Coach Em Up Podcast

Check out Zack on socials! @zack_zillner

Use code "coachemup10" for 10% off EVERYTHING at https://eleiko.com/coachemup
Head over to https://ovrperformance.com/coachemup and get $25 off
Grab a Subscriber tee at https://www.dripthatdelivers.com

Tim Riley and Zack Zillner are back in the Austin studio for a full Q&A episode covering strength and conditioning coach salary debates, NCAA 20-hour rule logistics, shin splints, eccentric quasi-isometrics, AI in programming, NIL culture, and whether Tim could survive a bear fight.

Zack breaks down the operational reality of the NCAA 8-hour off-season rule and the full 20-hour in-season window, and explains why sport skill execution will always beat weight room numbers when practice time is limited. Tim reflects on private sector coaching ethics: when an athlete is already buried under school practices, an extra meal often does more than another squat session.

Q&A covers how to build work capacity, why eccentric quasi-isometrics are mostly social media noise, meathead hypertrophy as connective tissue insurance, sleep tracking anxiety and its effect on athletic performance, in-person coaching requirements before going online, AI tools like Relay for programming templates, NIL and transfer portal impact on athlete work ethic, low-tech athlete monitoring tools, and bucket list podcast guests.

Don't forget to subscribe!

Produced by
Q6 Media
https://q6.media

00:00:00 - Bear Fight Cold Open
00:00:32 - Happy Birthday Zack!
00:03:14 - NCAA 20-Hour Rule Breakdown
00:07:29 - Weight Room vs. Court Time Tug-of-War
00:14:05 - Private Sector Coaching
00:18:05 - Strength and Conditioning Coach Salary Debate
00:37:52 - In-Person Coaching Before Online Coaching
00:44:30 - Managing Shin Splints in Sprint Training
00:47:16 - Debunking Eccentric Quasi-Isometrics
00:51:10 - Meathead Hypertrophy vs. Sport-Specific Training
00:53:37 - How to Find Your Coaching Style
00:57:00 - How to Build Work Capacity
00:58:19 - Sleep Tracking Anxiety and Athletic Performance
01:02:20 - Bucket List Podcast Guests
01:08:04 - Advice for International Coaches Interning in the U.S.
01:09:42 - Biggest Challenges in Basketball Strength and Conditioning
01:12:43 - AI for Strength and Conditioning Programming
01:17:36 - NIL and Transfer Portal Impact on Athlete Work Ethic
01:23:08 - Low-Tech Athlete Monitoring Tools
01:27:07 - Bear Fight Simulation

#CoachEmUp #StrengthAndConditioningCoach #StrengthCoachPodcast #AthleticPerformance #CollegiateStrengthCoach #NILAthletes #SportScience #StrengthCoaching #Podcast #ZachEvenEsh

Check out Tim on socials! @timrileytraining

Use code "coachemup10" for 10% off EVERYTHING at https://eleiko.com/coachemup
Head over to https://ovrperformance.com/coachemup and get $25 off
Grab a Subscriber tee at https://www.dripthatdelivers.com

Tim Riley goes solo on the Coach Em Up Podcast for a Q&A covering apex competition rules, sprint training for beginners, OCD diagnosis, sobriety, and much more. He shares combine stories, his biggest coaching blunders, and why carbs are still the OG performance enhancer.

He breaks down the viral Hyrox biohazard incident in Beijing and uses it to set the record straight on Apex competition health policy. Then he rewinds to age 26, no car, no phone, no money, walking to his first training job out of a Florida halfway house, and explains how he became the person he is today.

On the business side, Tim talks about how watching physical therapist David Gray build ethical, high-value content convinced him to post consistently and eventually launch Cheat Code, open his own gym, and build Apex from the ground up. He shares his rules for hiring new coaches, the real reason Apex does not use weight classes, and his 2026-2027 expansion targets.

Tim walks through how to improve broad jump mechanics with the Blaine Broad progression, covers sprint training for beginners with a slow-to-fast, low-impact-first framework, and shares his experience training Xavier Worthy. He also recounts two genuinely catastrophic coaching mistakes involving a plyo box and a Swiss ball on a treadmill.

The back half of the episode goes personal. Tim opens up about his OCD diagnosis and how Exposure and Response Prevention therapy finally gave him tools that worked. He also reflects on fatherhood, egocentric bias, and what it actually means to live instead of just survive.

This is a strength and conditioning podcast that does not stay in its lane. That is the point.

