Total Performance with Siobhan Milner Siobhan Milner

Find the show notes for this episode here.
In this episode, Siobhan Milner (Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Dutch Olympic Team) takes you through an introduction to training load monitoring and planning, and how to use the acute to chronic training workload ratio model (ACWR) specifially. This episode is perfect for coaches and athletes who may have limited access to a strength and conditioning coach in their own setting, and want to know how to monitor and plan their training load.
Thoughts about this episode? Let me know over on IG!
About Siobhan Milner: Siobhan Milner believes we’re made to move. She is an exercise scientist with over a decade of experience working with everyone from Olympians, to premier-league hockey players, to patients with low back pain, to professional dancers, to individuals with cancer and chronic lung diseases. She uses her expertise to help you improve your athletic performance, and prevent, manage, and recover from injuries.
Siobhan is currently a Strength & Conditioning Coach with TeamNL (Dutch Olympic team), training Shorttrack Speed Skaters, the national Curling team, and talent and elite beach volleyballers.
She also works with several independent athletes, primarily in endurance sports and dance, and with clients seeking her knowledge in injury rehabiliation.
Siobhan Milner is a believer in evidence-based exercise prescription, but also strongly believes that all training should be athlete-focused; specific to their goals, their needs, and their likes and dislikes. Most of all, she loves seeing change in her athletes’ lives – whether it’s at the level of function, pain, or performance.
Are you ready to improve your sporting performance, or change the way your body feels? Get in contact with Siobhan Milner here to discuss how she can help you get the most out of your body.
Featured on the show: Where to find Siobhan:
Website: www.siobhan-milner.com
Instagram: @siobhan.milner
Facebook: Siobhan Milner Athletic Performance & Rehabilitation
Twitter: @siobhancmilner
Tiktok: @siobhan.milner
Important Links: Stay up to date on the Total Performance podcast where you can join Siobhan Milner and guests as we explore the many aspects that come together to build our total performance. Find Siobhan Milner on Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook

Excited to get this out into the world because Kurt Michael Downes is a coach you should know. Not only does he know his stuff, he’s incredibly generous in sharing that knowledge.
Kurt also has an impressive amount of industry experience (in addition to all those fancy letters next to his name), including coaching Canadian Olympian Brandon McBride to the 800m record of 1:43.20, and guiding Kelsey Balkwill to a top 6 placing in the 400H at the World Junior Championships and top 20 placing at the World Indoor Champions in the 400m. How lucky am I that such cool people are happy to chat with me?
I really enjoyed this discussion with Kurt, and I felt like I learned a lot. We spoke a lot about how track and field style training can be used for non track and field athletes, and we also talked about speed and agility in general, and mechanics of running in general.
Kurt gave a lot of practical examples and I found this a super, super valuable listen. I hope you enjoy. Find it everywhere you get your favourite podcasts.
Thoughts about this episode? Let me know over on IG!
About Kurt Michael Downes: Kurt Michael Downes is an award winning teacher with the Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board and President and Head Coach of the Border City Athletics Club.
Kurt has represented Canada as a staff coach at nine international events, including the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. He coached Canadian Olympian, Brandon McBride to the 800 meter record. He guided Kelsey Bale to a top six placing in the 400 hurdles at the World Junior Championships and a top 20 placing at the world Indoor champions in the 400 meter.
He is an advocate for community and sport access for youth, having facilitated, led and created discussions, forums and programs for youth and diversity.
He is a public speaker and builder, and he was also the recipient of the Canadian Running Magazine Golden Shoe Award as the Community Builder of the Year, the Under Armour Diversity Award,  Athletics Canada Dr. Doug Clement Coach of the Year, and the Contributions to Catholic Education Award. Kurt has also recently begun his PhD in kinesiology.
Featured on the show:  
Where to find Kurt:
Twitter / X: KurtMichael_dee
LinkedIn: Kurt Michael Downes
Instagram: @kurtmichael_dee
 
Important Links:  
Stay up to date on the Total Performance podcast where you can join Siobhan Milner and guests as we explore the many aspects that come together to build our total performance. Find Siobhan Milner on Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook

In this podcast episode, Siobhan Milner provides some quick tips for self-directed strength training. That is, strength training for athletes and coaches without a dedicated strength and conditioning coach as part of their team. Siobhan breaks down how she sets up sessions, and addresses common fears about training without a strength coach. Take a listen if you're heading into the gym without a guide!
 
