December 3, 2016
Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.
My guest on today's podcast is Coach Nick Curson, owner of Speed of Sport. He has produced multiple World, National, International, and Collegiate Champions. He is the head strength and conditioning coach for the famous ALA Boxing Gym in Cebu, Philippines and his primary areas of study are Eastern Bloc Strength & Conditioning, Plyometrics, Biomechanics, Exercise Physiology, and Rehabilitative Exercise.
Speed of Sport is owned and operated by Nick Curson. With over 18 years of experience in nearly every type of strength training modality, Nick has studied extensively with top scientists, sports trainers, strength coaches, Olympic lifters, physical therapists, bio mechanical engineers, professional boxing trainers, martial artists, and more to develop the unique system of training for speed that we discuss on today's show.
During our discussion, you'll discover:
-Why Nick is so into training the nervous system when it comes to full body performance (vs., say, the cardiovascular or muscular system)…[10:50]
-The training components Nick emphasizes that most other coaches and personal trainers don't…[14:40]
-Why heavy strength training is something that you shouldn't do very often vs. power and speed training…[24:30]
-How to strike a balance between muscle hypertrophy and muscle speed…[34:30]
-The best way to measure the speed of your muscles and rate of force development…[38:45]
-Why Nick always starts by training an athlete's feet and proprioception…[46:40]
-How this type of training can be used by endurance athletes like triathletes, marathoners and obstacle course racers…[54:32]
-How new “biohacking” headsets like tDCS can increase rate of force development, power and explosiveness…[58:45]
-Nick's top body weight exercises for developing speed…[61:40]
-And much more!
Resources from this episode:
–SpeedOfSport.com – use coupon BEN
–Halo Neuroscience headset for transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
–Shuttle Systems plyometric machines
–My interview with Jon Bruney on Neuromass training
–The Bjornsen study Ben discusses (from Paul Jaminet's website)
–The mPower device for measuring rate of force development
Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Nick or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!
have your changed your view on these ideas? You seem to be chasing mass these days.
Great podcast, as a former sprinter our focus in the gym involved a lot of bar speed and never grinding reps out, so very aligned with this guy.
Only downside was the manners, have to say i’ve never heard someone interrupt you so much. You have a lot of patience as it was getting me completely riled up!
Doug McGuff states in Body By Science that athletes should train as specific as possible for their sport. He has cautioned athletes against applying BBS / Super Slow weight training during competitive season due to the risk of exhaustion. Doug focus is on general health and vanity not sports performance.
Hi Ben,
Great podcast. I am on speed of sport adding items to my cart. Coupon BEN is expired. Am I out of time?
Cheers,
Hey Ben, I’m interested in the mPower device, have you used it yet? What do you think of it? I’m looking to use it for myself and for my clients I train for obstacle racing.
Haven't used it yet but it seems very promising…
Really enjoying your podcasts….just discovered them and catching up. In our martial arts classes (TKD) we do a lot of fast, flexible, dynamic strength training. A relaxed, explosive speed is a very important aspect…tight fist, relaxed arm…hits like a hammer. Trying to cross this over to cycling…sprinting power from the quads, quiet relaxed below the knee.
Keep up the great work!
Great podcast, really explosive stuff! I recently read your article called “Why you should train like a powerlifter” where you quote several studies that suggest that heavy squatting and deadlifting actually improves speed significantly. Seems to contradict what is being said in this podcast. Any thoughts on those discrepancies.
Cheers!
Only if you move those heavy weights at a very fast speed, so it still aligns with this podcast info…
FYI: Marv Marinovich wrote a book called Pro Body X, great book that outlines a lot of what Nick talks about in the podcast. It is still available on Amazon.
I would love to hear you interview Naudi Aguilar, the founder of Functional Patterns. The methods he has developed to improve muscular sequencing and biological movement improvements are lightyears beyond what this guy is talking about.
I somewhat disagree on this…curson’s training is based off of marv marinovich…the guys a phenomonal coach. The track record they have speaks for itself
I wouldnt say its better because theyre both different styles of training which have specific goals theyre working towards
OK, I'll check it out.
What are your thoughts on adding some of the exercises Nick discussed to the Neuro Mass program? Thanks!
No need. Just apply the PRINCIPLES (maximum speed, etc.) to the Neuromass program when you do it!
ok , where can I start with this.. videos are all over the place. Need some basic stuff to start on..thanks
I would suggest starting by listening to the podcast.
Here is their youtube channel, it will give you some ideas
https://www.youtube.com/user/SpeedofSport
On his website when I tried to use discount code “BEN” it said “Coupon Expired”.
Hey Benjamin – should be all sorted now! Thanks for your patience.
Fascinating show. I think a day of hypertrophy training would compliment the nervous system training. BTW, it says the coupon is “expired.”
Absolute wicked podcast,one of the best,i think you only scratched the surface with nick curson though,any chance you could get him on again,to go a bit deeper into his methods compared with other methods,ive actually got atpv1+2 would recommend them to everyone to take their game and fitness to another level,im a sports therapist in the uk and i use some of nicks methods for some patients with excellent results,top class podcast keep up the good work hope to hear nick again on the podcast????????????????????????????????????????????????????
https://www.youtube.com/user/sportsciencelab https://www.sportsciencelab.com/ I would love to see/hear a piggy backed podcast off this with Gavin Macmillian or Marv him self. Would also love to hear more about some of the aqua kinetic work they use for sport and rehab work. check out aqualogix.com
Marv has Alzheimer’s and Gavins a punk who ripped off Marv and never developed a high level athlete in his life, just trying to sell Marv’s ideas without giving Marv credit. Nick is carrying the torch in terms of pure training