ELASTIC ESSENTIALS
Discover How Training Focused on the Body's Elastic Nature Yields New Levels of Athleticism, Explosiveness and Resiliency
"Joel's Elastic Essentials Course was a breath of fresh air. As a master's athlete and a coach of master's runners, I was thrilled to learn how to become more reactive and maximize free-energy return instead of lifting heavy and sticking with more traditional lifts as I did as a younger athlete. I have continued to use the workouts I learned while training under Joel and I know that without them, I would not have stayed as injury-free as I did this season when I was able to break 9 world age group records."
- Sue McDonald
What if your athletic performance program not only increased muscular outputs, but also maximized free-energy return, giving athletes more speed, better reactivity, and decreased their injury rates?
If you want to reach the highest levels of athleticism, then you need to respect the way the body is naturally wired to move in the scope of a training program
It sounds simple to train the body with an “elastic” emphasis, but it’s something many performance programs don’t appear to be concerned with, placing the premium on barbell and lifting-based adaptations.
Most Athletic Performance Programs:
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Primarily utilize barbells and dumbbells while ignoring, or de-prioritizing the impact of bodyweight, reactive, and proprioceptive training
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Ignore the feet, and their link to everything that happens upstream in movement
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Teach running mechanics and plyometrics based on pre-conceived positions, rather than in a natural learning style, limiting athleticism, increasing rigidity and decreasing transfer of training
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Under-appreciate the “human” element of training by de-prioritizing innate movement patterns and the ability to control one’s body in space
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Can slowly decrease an athlete’s elasticity, fluidity and reactivity over time when weights are over-utilized in relation to other training means
Athletes deserve more than just having an athletic performance program being based on mundane instruction of the powerlifts, bodybuilding movements, and closely related derivatives. They can do better than receiving “copy and paste” sprint and plyometric instructions. When you train the body as it is meant to move, react, and learn, you can achieve new levels of explosive athleticism.
As an Athlete and Young Coach: Too Much Barbell Work, Compressive Training, and Linear Thinking
As a young athlete, I was obsessed with any training method that could help me run faster, jump higher, or play my sport better. This obsession led me to eventually performing at the national level in collegiate track and field, and then getting into athletic performance coaching, as well as coaching speed and power events in track and field.
In my 20’s, my mentality towards improving athletic abilities was all about strength and outputs. It used more of my “left brain” (linear thinking/sequencing), than my “right brain” (intuition/holistic thinking), respectively.
I had some good results (such as a NCAA national champion in the 55m dash, or improving the vertical jumps of a college basketball team by 3-5” in a fall of training), but I also missed out on getting a lot of athletes their best result, and even sent some backwards
In my time as a young coach, I also saw several athletes come into a college track program as “skinny freshmen”, who I put through the paces of the weight room in traditional ways. I saw several of these athletes get stronger, but run slower and jump lower.
Even in my own personal training in my mid 20’s, I had maxed my own Olympic lifts and squat as far as I could, as well as taken on many of the appropriate “run technique cues”, and yet I was 5-10% off of my best performances from college in the high and triple jump events. I had more “horsepower” but less reactive, and innate movement activity.
Coaching in My 30’s: Moving Towards a Harmony of Elasticity and Force Production
As I transitioned in my early 30’s towards being a full-time strength coach, I initially trained athletes using what I figured was “par for the course”, warming up with standard pre-hab work, and then spending the rest of the hour having athletes lift barbells and dumbbells.
In learning from other great coaches, as well as by observing the buy-in and focus of athletes in sessions based on the mechanical training we were doing, I began to slowly change things…
By integrating everything I knew about power outputs with holistic thinking of how humans are designed to move and train, I maximized my speed and reactivity results across the board, and decreased injury rates substantially
As I learned more about other training methods for athletes, such as bodyweight isometrics and innate human movement patterning, I slowly started to trade barbell volume for some of these “alternative” methods.
I also learned a lot about the “natural learning” side of training athletes from my time working with elite swim programs as a strength coach. Here, I was exposed to a variety of creative means to assist athletes in skill acquisition that were far more effective than the linear approach that is so often used to teach movement.
