Welcome to Everyday Athlete the podcast for the everyday athlete who wants to train smarter and live to be 100 years old. I am your host, Josh Kennedy. Today, I am talking to Franz Snideman, co-owner of Revolution Fitness in La Jolla, California. Franz is a Senior Strong First Instructor, Primal Move National Instructor, a former collegiate sprinter, a trainer, coach, speaker, and author. Franz is known as the sprinting ninja, and he has dreams of being a superhero.
Franz has been in the fitness industry for 21 years, and he has been a personal trainer since 1996. When he was young, he stumbled onto track and field by accident. He ended up getting a college scholarship for track and field, and he is currently known as a sprinting geek. He and his brother developed Primal Speed which is a synthesis of all of his fitness knowledge put into a system that teaches power training and sprinting. This system is unique because it is geared towards health first and performance second.
Today’s topics include:
- How a little bit of long-term power training makes a huge difference in fitness.
- Starting with sprinting mechanics. Take the gait cycle up to a march.
- Then go to skipping and running in place.
- Mechanical efficiency is important in any movement. The higher the foot goes up the more stretch and that is where the power comes from in sprinting.
- Start slow and gradually increase.
- Move arms explosively from the shoulder independent from your legs.
- How Franz could get a 78-year old sprinting in 3 to 6 months.
- The excitement of sharing a passion for sprinting.
- Flexing your shoulder and powerful arm movements give you some bounce off of the floor.
- Developing speed and power before developing endurance. Start short and then work up.
- Benefits of sprinting opposed to jogging.
- Sprinting can maximize results with a minimal time input.
- The hormonal response of using your body explosively. The adrenal and pituitary glands kick in and release hormones that tell the body to adapt.
- Sprinting helps the body adapt by losing fat to be faster.
- Don’t chase the body you want. Chase the behavior that allows the body to get those adaptations.
- Focus on the function of doing explosive things.
- Burning through glycogen improves insulin sensitivity.
- Intentional Athleticism – Taking an honest assessment of your 8 motor qualities.
- Anti-rotation movements teach your brain to check your core when you move your arm and legs.
- The rate of force development – how long it takes you to do a movement like a deadlift. Jumping from a boulder to a boulder is a fast rate of force development.
- Anti-extension most sprinters live in extension. This can cause problems like hamstring strains. Teach the body to keep a neutral pelvis and not overdo extension.
- Thoracic spine mobility – Where the body is designed to rotate from. Encourage thoracic mobility. Work on a little bit every day.
- Have strong hip flexion, glutes, and hamstrings.
Links and resources:
Quotes:
“As we get older we actually need more power. Why not train for power your entire life?” Franz Snideman
“Sprinting makes all of the other bio-motor qualities better.” Franz Snideman
“Every human being needs the ability to produce force quickly.” Franz Snideman
