446: Eamonn Flanagan on Reactive Strength and Individualized Jump Training Concepts

Today’s podcast is with Eamonn Flanagan. Eamonn Flanagan is the Lead Strength & Conditioning Consultant at the Sport Ireland Institute, where he oversees strength and conditioning support for Ireland’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes. He holds a Ph.D. in Sports Biomechanics and spent over a decade in professional rugby, working with the Scottish Rugby Union, Edinburgh Rugby, and the Irish Rugby Football Union. Eamonn appeared on episode #250 and has just created a new course on plyometrics in conjunction with Sportsmith Training methods such as extensive plyometrics and reactive strength testing have become more common in training team sports. At the same time, it’s easy to lose sight of the whole in athlete development when chasing plyometric variables too far. On today’s show, Eamonn explores the application of plyometric training, including the impact of surface type on performance, the Reactive Strength Index's role in assessment, and strategies for optimizing reactive strength. We also cover plyometric intensity, using extensive plyometric methods, and tailoring programs to individual needs, concluding with balanced approaches to training and performance. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio. Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 17:05- Impact of Surface Type on Plyometric Training 22:53- Reactive Strength Index Influence on Plyometric Assessment 25:57- Reciprocal vs. Unilateral Movement Tension Analysis 28:25- Optimizing Performance Through Reactive Strength Training 31:28- Jumping Exercise Progression for Athletes 35:01- Dynamic Acceleration Plyometrics 36:05- Performance Enhancement Through Contrast Training Methods 39:51- Balancing Intensity Levels for Athletic Adaptations 48:34- Enhancing Athletic Performance Through Extensive Plyometrics 49:44- Tailoring Plyometric Training to Individual Needs 1:01:20- Tailoring Plyometric Training for Enhanced Performance Quotes (8:42) "I think as an athlete and as a coach, there's always a bit of a balancing act between. Around ego, you know, what do I want to do versus what do I need to do?" - Eamonn Flanigan (12:30 “An athlete might be on field multiple times a week, but if it's on a soft, you know, very, very compliant surface, I'm not sure how relevant that is to, let's say, what we might expect from adaptation from extensive plyometrics” - Eamonn Flanigan (13:40 “Let's say in the last Olympic cycle, working with a taekwondo athlete who is, you know, indoors on mats in bare feet. And so the difference in kind of foot, ankle, calf integrity between the two, you know, the taekwondo athletes spending a lot of time in single leg stance, you know, there's an athlete that I'm probably bypassing extensive work pretty quickly” - Eamonn Flanigan (30:00) “Very often like plyometric ability or that basic quality or reactive strength, it's, it's very neglected. I think sometimes it's not something that is often included. And as a result, I think there's, there's always some, I think there's often some easy wins there” - Eamonn Flanigan (37:00) “If you're doing repeat hurdle jumps or you're doing, you know, a set of pogo jumps or some bounding. There's also a point at which, you know, if you hit a bad replacement, you just end up like it gets worse and worse and worse. You know, I think, you know, again, varying within a set both up and down allows you to come back down again and build it back up again” - Eamonn Flanigan (41:10) “I am a little skeptical as to how much, you know, what might be less than 50 reps of an exercise in a week can have on, you know, the, the, the, the running gate of an athlete who's sprinting x number of strides a week” - Eamonn Flanigan (43:52) "I think where it can get maybe trickier is, and maybe people can be guilty of is where you try and get a little too clever with some of your plyometrics and you try and make them real highly specific. But then it comes down to, are you just doing maybe a bastardized version of the sporting action itself? Would you be better just doing the sporting action itself with good coaching and good recovery times, which I think is often the case. Are you actually overloading a physical quality?" - Eamonn Flanigan About Eamonn Flanigan Eamonn Flanagan is the Lead Strength & Conditioning Consultant at the Sport Ireland Institute, where he oversees strength and conditioning support for Ireland’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes. With expertise in both the science and application of jump training and plyometrics, Eamonn is a highly regarded coach in his field. He holds a Ph.D. in Sports Biomechanics and spent over a decade in professional rugby, working with the Scottish Rugby Union, Edinburgh Rugby, and the Irish Rugby Football Union.