces on people… A force has a specific point of application, a specific magnitude, and a specific direction. Forces must be placed strategically according to the structure… If a force is misapplied over a period of time in a way that violates that structure, that structure will diminish.”

Below are some of the main takeaways from this second part of my conversation with Lauren:


Muscle Activation Technique - Taking a look under the hood to find muscular imbalances and weaknesses
The science behind muscle contraction and muscular overuse
What an MAT specialist is looking for and how they assess clients
Breaking down the different MAT certifications and Lauren’s long journey to mastery
Biomechanics is the study of forces that are placed on or within living systems
Disruption of forces leads to injury
Every person has their own genetic blueprint
Bone structure differences on one side of the body
Joint clicking and popping - why might this be happening and how should we react to it?

Get updates on Sets and Reps the podcast and more great content from your host, Gregory Gdanian!


IG: https://www.instagram.com/gregbuildsskills/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqd9Ec-wBXEjvtNLAIAwFWA

Important Links to learn more about today’s honored guest!

Fitness Integrated Science in Louisville, Kentucky - https://fitnessintegratedscience.com/

Download the “Fitness Integrated Science TV” App!


Google Play Store:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fitnessintegratedscience

“The Fitness Integrated Science Monthly On-Demand Subscription features workouts, education, and programs with Nationally recognized Health and Fitness Expert Lauren Eirk. This channel is for those who seek a more thorough, biomechanically based approach to their long-term health in order to maximize results while avoiding injury.”

You can find today’s Guest on Social media:

1.) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fitnessintegratedscience/

2.) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FitnessIntegratedScience