Emotions

S2E42: Training Philosophy, Building Better Athletes & Coach Burnout w Jorge Carvajal

SEASON 2, EPISODE #42

Dr. Bubbs sits down with expert Strength and Conditioning Coach Jorge Carvajal to talk about why his training philosophy starts with “people first”, how to build trust with athletes and the importance of failure in the learning process. He also talks about how strength and conditioning coaches are effectively load managers, the lessons he learned working in NCAA college football and coaching in Russia, and common mistakes made by young coaches. Jorge also shares how the “other 22-hours” in the day impact an athlete's load and why sleep (and naps) and getting the training process right are his big rocks in the recovery process.

Summary of This Episode

1:30 – Coach Carvajal’s “People First” philosophy

4:45 – How to build athlete “buy-in”?

8:45 – Strength coach are effectively load managers

12:45- Roadblocks to effective load management

21:00 – Training lessons learned in NCAA football

24:30 – Getting outside your comfort zone – Working in Russia

31:45 – Lessons learned from early career mistakes

36:50 – Different mindset working with military and special ops

45:10 - How getting back to nature support mental health & performance

52:15 – Building the life you want & defining success

58:30 – Common traits of great coaches 


About Jorge Carvajal

Jorge Carvajal is a performance coach and consultant who has worked with elite athletes in multiple sports and the tactical world for over twenty five years. He has trained thousands of athletes at the University of Florida, the University of Nebraska, the U.S. Olympic Training Center, along with numerous professional athletes from the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, World Surf League Big Wave Tour surfers, and much more. Follow Jorge on Twitter @carvperformance.


S2E38: Impacts of Sleep Loss On Pain, Injury-Risk & Neurocognition w Norah Simpson, PhD

SEASON 2, EPISODE #38

Dr. Bubbs interviews Dr. Norah Simpson ,PhD from Stanford University School of Medicine to talk all things sleep. In this episode, Norah discusses why so many people and athletes still struggle with poor sleep quality and quantity despite all the emphasis on sleep in the last 5 years, as well as her recent paper, “Optimizing sleep to maximize performance: implications and recommendations for elite athletes”. She dives into how lack of sleep impacts pain tolerance, injury risk, risk of illness and even the potential effect of altitude training on sleep quality. Norah also shares the sleep roadblocks she sees most in athletes, her favourite tools and tactics to get sleep back on track, and where she sees the evolution of sleep research heading in the next decade. 

Summary of Episode

5:10 – Effects of sleep loss on neurocognitive performance

8:30 – Injury risk, illness susceptibility and sleep loss

11:30 – Altitude training and impacts on sleep

13:00 – Can you catch up on sleep?

15:00 – sleep loss on injury risk

18:00 – impact on altitude training on sleep

21:00 – Norah’s current athlete sleep study

25:45 – sleep tracking

30:00 – importance of sleep wind down routine

32:00 – Is watching TV better than an iPad at night?

35:30 – common athlete sleep roadblocks

39:00 – “Nappuccino” – good or bad?

  

About Dr. Norah Simpson PhD

Norah Simpson PhD is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Director of the Stanford Sleep Health and Insomnia Program (SHIP), with a clinical focus in psychology, behavioral sleep medicine and athlete well-being. Learn more at www.insomnia.stanford.edu.


Research Paper

Optimizing sleep to maximize performance: implications and recommendations for elite athletes