Science for Sport Podcast

337: Structure, Pacing and Recovery in Fight Preparation

September 14th, 2026  |  33 mins 3 secs

athlete preparation, athletic performance, boxing, brazilian jiu-jitsu, colin byrne, combat sport conditioning, combat sports, conditioning, conor mcgregor, elite sport, endurance training, fatigue, fight preparation, heart rate, interval training, mcgregor fast, mma, nate diaz, one-round principle, overtraining, pacing, performance coaching, performance data, power output, recovery, repeat efforts, rowing, shinobi academy, skill acquisition, sports science, strength and conditioning, training load, ufc, wattbike

Performance coach Colin Byrne joins Richard Graves to discuss why many combat athletes train too much without preparing specifically enough. Drawing on seven years working with Conor McGregor, Colin explains the conditioning changes made after the first Nate Diaz fight, the importance of separating skill work from physical preparation and why recovery between intense efforts can decide contests. He also introduces his “one-round principle” and explains what combat sports can learn from cycling’s measurement-led approach.

336: How the NFL’s Best Practitioners Use Performance Data

September 7th, 2026  |  29 mins 38 secs

american football, applied sports science, athlete monitoring, athlete preparation, athlete readiness, catapult, catapult sports, college football, data analytics, elite sport, football performance, gps tracking, high performance sport, injury prevention, injury risk, jamie hepner, load management, ncaa football, nfl, performance analysis, performance data, performance technology, player availability, player tracking, practice load, practitioner decision making, sport science, sports science, sports technology, strength and conditioning, training load, training prescription, vector 8, video analysis, wearable technology

Jamie Hepner joins Richard Graves to explain how NFL and college football teams are moving beyond simply collecting performance data and using it to shape practice, manage player availability and improve preparation. They discuss athlete monitoring, training prescription, injury risk and why context and practitioner judgement ultimately determine whether data leads to better decisions.

335: The Three Outcomes That Define High Performance

August 31st, 2026  |  28 mins 12 secs

athlete availability, athlete development, athlete monitoring, athlete readiness, coaching, collegiate sport, data-informed coaching, exercise science, force plates, high performance sport, high-performance leadership, integrated performance, load monitoring, mental wellness, multidisciplinary teams, ncaa, nsca, performance data, performance science, return to play, richard graves, science for sport, sports medicine, sports nutrition, sports science, sports technology, strength and conditioning, trevor short, utah state university, wearable technology

Dr Trevor Short joins Richard Graves to explain how Utah State University is building an integrated approach to athlete health, wellness and performance. They discuss why alignment must come before data, how athlete monitoring can improve decision-making and what it takes to balance availability, readiness and long-term performance development.

333: Why Athletes Keep Breaking Down

August 17th, 2026  |  34 mins 45 secs

adaptive potential, biomechanics, body mechanics, compensation, elite sport, football injuries, force plates, golf biomechanics, hamstring rehabilitation, injury prevention, injury rehabilitation, kinetic chain, motor control, motor patterns, movement data, movement quality, movement screening, physiotherapy, return to play, sports physiotherapy, sports science, strength testing

Dave Emsley joins Richard Graves to discuss how movement quality, biomechanics and the body’s capacity to adapt shape injury rehabilitation and performance. The episode examines why practitioners should look beyond symptoms, scans and isolated strength scores to understand the movement patterns and compensations behind recurring problems.

332: Growth, Maturation and Athletic Development in Tennis

August 10th, 2026  |  26 mins

athlete recovery, athletic development, change of direction, dukes meadows tennis academy, fuelling for performance, growth and maturation, hydration, injury prevention, joshua dragone, junior tennis, long-term athlete development, richard graves, sleep and performance, speed development, sports nutrition, sports science, strength and conditioning, tennis, tennis coaching, tennis fitness, tennis performance, tennis recovery, tennis s&c, tennis strength and conditioning, tennis training, youth athlete development

Richard Graves speaks with Joshua Dragone, Head of Athletic Development at Dukes Meadows Tennis Academy, about the realities of preparing tennis players for an unpredictable competitive calendar. They discuss flexible S&C planning, maturation, recovery, fuelling, parental support and the habits that help junior players develop into more capable, robust athletes.

