Overview
In episode 15 of the Stay Connected podcast, the host welcomes Greg Robins, co-founder of The Strength House. Greg discusses his journey in the strength and conditioning field, the evolution of his training philosophies, and the importance of contextualizing strength training within the specific demands of baseball.
Key Points
1. Introduction to Greg Robins:
- Background: Greg Robins started his career as a commercial gym personal trainer before finding his niche in powerlifting and strongman training. He interned at a specialized gym and eventually joined Cressey Performance, where he worked for six years before co-founding The Strength House.
- Current Role: Greg now runs The Strength House, primarily training baseball players at a satellite facility within a baseball complex in Massachusetts.
2. The Journey into Strength and Conditioning:
- Early Career: Greg began his career in a commercial gym setting, learning the basics of training. His real education in training began at a specialized gym focused on powerlifting and strongman.
- Cressey Performance: His experience at Cressey Performance provided valuable insights into training elite athletes and helped shape his coaching philosophies.
3. Specialization in Baseball:
- Focus on Baseball: Greg’s facility, The Strength House, primarily trains baseball players. This specialization allows him to dive deep into the specific demands of the sport.
- ntegration with Skill Training: The proximity to the baseball facility enables seamless integration of strength and conditioning with skill training, allowing for more holistic athlete development.
4. Training Philosophies:
- Principle-Based Approach: Greg emphasizes a principle-based approach to training, where understanding the demands of the sport is crucial. He adapts training principles to meet the specific needs of the athletes.
- Relative Motion vs. Orientation: He explains the concepts of relative motion and orientations in movement, highlighting the importance of maintaining relative motion to dissipate force and prevent injury.
5. Importance of Context in Training:
- Holistic Assessment: Greg’s assessment process includes understanding an athlete’s archetype (wide or narrow) and configuration, which informs their movement capabilities and training needs.
- Static and Dynamic Assessments: He uses static posture pictures and dynamic movement assessments to get a comprehensive understanding of an athlete’s movement patterns.
6. Challenges and Learnings:
- Balancing Strength and Sport-Specific Training: Greg acknowledges the challenge of balancing traditional strength training with sport-specific needs, particularly in baseball where gym metrics don’t always correlate with on-field performance.
- Importance of Skill Understanding: He stresses the importance of understanding the sport’s skills and mechanics to provide better training and injury prevention strategies.
7. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
- Sport-Specific KPIs: For baseball players, Greg prioritizes sport-specific KPIs like pitching velocity over traditional gym metrics like squat or deadlift numbers.
- Individualized Approach: He emphasizes that training should be individualized, considering each athlete’s unique needs and goals.
8. Reflections and Future Directions:
- Learning from Experience: Greg reflects on his early career, recognizing the importance of understanding the sport’s demands better from the start. He encourages coaches to continuously learn and adapt their training methods.
- Focus on Movement Efficiency: Moving forward, Greg aims to focus more on improving athletes’ movement efficiency rather than just increasing strength.
9. Contact Information:
- Instagram: @gregoryrobinstsh (personal), @thestrengthhouse (gym)
- Website: thestrengthhouse.com
Takeaways
- Holistic Approach: Greg’s emphasis on a holistic approach to training, considering both the physical and skill demands of the sport, is crucial for effective athlete development.
- Contextual Training: Understanding the context in which athletes perform and tailoring training to meet those specific needs can lead to better performance and injury prevention.
- Continuous Learning: Coaches should strive to continuously learn and adapt, drawing from both their experiences and new information to improve their training methodologies.