Produced by
Q6 Media
https://q6.media

00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:28 - The Hyrox poop incident
00:10:32 - Advice to his 26-year-old self and early sobriety
00:14:48 - Finding venues for Apex and expansion hurdles
00:18:11 - Building influence, business ethics, and launching Apex
00:29:52 - How to improve your broad jump
00:32:49 - Scaling brands and rules for hiring coaches
00:37:13 - Game speed vs weightroom skill
00:40:46 - Biggest coaching mistakes
00:50:11 - Sprint training for beginners
00:54:08 - Apex 2026-2027 road map and international expansion
01:01:38 - Stepping back from full-time client training
01:06:01 - Why Apex does not have weight classes
01:10:41 - Unsolicited advice, lying, and egocentric bias
01:18:20 - Pure OCD diagnosis and Exposure Response Prevention therapy
01:29:11 - Carbs for athletic performance, fatherhood, anxiety
01:37:27 - Managing career transitions and embracing uncertainty

#CoachEmUpPodcast #ApexCompetition #SprintTraining #StrengthAndConditioningPodcast #BroadJump #MentalHealth #OCD #NFLCombine #XavierWorthy #Podcast

Check out Alec on socials! @alecblenis

Use code "coachemup10" for 10% off EVERYTHING at https://eleiko.com/coachemup
Head over to https://ovrperformance.com/coachemup and get $25 off
Grab a Subscriber tee at https://www.dripthatdelivers.com

Hybrid athlete and coach Alec Blenis is back for his SIXTH appearance on Coach Em Up! Alec breaks down his pursuit of a sub-2:30 marathon while holding serious muscle, training alongside Paris Olympian Yaseen Abdalla, and surviving sodium bicarbonate's most brutal side effects.

Alec Blenis is a hybrid athlete who has been chasing the sub-2:30 marathon while maintaining elite-level strength. In this episode he lays out exactly how he got there: doubling weekly running volume to 75 miles, outsourcing his programming to coach John Davis to kill decision fatigue, and training on treadmills next to a guy who ran a 2:11 in Paris. The interference effect is real, but Alec explains how adaptation eventually brought strength back online. He also speaks on his unorthodox fueling, drinking a liter of OJ a day and over 400 grams of sugar total to maintain his training.

From there, things get weird in the best way. Tim and Alec break down backyard ultramarathon psychology through Mark Dowdle's 5-day performance in Germany, dissect trainer Joel Seedman's Instagram content connecting 90-degree squats to theology, and then unload a stacked Q&A covering high-carb marathon fueling strategy, unilateral vs bilateral training, hybrid athlete training split design, HRV usefulness for athletes, endurance training for heavy runners, treadmill stiffness vs road running, and whether mental toughness drills are actually overrated.

If you are running a marathon while lifting heavy, training concurrently, or just trying to understand the interference effect without losing your mind, this episode has you covered.

Produced by
Q6 Media
https://q6.media

Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Introduciton
00:01:41 - Alec's Running Background and Sub-2:30 Marathon Goal
00:07:04 - Marathon Benchmarks, Coaching Value, and the Interference Effect
00:12:48 - Training with Yaseen Abdalla and Mitch Ammons
00:18:23 - High-Carb Fueling: OJ, Sugar, and Surviving Austin Heat
00:27:18 - Backyard Ultras and Mark Dowdle's Psychological Warfare
00:35:36 - Joel Seedman's Eccentric Isometrics and Theological Squats
00:46:14 - Tim's Best and Worst Qualities
00:50:06 - Unilateral vs Bilateral Training
00:52:11 - Session Flow vs Exercise Ordering
00:53:30 - Building Muscle Under High Endurance Fatigue
00:55:04 - Smartwatch Metrics and HRV Skepticism
00:59:01 - Structuring a Hybrid Training Split
01:00:45 - Sodium Bicarbonate Side Effects
01:06:33 - Weekly OJ Totals and Apex Australia Plans
01:09:16 - Single High-Volume Run vs Spreading Weekly Mileage
01:10:06 - Endurance Training for Heavy Athletes
01:15:02 - Heat Acclimatization and Overrated Mental Toughness Drills
01:20:07 - Treadmill Stiffness vs Road Running

#HybridAthlete #ConcurrentTraining #AlecBlenis #CoachEmUpPodcast #MarathonTraining #InterferenceEffect #RunningAndLifting #EnduranceTraining #Podcast #StrengthAndConditioning

Check out Jason on socials! @Jason_rotger @jasonrotger

Use code "coachemup10" for 10% off EVERYTHING at https://eleiko.com/coachemup
Head over to https://ovrperformance.com/coachemup and get $25 off
Grab a Subscriber tee at https://www.dripthatdelivers.com

Speed and performance coach Jason Rotger joins Tim Riley to break down speed training, sprint mechanics, and vertical jump training the right way. From a near-fatal BMX crash at 15 to Division I decathlon at FIU, Jason's story is as wild as his coaching methods. He dropped his own 100m from by ditching heavy squats, and he'll tell you exactly why your weight room obsession might be killing your speed.

