Explore the Topics
Two decades of writing on strength and conditioning, sport science, and coaching leadership, organized by topic. Every article below is classified into one of twelve topics. Select a topic to browse its full archive.
Train
Physical preparation: how athletes get stronger, fitter, and more explosive.
Train
Physical preparation: how athletes get stronger, fitter, and more explosive.
Strength Training (65 articles)
Programming and physical preparation for team sport athletes.
Tendon Rehab Isn’t Just Eccentrics: What Every Coach Needs to Know About Load, Timing, and Hormones
Discover why eccentric loading isn’t the full story for tendon rehab. This in-depth video unpacks isometrics, collagen timing, hormone influences, and real-worl
The Curious Case of Olympic Lifting
Should Olympic lifts stay in athletic training? The case for O-lifts as a high-velocity power tool, and why it's about when and where, not 'this or that'.
Grooving Movement Patterns Before Loading
Weight always follows good movement, never the reverse. Groove movement patterns before loading, or you're just adding real fitness on top of dysfunction.
Conditioning (9 articles)
Energy system development and conditioning methods that transfer to the court.
Aerobic conditioning for women’s basketball
Watch Adam Ringler explain his approach to aerobic conditioning for women’s basketball, from off-season planning to integration with strength training.
Steps vs. Conditioning: Why Walking Isn't Enough
This is for the athlete in you that still wants to feel, and perform, like an athlete.
#078 - Pre-Season Conditioning Tests: Aerobic vs. Anaerobic | Cardio Chats
In this Cardio Talk episode, I break down pre-season basketball conditioning tests, mile runs vs. shuttles, aerobic vs. anaerobic, and share what we’re doing at C
Speed and Power (5 articles)
Explosive training, Olympic lifting, and velocity-based methods.
The Secret Weapon for Explosive Strength and Power
Post-activation potentiation training techniques offers a scientifically-backed method to enhance explosive strength and power.
Defining the Modern Era Collegiate Basketball
The game of basketball has fundamentally changed through increases in strength, speed, physicality, and endurance. This article highlights the many ways we trai
#076 - Behind the Scenes of CU Basketball Summer Training | Cardio Chats
Go behind the scenes of CU Basketball’s summer training in this Cardio Chats episode. From NIL challenges to altitude acclimation, VBT, plyos, and our legendary
Measure
Testing, data, and technology: turning information into coaching decisions.
Sport Science (43 articles)
Data systems, analytics, and technology in service of coaching decisions.
Data Architectures in Athlete Management Systems (AMS)
Explore data lakes, warehouses, and lakehouses in athlete management systems, plus the tradeoffs involved in buying a platform or building your own.
Build Your First Dashboard
Slides from the 60-minute educational workshops dedicated to teaching you how to build your first dashboard within the Kitman Labs system.
Why Performance Technology Alone Won't Solve Your Problems: Insights from a 15+ Year Veteran
The world of high performance sport is becoming more data-driven than ever before, and organizations are looking for ways to improve their performance by levera
Athlete Monitoring (12 articles)
Workload tracking, readiness, and making monitoring useful in practice.
Load Monitoring with sRPE
Are you curious how you can utilize a simple pencil & paper method to quantify workloads? In this Insiders article, I'm outlining how I use sRPE to ensure the f
#084 - Data Without Dogma: Rethinking Wearables, Workloads, and Return-to-Play
In this Cardio Talk episode, I break down how most coaches misuse wearables and workload data. Using a return-to-play case study, I show how to turn raw metrics
#070 - Optimizing Basketball Performance: Workload Monitoring, Travel Training, and Adaptability
In this episode of the Decoding Excellence Show, I’m diving into the intricacies of workload monitoring and athlete preparation, particularly for basketball pla
Testing and Assessment (11 articles)
Force plates, jump testing, and strength diagnostics that inform training.
Understanding Force Plate Testing in Basketball
An introduction to force plate testing in basketball, including common measurements, coaching applications, and considerations for interpreting results.
RSI-Modified Explained: What It Tells Us About Fatigue in Women’s Basketball | Using ForceDecks
Explore RSI-modified in women’s basketball, with a video on jump height, contraction time, and interpreting ForceDecks results in a coaching setting.
#039 Monday Minutes: Force Plate Utilization Deep Dive
In this episode of the Decoding Excellence Show, we're returning to our Monday Minute theme and discussing force plate utilization for readiness testing and aud
Fuel and Recover
Nutrition, sleep, and restoration: the other 22 hours of the day.
Nutrition (59 articles)
Fueling strategies for performance, body composition, and longevity.
