Conditioned To Bowl

Paul Schroeder and Heather Sterner
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Sports
  • Updated Weekly

Presented by the Bowling Strength and Conditioning Academy, helps bowling athletes train smarter, move better, and compete longer through evidence-based strength training, sports conditioning, injury prevention, recovery, and performance coaching. Hosted by Paul Schroeder and Heather Sterner, the show features educational discussions, coaching insights, and conversations focused on bowling fitness, mobility, mental performance, nutrition, and athlete wellness. #BowlersAreAthletes 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes weekly. 📲 Learn more at https://conditionedtobowl.com

  1. 5d ago

    Ryan Barnes Mid-Match Reset Trick | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 35

    Before every shot, Ryan Barnes runs through a mid match reset his college coach taught him: "get back to home." In part one of this two-part conversation, Paul and Heather sit down with Ryan Barnes: two-time Junior Team USA member, four-time collegiate All-American, 2025 PBA Rookie of the Year, and son of Chris and Lynda Barnes. Ryan opens up about spending his childhood chasing basketball and baseball instead of bowling, the walk-on story that got him onto the Wichita State roster, and how the athletic training habits he built playing other sports carried directly into his bowling career. From there, the conversation turns to his jump from college bowling to the PBA Tour, the mental game lessons he picked up from his mom's love of psychology and his own psych minor, and the story behind Coach Rick Steelsmith's "get back to home" mental reset technique. Ryan also talks candidly about learning from his dad Chris Barnes's injury history and back surgery, and how his own generation is starting to view physical conditioning very differently than the one before it. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 02:00 - Sweden trip and Team USA roster 04:00 - Didn't bowl competitively until after high school 06:00 - How his athletic training carried over to bowling 07:00 - Going two-handed and deciding on Wichita State 08:00 - Walking on, then earning a scholarship 09:00 - Freshman year and the developmental team 11:00 - Learning from dad and his first PBA Tour stop 13:00 - "Being where your feet are" 14:00 - Coach Rick Steelsmith's "Get back to home" 16:00 - Ranking teammates on conditioning 17:00 - "You're gonna be on Paul's table too" 18:00 - Injury history working with Paul 20:00 - Dad's back surgery and the generational shift 23:00 - Visualization and concentration grids 25:00 - Why this generation cares more about fitness #BowlersAreAthletes #ConditionedToBowl #RyanBarnes #ChrisBarnes #PBATour #WichitaStateBowling #bowling

  2. Sep 2

    How Chris Barnes Trains and Recovers at 50+ | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 34

    A PBA Hall of Famer explains why six minutes of mobility work beats zero every single time. In the final part of his mini-series with host Paul Schroeder, Chris Barnes gets into the actual mechanics of staying competitive in his 50s — starting with the moment his back first went out, on the set of an ESPN commercial shoot, years before his eventual surgery. He compares his old-school, weight-training-optional approach from the '90s to how his son Ryan trains today, and opens up about his wife Lynda's own recovery journey as she competes against bowlers half her age. Chris walks through his recovery-gear rotation, including the hip spica compression gear he's worn since he tore a labrum at 18 - and the doctor who refused to let him self-diagnose it. He shares hard-won wisdom from mentors like Jerry Edwards ("if you don't like it, bowl better") and opens up about the deeper reason winning has always mattered so much to him. The episode lands on the concept Chris and co-host Heather Sterner are building into a brand: "mobility snacks" - small, two-to-ten-minute movement habits stacked through the day instead of one big workout, the same idea that, according to Paul, might have prevented three separate treatment-table emergencies at this year's World Series of Bowling, including one involving fellow PBA pro Kyle Sherman's hip. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:00 Weight Training: Then vs. Now 3:00 The Injury: An ESPN Commercial Gone Wrong 5:00 Core Work & His Least Favorite Exercise 7:00 Lynda's Own Recovery Journey 9:00 Personalizing Recovery Tools 11:00 Basketball, Cardio & Knowing Your Limits 13:00 The Hip Spica Story 16:00 Kids Tour Endurance & Format Changes 20:00 Wisdom from Mentors: Jerry Edwards & David Ozio 22:00 The Deeper Why Behind Winning 23:00 Something Is Better Than Nothing 27:00 The $10,000-a-Year Habit 30:00 Mobility Snacks & Closing #BowlersAreAthletes #ConditionedToBowl #ChrisBarnes, #MobilitySnacks #BowlingRecovery #KyleSherman #BowlingPodcast

