218: How To Build Athleticism, Boost Performance, Reduce Injuries, and Why 10 x 10 Sprints Work w/ Derek Hansen

It’s always a pleasure having a conversation with my friend Derek Hansen as we dive into athleticism, injury prevention, the many facets that influence human performance, as well as why an electrical power plant may be influencing the San Francisco 49ers performance ;)

Derek M. Hansen has been a world renowned sport performance consultant and advisor to some of the top organizations, teams and athletes in professional and elite sports over the last 20 years. His coaching background and involvement in return-to-play protocols has spanned over 30 years. His areas of expertise include sport speed development, running mechanics, return-to-play management, strategic program planning and electrical stimulation technologies. His clients have included top organizations from the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, NCAA and the Bundesliga. He has also coached and advised thousands of athletes in the professional and collegiate ranks.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

=> What pro organizations has Derek worked with and what insights has he got from working

=> Is more competition, more games, more revenue, the driving force behind the rise in injuries.

=> What happens when there’s no continuity in a strength and conditioning program and what high school and college athletes deal with.

=> Derek explains how degeneration of bones and tendons happens and why skipping preparatory periods can create a danger of faster degeneration.

=> What would an ideal off season look like in Derek’s eyes and why he likes the old school “cycles”, “phases” and “blocks.”

=> How he uses Charlie Francis “wave theory” to help the brain not adapt and improve performance.

=> Why we SHOULD deprive certain parts of physical abilities so that they can improve (and why Nikola Jokic goes and races horses in the off season and comes back better).

=> Breaking things up, spreading them, and then sequencing them in a logical way, like Tudor Bompa talks about, is still a great way to develop long term performance.

=> Why doing more and more of the same thing non stop, doesn’t work well in the long term (and the value of doing “nothing”).

=> Why taking time off and playing other sports in the off-season works well for improving abilities rather then “detraining” them.

=> When you’re doing too much “ultra specificity” you’re likely racing to an injury and you’re also detraining many general physical abilities that support overall sports performance.

=> How the 10 x 10 acceleration model was a rehab approach first adopted in the 1970’s, and has turned into a method used to improve performance (with so many different application approaches).

=> Why the 10 x 10’s can even be a rehab routine for upper body injuries, and here’s why.

=> Derek and Luka talk about how they both use 10 x 10’s in their training with athletes, general population, rehab clients, return to play, and more.

=> The coaching and cues, progressions, to take 10 x 10 from the baseline level and progress them, or even scale them down for a very beginner, de-conditioned client.

=> Why people take great methods and mess them up because they don’t know how to regress and progress them.

=> Are “tempo intervals” smart for speed, and why Jerry Rice wasn’t the fastest but dominated the game, and rarely had any injuries.

=> Why improving circulation is key for athletes and one of the many reasons aerobic work matters (Derek explains the technology they use to see inflammation/cold in muscles and how they address it).

=> How to approach social media education to build a trusted brand in the long term.

=> How we are using AI to help us be better coaches, create better work, while also being more of ourselves.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

Derek Hansen Instagram

Sprint Coach

Running Mechanics

Super Coach Mentorship

Luka Hocevar YouTube Channel