All of this greatly improved my approach to training sprint speed, plyometric and ballistic ability in athletes.
In this transition, I found results like:
- Increased athleticism from properly integrating the foot into basic lifts and jumps
- Better sprint times from understanding holistic running mechanics and locomotion ideas (such as training the #2 US indoor HS 800m runner in the United States in 2021, regular .2 seconds improvement in the 20 yard dash distance, and 5%+ improvements in the 100/200m dash times in a matter of months)
- More effortless and fluid movement from athletes
- Reduced injuries from a multi-faceted approach that utilized barbell work in context
- Better athlete buy-in, engagement, and increased enjoyment in my own coaching
There is a method of thinking that gets us to the core of human movement and free-energy return, and helps us build athletes that are not only strong, but also tuned into their elastic and dynamic function
In being exposed to so much training information over the years, I realize how confusing the vast volume of information in athletic performance can be to wade through. It can be hard to define core principles of what really matters in a training program, and how to acquire it.
I’ve definitely been through serious ups and downs in my time as a coach. After 15 years in the practice, I have been able to use trials and learning situations, to whittle things down into some primary pillars by which to train optimally. Through all of this, I have now created an extensive course on training: Elastic Essentials.
Elastic Essentials has 4 modules, and 12 hours of video (plus 5 bonus Q&A sessions featuring top coaches in the industry): Modules include:
Module 1: Elastic Potential from Feet to Spine
• Engage and optimize training the foot to optimize, not only our link with the ground, but in order to make all other exercises in a program more effective
• Learn to optimally train athletes from a bodyweight perspective. Find how to get massive benefit out of key bodyweight patterns that can initially supercede and eventually complement standard strength training work to help athletes achieve their highest function.
Module 2: Integrated Locomotion and Plyometric Methods
• Build on the base of the foot with plyometrics that emphasize fluid energy return and using the feet well, rather than on plyometrics built a foundation of mechanical positions athletes should bound, jump or land in
• Optimize an athlete’s running ability through “Locomotion Complexes” that utilize a powerful natural learning style that can maximize elastic output, powerfully train key sprint muscles/connective tissue, and complement traditional sprint efforts in a training program
Module 3: Upper and Lower Body Strength Training for Athletic Outputs and Long Term Development
• Build an athlete in traditional (and novel) double and single leg patterns by continuing to follow the principles of reactive movement and to set up lifts in a way that avoids negative compensations over time
• Understand the dynamic nature of upper body training, especially for athletes in “upper extremity” sports
Module 4: Programming and Training Organization For Elastic Balance
• Understand the ideal dosage of each major training element, and what training, and training goals look like for novice, intermediate, and advanced athletes
What you'll get in Elastic Essentials
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Learn at your own pace with 10 hours of video featuring the Elastic Essentials curriculum presented in 4 main modules
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Section quizzes to enhance learning
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A PDF highlighting main points of each module, as well as including sample training programs
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3+ hours of free bonus interviews with 5 experts in the field
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A 14-day no-questions-asked return policy
Bonus Material: Interviews with Field Leaders in Biomechanics, Training, Rehab and Human Performance
Not only will you get the primary modules of the Elastic Essentials system with this purchase, but you’ll also get over 3 hours of awesome bonus interview material
Bonus Interview #1: Kyle Dobbs on Understanding the Role of Internal Rotation in Sprinting and Lunging Patterns
- Issues, from an elastic performance perspective if one does not have adequate internal rotation, and how running might look if an athlete is missing “IR”
- When to try to make changes in an athlete’s biomechanics, based on them having performance vs. health based goals
- Assessing and prescribing walking lunges, in light of looking at internal rotation, pronation & supination, and frontal plane motions
- How Kyle reclaimed his ability to run elastically instead of using more of a muscular strategy
Bonus Interview #2: David Grey on Critical Single Leg Skills, and Heel-Tap Integration into Lower Body Patterns
- Single leg skills to be able to do before athletes about heavy loading with a bar on their back