  3. Aug 25

    The "Chris Barnes" Origin Story | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 33

    Before he was a PBA Hall of Famer, Chris Barnes finished 15th out of 65 bowlers and barely made his college team's C squad. In Part 2 of his mini-series with host Paul Schroeder, Chris traces his path from a seven-year-old watching Marshall Holman and Mark Roth on Saturday morning TV to a humbling freshman year at Wichita State that almost derailed him. He walks through the years-long process of reworking his pushaway into the timing quirk that became his signature, and the moment he learned to control just one swing thought instead of five — the same lesson behind his 55 career PBA 300 games. Chris also opens up about a detour few fans know about: a putt-putt tournament he entered almost by accident in 1989, which turned into a televised finals appearance and real prize money before bowling ever paid the bills. The episode closes with the story behind his 2018 Tony Reyes Community Service Award — a youth tournament that's raised roughly $400,000 in scholarships, and a Type 1 diabetes fundraiser built around his son Troy. Part 2 of a three-part Chris Barnes mini-series. Catch Part 1 for the back surgery comeback story, and don't miss Part 3 for how Chris trains and recovers at 50+. Chapters: 00:00 - From C-Team Freshman to Elite Bowler 01:00 - Growing Up With Bowling Legends03:00 - What Shaped His Game 05:00 - Chris Barnes Signature Bowling Mechanics 08:00 - The Mental Game: Process, Control & Finding Flow 13:00 - Chris Barnes' Professional Putt-Putt Career 18:00 - Giving Back: Youth Bowling, Charity & the Tony Reyes Award #ChrisBarnes #ConditionedToBowl #BowlersAreAthletes #wichitastate #PBAHallOfFame #mentalgames #podcast #tonyreyesaward

  4. Aug 19

    The Comeback: Chris Barnes & His Injury | Conditioned to Bowl Ep. 32

    A PBA Hall of Famer's leg went numb on a 13-hour flight home from Korea - and the physical therapist who helped rebuild it afterward is the one asking the questions in this episode. Chris Barnes joins host Paul Schroeder for the first part of a three-part conversation, and early on the two reveal something most listeners won't expect: Paul has actually been Chris's hands-on physical therapist for the past two years. Chris walks through [04:00] life on the road after a brutal stretch between the Bowl the Kids Tour and the PBA50 World Series, then gets into the real story: the [12:00] herniated disc that forced him out of the 2015 PBA Fall Classic, the doctor who gave him odds as low as 30% depending on timing, and a comeback that took years longer than it needed to because he came back too soon. Along the way, Chris and Paul compare his recovery to fellow PBA pro Kyle Sherman's own hip surgeries and his recent withdrawal from the Tournament of Champions: two athletes, a decade apart, dealing with strikingly similar injuries. The episode closes on what life after competing might look like for Chris, from broadcasting alongside Kyle on CW Sports to a financial-advisor pitch he never saw coming. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro & Chris Barnes' Career Stats 04:00 Life on the Kids Tour & PBA50 Circuit 09:00 Meet Chris's Physical Therapist... Paul? 13:00 The Injury: A 13-Hour Flight From Korea 17:00 Recovery, Setbacks & Regret 21:00 Comparing Notes with Kyle Sherman 26:00 Life After Competing: Broadcasting #podcast #bowling ##KyleSherman #BowlersAreAthletes #ConditionedToBowl #ChrisBarnes #PBAHallOfFame

  5. Aug 11

    Off the Lanes and Onto the Race with Josie Barnes | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 31

