105 – Mark Asanovich on Using High-Intensity Training in the NFL

Mark Asanovich, MA, CSCS, HFI, is one of the American professional football world’s most experienced strength and conditioning coaches employing high-intensity training, spending years with the Minnesota Vikings, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he has trained numerous NFL athletes, Pro-Bowlers, and Hall-of-Famers such as Derrick Brooks, Cris Carter, Randall McDaniel, John Randle, and Warren Sapp, – just a small selection of the many, many high-level athletes Mark has trained!

Mark has also coached and trained at the high school and collegiate levels, and he has spoken all over the world in numerous events such as the Resistance Exercise Conference and American Football Coaches Association National Convention, and he is also a contributing author to the books Death in the Locker Room II: Drugs and Sports ( Amazon US / Amazon UK ) and The New High Intensity Strength Training ( Amazon US / Amazon UK ).

Today, Mark remains an active researcher, speaker, and co-author in evidence-based strategies for proactively mitigating the severity and frequency of cervical spine injury and traumatic brain injury through head and neck strengthening.

Contact Mark:

• Coach A Pro Training (Mark Asanovich’s Official Website)
• Mark Asanovich on Linkedin

In this episode, we cover:

• How Mark uses HIT to train Professional NFL Athletes
• Mark’s take on variation, volume, and his specific strength training routines
• The critical importance of training your neck, and how most people are either doing it wrong or not doing it at all
• … and much more!

 

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This episode is brought to you by the Resistance Exercise Conference – The science and application of strength training for health and human performance.

Would you like to:

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I certainly do and that is why I am attending and interviewing all of the speakers at the event.

The resistance exercise conference will be held on the 9th and 10th of March 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at The Commons Hotel.

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I’m very excited about this and have wanted to attend for years. Sign up now at ResistanceExerciseConference.com, get 10% off with promo code corporatewarrior10 and I look forward to meeting you in person!

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: Have you ever trained specifically for a sport? What was your experience like? Please let me know in the comments at the bottom of this post.

Show Notes

Click the link below to listen from the exact time stamp on Overcast:

• How did Mark get his start working in the NFL? [6:02]
• Mark talks about training genetically gifted athletes who have no idea how to strength train properly [8:48]
• On having issues and differences when it comes to training protocols (and the story of one professional athlete who didn’t go along with Mark’s training protocol) [11:39]
• On training less genetically gifted athletes (and on being frank with them) [16:23]
• What were some of the bad habits that athletes in the NFL have that Mark had to work with and correct? [19:45]
• Mark’s early strength and resistance training influences [21:46]
• Mark talks about his seemingly-against-the-grain approach of using High-Intensity-Training against the backdrop of American sporting folklore where most coaches preach fundamentally opposite approaches to training [22:50]
• On coaches and trainers who use non-evidence-based training protocols in training athletes from the high school level all the way up to the professional level [27:09]
• How does Mark approach situations where an athlete or a trainee is reluctant to follow evidence-based strength training protocols? [31:01]
• What is the typical strength training program Mark puts NFL players through? [33:30]
• What is Mark’s approach to training volume, frequency, and recovery? [36:00]
• On the validity of training using progressive overload [38:25]
• On maximising your genetic potential and the age factor [44:31]
• On single-joint exercises versus multi-joint exercises [46:39]
• How does Mark approach neck training (and why is it so important)? [49:26]
• On do-it-yourself neck training [56:04]
• Mark talks about the neck training machine of his own design – the Head-and-Neck Isolator [1:01:38]
• On positioning, range of motion, and optimal fibre recruitment in neck training [1:05:15]
• Mark’s response to a request for an injury diagnosis (and other recommendations) [1:07:00]
• What does Mark’s own workout look like? [1:10:47]
• What strength, conditioning, or health and fitness book has Mark reread the most? [1:15:06]
• Mark’s approach to research and making use of PubMed [1:16:13]
• Has Mark changed his mind about anything in last year when it comes to strength and conditioning? [1:17:50]
• Mark’s thoughts on CrossFit and other training trends that tend to downplay proper recovery [1:19:36]
• What insight on strength and conditioning might Mark have that may seem obvious to him but not obvious to everyone else? [1:21:03]
• What can be done to change people’s inclinations from improper, non-evidence-based exercise that increases the risk of injury to proper, evidence-based exercise? [1:22:44]

Selected Links from the Episode

• Death in the Locker Room II: Drugs and Sports by Dr. Bob Goldman and Dr. Ronald Klatz ( Amazon US / Amazon UK )
• The New High Intensity Training: The Best Muscle-Building System You’ve Never Tried by Dr. Ellington Darden ( Amazon US / Amazon UK )
• National Football League (NFL) | Website
• Minnesota Vikings | Website
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Website
• Baltimore Ravens | Website
• Jacksonville Jaguars | Website
• Philadelphia Eagles | Website
• Miami Dolphins | Website
• Cincinnati Bengals | Website
• Ohio State University | Website
• University of Michigan | Website
• Pac-12 Conference (formerly Pac-10) | Website
• Big Ten Conference | Website
• Southeastern Conference | Website
• NCAA Division 1 | Website
• Study: Single vs. Multi-Joint Resistance Exercises: Effects on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy (Paulo Gentil et al)
• MedX Exercise Equipment | MedX Lumbar Extension machine
• Dynamic Fitness & Strength | Mark Asanovich’s Head & Neck Isolator
• Study: The Effect of Neck Muscle Training On The Isometric Cervical Extension Strength And Cross-Sectional Area Of The Neck Extensor Muscles -Combined Training For Neck Extensor Muscles Using A Cervical Extension Machine (Kaoru Tsuyama et al)
• Nautilus
• Super Slow
• Body By Science by Dr. Doug McGuff and John Little ( Amazon US / Amazon UK )
• The Body By Science Question and Answer Book by Dr. Doug McGuff and John Little  ( Amazon US / Amazon UK )
• Arthur Jones’ Nautilus Bulletin #1 | Arthur Jones’ Nautilus Bulletin #2
• PubMed | Website
• CrossFit | Website
• Insanity Workout
• Orangetheory Fitness | Website
• Selection Bias

People Mentioned

• Jim Flanagan (Listen to my interview with Jim here)
• Arthur Jones
• Tim Ferriss | Website
• Gary Vaynerchuck | Website
• Warren Sapp
• Kim Wood
• Mike Gittleson
• Dr. Ken Leistner
• Albert Einstein
• Dr. Ellington Darden
• Paulo Gentil
• Dr. James Fisher (Listen to previous interviews with James here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)
• Charles Atlas | Website
• Dr. Doug McGuff (Listen to previous episodes with Doug here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)
• Dr. James Steele (Listen to our episodes here: Part 1 and Part 2)
• Dr. Brad Schoenfeld (Listen to previous episodes with Brad here: Part 1 and Part 2)
• Rocky Balboa