331: Why Energy Management Is the Next Big Performance Tool

August 3rd, 2026  |  22 mins 35 secs

athlete performance, athlete protection, breast support, compression apparel, concussion, dr sarah karmel, dynamic materials, impact protection, material science, nfl helmets, non-newtonian materials, padel, performance apparel, pickleball, polymers, rheon labs, rotational impact, running biomechanics, sports bras, sports equipment innovation, sports science, sports technology, tendon loading, tennis, vibration damping, women’s sport

Dr Sarah Karmel explains how dynamic polymer technology is being used to create sports equipment and apparel that responds to force and movement. From impact protection in helmets to support in sports bras, vibration control in rackets and responsive compression apparel, the episode explores how material science may help athletes feel better, stay better protected and perform more effectively.

330: Frontal Plane Fundamentals with Dr Matthew Ibrahim

July 27th, 2026  |  30 mins 24 secs

adductor strength, athlete buy-in, athlete development, athlete monitoring, change of direction, coaching communication, criteria-based rehabilitation, data analytics, dr matthew ibrahim, force plates, frontal plane training, groin strength, high performance sport, injury rehabilitation, isometric strength testing, lateral lunge, lateral movement, lateral squat, lateral strength, load management, malden catholic, matthew ibrahim, performance data, readiness monitoring, rehabilitation, return to performance, return to play, richard graves, science for sport, science for sport podcast, sports science, strength and conditioning, student-athletes, training load, vbt, velocity-based training, wellness monitoring, youth athlete development

Dr Matthew Ibrahim joins Richard Graves to explain how sports science, strength and conditioning, wellness and education can work together within an integrated performance model. They discuss selecting meaningful athlete-monitoring data, moving beyond return to play towards return to performance, and why frontal-plane strength deserves a more prominent place in athletic development.

329: The Five Qualities of Speed Development

July 20th, 2026  |  33 mins 20 secs

1080 sprint, acceleration, agility training, american football, athlete monitoring, athlete recovery, athletic performance, catapult gps, change of direction, coaching psychology, college football, conditioning, curved sprinting, deceleration, elite sport, external load, force velocity profiling, high performance sport, horizontal force, individualised training, injury risk reduction, internal load, matt gebert, max velocity, maximum velocity, multidirectional speed, ncaa football, ole miss football, ole miss rebels, performance coaching, player availability, sleep and performance, speed development, sports performance, sports science, sports technology, sprint training, strength and conditioning, training load, velocity-based training, wellness monitoring, work capacity

Richard Graves is joined by Ole Miss Strength and Conditioning Coach Matt Gebert to explore how speed is developed, assessed and managed within an elite college football programme.

Matt explains how acceleration, maximum velocity, deceleration, change of direction and conditioning are trained across different position groups. He also discusses how Ole Miss uses sports science technology to profile athletes, manage training load and support player availability.

The episode provides a practical look at the relationship between speed, data, recovery and coaching judgement, while highlighting why effective performance programmes must be individualised to the physical and psychological needs of each athlete.

328: Blood Flow Restriction at the World Cup

July 13th, 2026  |  26 mins 25 secs

athlete monitoring, athlete readiness, bfr, blood flow restriction, circulatory recovery, dr warren bradley, elite football, elite sport, exercise physiology, football performance, hrv, hytro, injury risk reduction, international rugby, long-haul travel, performance recovery, performance support, physiotherapy, player availability, practitioner education, premier league, recovery, recovery science, return to play, science for sport, sleep quality, sports medicine, sports physiology, sports science, sports technology, strength and conditioning, tournament football, travel fatigue, wearable technology, world cup

Richard Graves speaks with Dr Warren Bradley about how blood flow restriction is being used in elite sport, with a particular focus on World Cup football. The episode explores BFR as more than a recovery tool, covering its role in travel, tissue priming, injury mitigation, return-to-play and player availability. Warren also challenges the obsession with overly specific data, arguing that practical, consistent application matters when working across elite squads under tournament pressure.

326: Creatine’s Next Chapter with Steve Jennings

June 29th, 2026  |  31 mins 44 secs

ageing, athlete performance, barcelona 1992, brain function, cognition, concussion, creatine, creatine monohydrate, elite sport, fatigue, functional nutrition, healthspan, high intensity performance, jenerise, maxim sports nutrition, nutrition education, olympic sport, performance nutrition, recovery, richard graves, science for sport, sleep deprivation, sports nutrition, sports science, steve jennings, steven jennings, strength and power, women’s health, youth athletes, youth sport

Richard Graves welcomes back Steve Jennings to continue the story of creatine, from its breakthrough in elite sport at Barcelona 1992 to its potential future in cognition, fatigue, brain function, youth sport, women’s health, ageing and everyday human performance. Steve explains why education and context are essential, particularly for parents, schools and practitioners, and discusses how new ingredient technologies could shape the next generation of creatine products.