Fred Duncan (@Fred__Duncan)

How strong is strong enough? A new 2025 study (Vial et al., J Strength Cond Res) looked at 60 trained football players and tested what strength and power levels best predicted 20m and 40m sprint times (likely a better test for accel). They found IMTP ≥ 2× bodyweight was the ...

Lifting weights is great for building a foundation. But at some point, you have to be able to translate that strength quickly and efficiently. That’s where things like Mach drills come in…skips, speed skips, skips for height. They help bridge the gap between the weight ...

Everyone wants the shortcut. They chase new exercises, new gadgets, new hacks. But adaptation doesn’t care about novelty…it cares about repeated stress applied with purpose. You’ve really only got three ways forward Push the load (intensity, volume, frequency) Improve the ...

Who cares if your squat went up? If it doesn’t make you faster, more explosive, or better at your sport…it’s meaningless. Before you rush to judgement…my athletes all lift and all get “stronger.” However, I’m not overly concerned with these numbers, I’m most concerned with ...

Lifting builds the horsepower, but at some point you need to put it into the ground. That's where sprinting, mb throws and plyometric work come in. They teach you how to apply what you've built with timing, direction, efficiency, in more relevant positions. ...

Training isn’t just about what you do, it’s about how you organize it. The High-Low approach (popularized by Charlie Francis) is one of the most effective ways I’ve found to manage stress and recovery. High days stack your most demanding CNS intensive work together (sprints, ...

As a coach, you need more than a list of drills…you need a system. That means understanding the biodynamics, bioenergetics, and biomotor abilities that underpin performance. It means being able to reverse engineer the sport. What actually happens in competition? Which ...

Everyone loves the Vertical Jump, but how meaningful is it? Stefan Holm, Olympic champion, reportedly had just a 23-inch vertical and still cleared 2.40m, over 94 inches. Nearly 70 inches higher than his vert. Why? Because a standing vertical isn’t the same as a high jump. ...

Speed isn’t built from just lifting. It isn’t built from just plyos or conditioning. It’s built from the integration of all of it. That’s why I break speed development down into 4 pillars 1.Sprinting – the stimulus itself 2.Strength – capacity/output builder 3.Plyometrics – ...