    A wrist injury took Josie Barnes off the lanes and put her on the Spartan start line. In part two of her conversation with Paul Schroeder and Heather Sterner, Josie opens up about the post-COVID reset that led her to hire trainer Josh Kemp, the wrist and hand diagnosis that forced her off the lanes, and how that setback turned into her first Spartan Race with training partner Chris Sloan. She also breaks down the mental toughness that carried over into competition, including her now-famous line about leg pressing 360 pounds. From there, the conversation shifts to where bowling stands in its own strength and conditioning evolution. Josie compares the sport's current moment to golf before Tiger Woods and shares what she saw touring Singapore's Sports School. She talks about her daughter Lisa Ruth watching her train, a backyard box jump mishap that ended her box jump days for good, and why load management matters as much for youth bowlers as it does for tour veterans managing chronic injuries. Recovery and nutrition round out the back half, from her go-to Normatec sessions to why she refuses to let her daughters skip breakfast. Josie closes with a lesson in grace over perfectionism and reveals her next #OneStupidThingAYear challenge: HYROX Nashville this December, and a shot at redemption at the Outlast endurance race. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 04:00 Post-COVID reset and hiring trainer Josh Kemp 07:00 The wrist and hand diagnosis 09:00 First Spartan Race with Chris Sloan 13:00 Leg press 360 and mental toughness 15:00 Bowling's strength and conditioning evolution 22:00 Segment questions: favorite and least favorite exercises 24:00 The box jump story 26:00 Wrist diagnosis deep dive and load management 33:00 Recovery tools: Normatec and massage gun 36:00 Nutrition habits and why breakfast is non-negotiable 41:00 Grace over perfectionism 44:00 #OneStupidThingAYear: HYROX and the Outlast reveal #BowlersAreAthletes #ConditionedToBowl #JosieBarnes #SpartanRace #BowlingPodcast #HYROX #podcast #bowling

  6. Aug 4

    The Letter Snuck Out of the Trash with Josie Barnes | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 30

    Six-time PWBA champion Josie Barnes admits she didn't even like bowling as a kid, and explains how a wrist injury forced her to finally take conditioning seriously. In this first installment of a two-part conversation, Vanderbilt head women's bowling coach and 14-year Team USA member Josie Barnes joins Paul and Heather to trace her path from a 12-lane family bowling center in Southern Illinois to six PWBA titles, including the 2025 Queens and 2025 PWBA Anniversary Open. Josie opens up about growing up on a bar stool at her parents' bowling center, the ultimatum her mom gave her about practicing versus paying for her own college, and the Vanderbilt recruiting letter her mom pulled back out of the trash. From there, the conversation shifts into training: how tennis, softball, and bowling each shaped her differently as an athlete, and why a wrist injury that's plagued her for three to four years pushed her to rebuild her approach to conditioning entirely. The episode closes with Josie getting real about parenting a fiercely competitive six-year-old, why she's stepped back from coaching her own daughter, and why gymnastics is non-negotiable as a foundation sport. Part 2 of this conversation drops next week. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 3:10 Getting Josie On The Show 7:00 Growing Up In A Bowling Center 9:00 Mom's Ultimatum 12:00 The Letter Out Of The Trash 14:00 Tennis, Softball & Bowling Compared 17:00 The Wrist Injury That Won't Heal 18:00 Body First, Mind Follows 20:30 Raising A Competitive Kid 23:00 Not Coaching Her Own Daughter 24:00 Why Gymnastics Is Non-Negotiable #BowlersAreAthletes #JosieBarnes #PWBA #VanderbiltBowling #BowlingStrength #ConditionedToBowl #TeamUSA #Bowling #Podcast