Important links:
Find the transcript of this podcast on the show notes page.

Carbohydrates have gotten a bad rap over the past few years, so I asked Maja Berry to do a dive into all things carbs for us. 
Join us as we delve deep into the world of carbohydrates and their impact on athletic prowess. 
Discover the role of carbohydrates in both energy and recovery. Maja Berry demystifies common myths, and providing evidence-based insights along with practical strategies for optimizing carbohydrate intake and timing. Your peak performance awaits!
 
Thoughts about this episode? Let me know over on IG!
About Maja Berry: Maja Berry is a qualified dietitian with a Master’s degree in sports nutrition, specializing primarily in addressing issues related to under-fuelling and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) or Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA). Her dedication to this field stems from a deep understanding of the critical link between energy consumption and expenditure. Maja has observed that numerous athletes grapple with under-fuelling; however, she believes that achieving optimal fuelling can effectively address this issue.
Her professional experience includes working at the English Ballet School, where efforts are continuously made to ensure that students are robust and well-conditioned athletes. In her private practice, Maja assists a diverse group of athletes who have encountered difficulties in maintaining a healthy balance of energy intake and output. Additionally, her experience in treating eating disorders has further reinforced her understanding of the often-present connection between sports, under-fuelling, and mental health.
Featured on the show: Where to find Maja:
Website: www.thebluebirdcentre.com
LinkedIn: Maja Berry
Instagram: @maja.berryrd
Facebook: majaberryrd
Tiktok: @majaberryrd
 
Important Links: Stay up to date on the Total Performance podcast where you can join Siobhan Milner and guests as we explore the many aspects that come together to build our total performance. Find Siobhan Milner on Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook

Coach Kendall Green (B.S., CSAS, USAW) simplifies speed and athletic development in this podcast interview hosted by Siobhan Milner.
Kendall’s key advice: keep it simple. Kendall discusses motivating athletes with tech tools like the Dasher, how to foster self-motivation, talks about speed coaching across age ranges, and the universal benefits of sprint training in various sports.
Kendall Green also touches on how speed can be developed in the weight room, and how sprint OR strength training may be more important for certain athletes at certain times. Kendall shares practical takeaways for athletes and coaches, particularly regarding fostering the development of complete athletes with a solid base of movement skill.
Thoughts about this episode? Let me know over on IG!
About Kendall Green: Kendall Green is Head Strength & Conditioning Coach and Owner of Green Roots Performance & Wellness in Williamsburg, Virginia. He has previously served as a High School Head T&F Coach, Football Coach, and Strength & Conditioning Coach. He specializes in speed and power development.
Featured on the show: Where to find Kendall:
Instagram: @greenrootspw
Twitter: @KoachGreen_
Simplifaster: https://simplifaster.com/articles/author/kendallgreen/
Important Links: Find the transcript of this podcast on the show notes page.
Stay up to date on the Total Performance podcast where you can join Siobhan Milner and guests as we explore the many aspects that come together to build our total performance.
Find Siobhan Milner on Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook

Season two of the Total Performance podcast is on its way.
I've spoken to some really interesting people. We're going to be talking a little bit about Speed training. I've also spoken to a track and field coach. So we've talked about track and field training for athletes who might not actually be track and field athletes as well. I'm speaking to an amazing dietician.
We're also spending some time talking about pelvic floor health, which can be particularly interesting to athletes. After pregnancy and the general population, so I think we've got a really varied program coming out That's going to be interesting for both athletes coaches and people who are just interested in training whether or not they're an athlete I hope you enjoy and you can look forward to our first episode next week.
Just a reminder that you can find further podcast episodes at https://www.siobhan-milner.com/podcast. And this is where you can also find different ways of working with me if you head to https://www.siobhan-milner.com. Enjoy.