Jason Rotger went from BMX national rankings to pole vaulting, then earned a D1 scholarship as a decathlete at Florida International University. Along the way, he dealt with ankle surgery, a torn labrum, a supraspinatus tear, and a sprint plateau that had him squatting 435 lbs at 175 lbs bodyweight and still running an 11.8 hundred meter. The fix? He stopped squatting and started sprinting. That single shift dropped his time almost immediately.

This episode covers the how to run a faster 100m debate head-on, the real role of plyometrics for sprint speed, timing gates as a non-negotiable coaching tool, 40 yard dash start technique, and how to improve broad jump distance fast. Jason also breaks down decathlon training volume, pole vault physics, and why sprint coaches need to invest in timing equipment for their athletes. He also opens up about completing his first full decathlon post-college without injury. You only lose when you quit.

Produced by
Q6 Media
https://q6.media

00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:06 - BMX Racing Career and Near-Fatal Crash
00:11:28 - Transition to Pole Vaulting
00:19:14 - D1 Decathlon at FIU and Injury Streak
00:27:36 - First Full Decathlon and Process Mindset
00:31:00 - Mental Grit and the Rocky Influence
00:34:49 - Sprint Plateau and Heavy Squats
00:39:45 - Coaching Collegiate Sprinters to 25 mph
00:44:49 - Vertical Jump Training and Volleyball Athletes
00:48:25 - Coaching CrossFit Athletes for Combine Events
00:52:54 - Combine Timing Systems and Hamstring Injury Risk
01:02:14 - Pole Vault Physics and Apex Targets
01:12:09 - Hottest Takes on Speed Training
01:16:02 - Authentic Brand Building and Event Swaps
01:20:05 - Three Pieces of Advice for Performance Coaches
01:22:02 - Sprint Coach Rant
01:25:41 - Overrated vs. Underrated in Athletic Performance
01:30:43 - Unsolicited Advice

#SpeedTraining #SprintMechanics #VerticalJumpTraining #CoachEmUpPodcast #Decathlon #PoleVault #JasonRotger #AthleticPerformance #Plyometrics #Podcast

Check out Emmanuel on socials! @Matadi

Use code "coachemup10" for 10% off EVERYTHING at https://eleiko.com/coachemup
Head over to https://ovrperformance.com/coachemup and get $25 off
Grab a Subscriber tee at https://www.dripthatdelivers.com

Emmanuel Matadi, three-time Olympian and one of the most jacked sprinters on the planet, joins Tim Riley on the Coach 'Em Up Podcast to break down sprint science, recovery, the Enhanced Games controversy, and what it actually takes to run a 9.95 at age 35. From Liberia to the Olympic blocks, Matadi's story is as wild as his 40 time in Timbs.

Matadi didn't start taking track seriously until his junior year of high school. He was too busy playing football, wrestling, and figuring out how to survive as a Liberian immigrant in Minnesota. Then he casually smoked the fastest kid at his school in a race and the rest wrote itself.

On this episode, Emmanuel and Tim go deep on how to run faster in the 100m, why most youth sprinters burn out before they ever peak, and how the old-school method of running 400m repeats until athletes puke is the opposite of what athletes need. Emmanuel breaks down his phase-by-phase sprint cues, why tense muscles are slow muscles, his love of resisted hill sled work over overspeed, and how 8 hours of sleep a night is the ultimate recovery tool.

They also get into the Enhanced Games, where Matadi ran 9.95 at 35 years old and had to address years of steroid accusations head-on. They also explain the science behind fast twitch muscle fiber training and why preserving Type 2X fibers into your 30s and 40s matters more than any 5K you'll ever run.

Produced by
Q6 Media
https://q6.media

00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:15 - Matadi's Background
00:06:23 - High School Football, Wrestling, and How Track Started
00:11:08 - New NCAA Eligibility rules and NIL
00:17:56 - JUCO Grind vs. Pro Sprint Programming
00:27:26 - Trackflation, Youth Burnout, and Why Off-Seasons Matter
00:32:27 - The Mental Side of Sprinting
00:36:22 - Racing in Three Olympics
00:43:16 - 100m Race Strategy, Acceleration, and Sprint Mechanic Cues
00:46:58 - Recovery Protocols, Weight Management, and Off-Season Lifting
00:52:21 - Line It Up 40 Tournament and the Enhanced Games Experience
01:03:22 - Longevity, Fast-Twitch Fiber Training, and APEX Philosophy
01:15:37 - APEX Miami Breakdown
01:19:38 - Crocs 40, Phase Cues, Bulgarian Split Squats, and Plate Marches
01:28:43 - Youth Mechanics, Peaking in Long Seasons, and Rant n Rave
01:37:06 - Unsolicited Advice and Closing

#EmmanuelMatadi #CoachEmUpPodcast #SprintTraining #HowToRunFaster #EnhancedGames #SprintMechanics #FastTwitchTraining #TrackAndField #ResistedSprinting #OlympicSprinter