  7. Jul 21

    Courtney Karch: Just Like a Brand New Day | Conditioned To Bowl

    There's been a lot of tears shed over the last three years figuring this out - but now it's just like a brand new day. Part 2 of our conversation with Courtney Karch picks up right where Part 1 left off. This time it's the rapid-fire round: her real pre-tournament nutrition habits (yes, coffee is involved), why beans made the cut for both budget and fiber, and the cheat meal she's not sorry about. Then Heather and Courtney get into training talk - the most overhyped exercise in the gym right now, the underrated move Courtney swears by, and why she wants people to ask themselves if they really own the floor before loading up a barbell. The conversation closes on recovery, advice, and mentorship: why sleep beats every recovery gadget once you have kids, the three-word lesson from her mentor that changed how she talks to everyone, and the grace and patience it took to get to this new season of life. Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 01:00 – Pre-tournament nutrition and coffee 02:00 – Why beans made the cut 03:00 – Toddler picky eating and the cheat meal 04:00 – Music, exercise, and the Bluey tangent 05:00 – The moment we all found out Bluey is a girl 06:00 – The Muffin phase 07:00 – Favorite and least favorite exercise 08:00 – Side plank hip thrusts, the underrated move 09:00 – The most overrated exercise in the gym 10:00 – Build a foundation before barbell work 11:00 – Sleep as the number one recovery tool 12:00 – The mentor lesson: seen, heard, validated 13:00 – Best advice: work hard, then give yourself grace 14:00 – A brand new day 15:00 – How she found her mentor 16:00 – The value of mentorship 17:00 – Where to find Courtney and episode close Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74CvzgYI3qGxpsSMknHsxf Use code PWBAHEATHER for 10% off Coolwick gear. #PostpartumRecovery, #BowlersAreAthletes, #ConditionedToBowl, #BowlingStrength, #RecoveryTools, #GraceAndPatience, #Mentorship, #bowling

  8. Jul 14

    Courtney Karch: My Body Didn't Feel Mine | Conditioned To Bowl

    My body still didn't feel like mine - and no one warns you how long that lasts. Courtney Karch, a BSCA ambassador, pain-free performance specialist, and mom of two, joins Paul and Heather for a raw conversation about postpartum identity and the road back to bowling. She opens up about the hollow feeling that hits after a C-section, the pressure to bounce back that comes with being a fitness coach, and the comparison trap that makes recovery even harder. Courtney and Heather also compare their first and second pregnancies and the pre and postnatal coaches who guided their training. The conversation turns candid and clinical as Courtney breaks down what childbirth trauma actually feels like, from contraction intensity to C-section pain and recovery timelines, scar mobilization, and why things just don't snap back. Then it's back to the lanes for the real story of relearning how to throw a bowling ball postpartum, Heather's PWBA regional comeback in Rochester, and the mom brain science behind competing while your hormones are still finding their footing. Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74CvzgYI3qGxpsSMknHsxf Use code PWBAHEATHER for 10% off Coolwick gear. #PostpartumRecovery #BowlersAreAthletes #mom #mother #ConditionedToBowl #CSectionRecovery #MomAthlete #BowlingStrength #Postpartum #pregnancy #breastfeeding Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 03:00 - Postpartum identity and the hollow feeling 08:00 - The pressure to bounce back 11:00 - The comparison trap 12:00 - Devastated: when a fit birth plan doesn't go as planned 13:00 - First C-section vs. second C-section 16:00 - Working with pre- and postnatal coaches 20:00 - What childbirth trauma actually feels like 21:00 - Contractions and the epidural 22:00 - C-section pain, on a scale of one to ten 26:00 - Why things don't snap back 29:00 - Relearning how to throw a bowling ball 30:00 - Heather's PWBA regional comeback 34:00 - Mom brain is backed by research 35:00 - Breastfeeding and pumping at tournaments 38:00 - Toddler phase reflections

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Presented by the Bowling Strength and Conditioning Academy, helps bowling athletes train smarter, move better, and compete longer through evidence-based strength training, sports conditioning, injury prevention, recovery, and performance coaching. Hosted by Paul Schroeder and Heather Sterner, the show features educational discussions, coaching insights, and conversations focused on bowling fitness, mobility, mental performance, nutrition, and athlete wellness. #BowlersAreAthletes 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes weekly. 📲 Learn more at https://conditionedtobowl.com

Information

  • Creator
    Paul Schroeder and Heather Sterner
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Paul Schroeder and Heather Sterner
  • Show Website
    Conditioned To Bowl