You're Not Eating Enough Protein (Here’s Why It Matters for Recomping & Muscle Gain)
In this video, I break down why tracking your macronutrients (especially protein) is a simple but powerful tool for understanding your nutrition.
The 5 Pillars of Peak Performance: Fuel, Train, Recover, Repeat
Whether you're trying to train like an athlete again, or just feel like one, this session gives you a roadmap for how to build your body and mind with purpose.
Excessive Supplement: Mo' Supplements = Mo' Problems?
Twenty supplements a day is a waste of money for athletes. The three supplements worth your money, why food comes first, and how to think about supplementation.
Recovery (45 articles)
Sleep, restoration methods, and managing fatigue across a season.
Optimize Athlete Sleep & Recovery: Screen Time, Blue Light & Nighttime Supplements for Performance
In this deep post, we explore why evening screen use isn’t just a habit, it’s a silent disruptor of athlete recovery. From dorm-room scrolls to tablet film sessi
Tactical Habits for Former Athletes: Stretch, Protein, Sauna, Collagen & Social Accountability
Five tactical strategies former athletes can use to stay consistent with training, nutrition, and recovery, from hamstring stretches to protein hacks, sauna sessions, and collagen.
Why You Should Foam Roll EVERY DAY (Performance & Recovery Benefits)
Foam rolling isn’t just some warm-up trend, it’s a game-changer for both pre-exercise performance and post-exercise recovery.
Lead
Coaching, culture, and careers: the human side of performance.
Coaching and Leadership (84 articles)
Trust, communication, hiring, and leading performance departments.
The Weight Room Mirror
In coaching, self-awareness is a hidden advantage. This post explores how knowing yourself, and how others see you, can build trust, improve team culture, and ele
How to Lose Talent Within an Organization
How to lose talented young coaches: deny educational growth, skip challenge and praise, ignore feedback, and tolerate toxic people. Inverted retention lessons.
The Coaching Curve in Collegiate Strength and Conditioning
What happens when you stop chasing the perfect S&C program and instead start chasing better execution, cleaner effort, and more honest communication? Find out.
The Director's Notebook: Building a System That Survives the Season
The decisions behind the programs. North Star, microdosing, stress consolidation, delegation vs displacement, and what a director actually owns.
Mindset (75 articles)
Discipline, consistency, and the psychology of sustained performance.
Rebuilding Discipline: 5 Strategies Every Former Athlete Needs
Learn how to reframe your identity, design a supportive environment, implement micro-habits, prioritize recovery, and cultivate a growth mindset. Tap into your
A Performance Coach's Guide to Reducing Dopamine Dependency; Starting with Your iPhone
If you're aiming to reduce your screen time and embrace digital minimalism without relinquishing your smartphone entirely, this guide offers promising solutions
5 Hard Truths Former Athletes Need to Hear About Consistency After College
In this week’s Accountability Call, I break down five new principles you’ve probably never heard before, designed specifically for ex-athletes who want to regain
Culture (19 articles)
The environments, standards, and accountability that shape teams.
Leave it at the Door
Stressed athletes can't lead. A coach's lesson on leaving baggage at the door, and why mental toughness means performing at your best no matter what happens.
The Five Accountability Systems Every Former Athlete Needs
Five high-performance systems for former athletes to stay structured, disciplined, and focused after sport , from pressure management to recovery, weekly resets
Right View in the Weight Room: Lessons from Buddhism for Strength & Conditioning Coaches
As strength coaches, we often see only part of the “elephant.” Buddhism’s teaching on Right View reminds us to balance objective, subjective, and intersubjective truths in how we coach.
Career Development (30 articles)
Breaking in, growing up, and thriving in the coaching profession.
So You Want to Be a Collegiate Strength Coach? Some Hard Truths From the Trenches
This no-fluff guide breaks down many hard-earned lessons from coaching D1 athletes in collegiate strength & conditioning. Based on years at Colorado with WBB an
Advice I’d Love to Give Myself 15 Years Ago
I've reached a point where I feel confident in my role as a strength and conditioning coach, so I thought it would be fun to share some advice with the idea of
10 Hard Truths About Coaching in the World of Athletics
Ten hard truths about the S&C coaching profession, from education vs. experience to work-life balance. No-nonsense straight talk for aspiring strength coaches.
Keep Exploring
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Questions: Q&A Sessions for Former Athletes
Real questions from former athletes answered with practical guidance on training, nutrition, sleep, recovery, supplements, and staying athletic after sport.
Want to see where Adam has been featured? Browse podcasts, lectures, and media mentions.
As Seen In - Adam Ringler
Podcasts, lectures, webinars, and media where Adam Ringler has been featured as a guest or speaker.