- Bodyweight single leg supine work, progressions, and advantages over other weighted posterior chain training methods for the hamstrings (and why supine is a great place to start)
- Integrating heel-tapping and quick co-contractions
- The importance of being able to relax, ground and access the heel in movements
- Spinal motions and assessment in hinging and flexing motions
Bonus Interview #3: Austin Jochum on Building a Reactive Warmup, and Integrating Game-Speed Training For Athletes
- Reactive warmups and creating movement options for athletes: vaulting, tumbling, climbing and contact, stick wars and evasion, crawl courses, and more
- Austin’s concepts on perception, reaction and game-speed oriented work for his athletes
- Setting up a weekly training format with outputs, versus movement and agility in mind
Bonus Interview #4: Tommy John on “The Wall of Function”, Isometric Holds, and the Psychology of Intense Bodyweight Training
- The superiority of isometric hold ability, such as those on the “Wall of Function” compared to movement screens for injury resiliency
- Why long isometric holds have massive upsides and advantages vs. other forms of warming up or even other bodyweight training methods
- Psychological and emotional barriers encountered in demanding bodyweight training
- Types of bodyweight holds that are going to be proportionally worse when athletes are out of alignment and over-stressed neurologically
Bonus Interview #5: Rocky Snyder on Using Biofeedback to Optimize Single Leg Training
- Where the process of selecting the optimal single leg movement starts with for Rocky
- How Rocky uses neurological and biofeedback exercises in his exercise assessment
- What types of exercises tend to yield better biofeedback response than others
- Why spiraling motions in single leg training are critical to maximal leverage of pronation and supination
- How to progress athletes and clients from the sagittal to frontal plane in training, based on their abilities, and scaling exercises to fit one’s current abilities
Pricing
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Get Started Now
$499.00
Single Payment
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Get Started Now
5 x $105.00
Installments
What Coaches are Saying About Elastic Essentials
“Elastic Essentials is for higher level thinkers in human performance, but explained so well that anyone interested in health, wellness, or sports performance can easily understand it. This is a new staple in my library or resources that I will revisit time and time again.”
“The Elastic Essentials course is truly one of the best courses I have ever taken in my sports performance career! A perfect balance between theory and application, you really get to see how Joel takes his years of podcasting/coaching and training and combines it into things that really work. As soon as I finished the course, we started implementing the theories and instantly saw results – with both myself and my athletes! I can’t recommend enough.”
Don’t forget, Elastic Essentials is completely risk free for 14 days!
I’ve put a ton of content and over a decade worth of “intuition-refined” ideas into Elastic Essentials. This is the course I’d love my younger self, as well as any coach or interested athlete to have. I want you to be able to use the information to not only inform you, but allow you to use your own creativity and intuition to take your training to a new level. I also want to guarantee that you’ll be totally satisfied with this course.
To help take the stress out of having “Elastic Essentials” on your human performance learning list, I am giving you a no-questions-asked, 100% money back guarantee on your purchase of the Elastic Essentials course.
Go through the course and bonus material, and if you didn’t love the course, and aren’t satisfied with your purchase, send me an email letting me know, and I’ll give you an immediate refund, no questions asked, and no hard feelings. I’m devoted to your growth in coaching, so if Elastic Essentials isn’t what you are looking for, then I want you to be able to use that money elsewhere!
Instructor
Joel Smith
More Reviews
“The is one of the best courses I have taken, it has greatly increased my understanding of the underlying qualities that are responsible for optimal athletic expression. Not only has the course changed the way I think about the traditional training...”
→Read More“The is one of the best courses I have taken, it has greatly increased my understanding of the underlying qualities that are responsible for optimal athletic expression. Not only has the course changed the way I think about the traditional training methods I have used to develop speed and power; Joel also explains how to individualize and modify exercises and drill's to focus on an athlete’s needs. ”
→Read Less“I’ve said it multiple times to multiple people, but I think EE is the best performance based course I’ve ever taken. I think this is the new approach to building elite athletes, not turning them into powerlifters. Joel’s knowledge is second to non...”
→Read More“I’ve said it multiple times to multiple people, but I think EE is the best performance based course I’ve ever taken. I think this is the new approach to building elite athletes, not turning them into powerlifters. Joel’s knowledge is second to none and you can tell he put in a vast amount of time on this course. Couldn’t recommend enough!”
→Read Less“Joel's Elastic Essentials Course was a breath of fresh air. As a masters athlete and a coach of masters runners, I was thrilled to learn how to become more reactive and maximize free-energy return instead of lifting heavy and sticking with more t...”
→Read More“Joel's Elastic Essentials Course was a breath of fresh air. As a masters athlete and a coach of masters runners, I was thrilled to learn how to become more reactive and maximize free-energy return instead of lifting heavy and sticking with more traditional lifts as I did as a younger athlete. After working with Joel for a few years, I had already been introduced to many of the exercises he teaches in the course but going through the course helped me understand in more detail the science behind the exercises we did. I have continued to use the workouts I learned while training under Joel and I know that without them, I would not have stayed as injury-free as I did this season when I was able to break 9 world age group records. Since completing the Elastic Essentials Course, I have a more in-depth understanding of the benefits of elastic and reactive training and can't wait to add even more to my own training routine along with assigning new exercises to my clients. As a personal trainer who needs to take continuing education courses to keep my certification current, the fact that I could earn CE credit for the course definately sealed the deal!”
→Read Less“Hands down, the best course I have taken in 6 years of being in the Performance Industry. The in-depth look at HUMAN movement and what separates great movers from the rest was refreshing and eye-opening to say the least. Elastic Essentials will ...”
→Read More“Hands down, the best course I have taken in 6 years of being in the Performance Industry. The in-depth look at HUMAN movement and what separates great movers from the rest was refreshing and eye-opening to say the least. Elastic Essentials will change the game from "manufacturing" athletic development to "nourishing" athletic development from the ground up (literally). Not only was the information great, but the bridge to application was even better. Genuinely, the best money I have spent on a course in my career. Thanks Joel! ”
→Read Less“I deeply resonate with Joel's idea of training. Joel shines light on the basic, rudimentary stuff that people veer away from. The quality of the content is awesome as well. Thank you so much for putting all the valuable piece of information in thi...”
→Read More“I deeply resonate with Joel's idea of training. Joel shines light on the basic, rudimentary stuff that people veer away from. The quality of the content is awesome as well. Thank you so much for putting all the valuable piece of information in this course.”
→Read Less“An awesome way to re-think athletic performance from a holistic perspective. Any strength & conditioning and/or track & field coach would benefit from this course!”
“An awesome way to re-think athletic performance from a holistic perspective. Any strength & conditioning and/or track & field coach would benefit from this course!”
→Read Less“One of the best courses (if not THE best) that I took in the last (at least) 5 years. Thought-provoking but logical insights. Thank You!”
“One of the best courses (if not THE best) that I took in the last (at least) 5 years. Thought-provoking but logical insights. Thank You!”
→Read Less“I took the elastic essentials course to help me better understand athletic movement and also to fulfill some of my CEU requirements for my CrossFit L3 and CCFT credentials. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I can say with confidence that I will r...”
→Read More“I took the elastic essentials course to help me better understand athletic movement and also to fulfill some of my CEU requirements for my CrossFit L3 and CCFT credentials. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I can say with confidence that I will return to the content in this course over and over again. There is so much here, and the course has equipped me to incorporate many of concepts into my day-to-day coaching as a high school strength and conditioning coach as well as a boys varsity basketball coach. This course is well worth the time and money invested. Thanks Joel!”
→Read Less“Joel, having been to a Weckmethod and meeting Adarian at a workshop and besides the traditional speed development, You together an encompassing course. I thank you.”
“Joel, having been to a Weckmethod and meeting Adarian at a workshop and besides the traditional speed development, You together an encompassing course. I thank you.”
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