Conditioned To Bowl

Paul Schroeder and Heather Sterner
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Sports
  • 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. 3h ago

    Are You Okay?: Origins and Mindset with AJ Johnson | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 43

    Everyone in bowling says the game is 85 to 90 percent mental, so why does AJ Johnson say most bowlers put only about 10 percent of their time into it? In Part 1, Paul Schroeder and Heather Sterner sit down with AJ Johnson, an 11-time member of Team USA, for his first Conditioned To Bowl appearance. AJ explains why he chose bowling, how other sports shaped his coachability and calm on the approach, and why perfectionism kept him practicing into the early hours. Then it gets personal. AJ breaks down the 90 to 10 problem, the mental game books he used to read before every block, and the night his wife Allie asked if he was okay mentally. He shares what working with Brian Cain and Dr. Dean did for him, and why he wishes he had asked for help sooner. Timestamps: 00:00 - Welcome and meet AJ Johnson 04:30 - The surfing joke and the other A.J. Johnson 06:00 - Why AJ chose bowling over other sports 10:30 - Playing multiple sports and the team feeling 14:00 - Coachability and what AJ wants from a coach 15:00 - Perfectionism and practicing until it is right 16:45 - Working with mental coaches 18:00 - Why bowlers neglect the mental game 19:00 - The mental game books and routine 20:30 - "Are you okay?" and seeking help 21:15 - No sugarcoating: the feedback AJ needs 22:00 - Brian Cain vs. Dr. Dean: matching coach to need 23:15 - Knowing what energy you need from a coach Looking for recovery gear? Use code PWBAHEATHER for 10% OFF at Coolwick. Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@conditionedtobowlpod #BowlersAreAthletes #ConditionedToBowl #AJJohnson #Podcast #bowling #athlete #sports #mentalgame #mindset #mentalhealth #TeamUSA #PBA

  2. 6d ago

    Peaks Don’t Last: After Team USA with Diandra Asbaty | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 42

    Diandra Asbaty tells her 2006 self to expect hardship, and she shares the two best pieces of advice she has ever received. Part 3 wraps up the Diandra Asbaty mini-series with Paul and Heather's segment questions. Diandra names burpees as her least favorite exercise, which leads Paul and Heather into why they rarely program them, and she explains why seeing the total weight she moved in the TrainHeroic app makes her feel strong. Paul reminds her of the day he put her in NormaTec recovery boots, then asks for her favorite tools. She names rest and massage, and also likes acupuncture and cupping. She talks about eating clean, limiting sugar, and paying closer attention to protein as a woman. Diandra also explains why she trusts experts over the flood of information online, thanks Paul for answering families' questions at the Elite Youth Tour, and Heather explains how Diandra's introduction led to the show. Paul reads the words Diandra used to describe herself in 2006, and she adds one, intuitive, that she says she learned along the way. Then comes her message to her younger self: expect it to be hard, and know that one day your life will change and you should let it. The talk wraps on identity and on two pieces of advice that shaped her: her first Team USA coach Fred Borden telling her to be careful what she thinks about because it might come true, and a lesson that when people do not like you it has nothing to do with you. Diandra also reflects on how athletes tie their worth to results, and Paul tells a story about a rough practice session and a lesson in perspective from Kyle Sherman. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:00 - Favorite: lifts and the burpee debate 02:00 - Lifting 3,000 pounds in TrainHeroic 02:30 - Why burpees may not be worth it 04:00 - Favorite recovery tools 05:00 - Massage, acupuncture, and cupping 05:30 - Eating clean and focusing on protein 06:30 - Whoop, and trusting the experts 08:00 - How the podcast began 08:30 - "It depends" and never stop learning 10:00 - Ten words for 2006 Diandra 12:00 - Advice to her 2006 self 12:30 - A bad practice day and a lesson from Kyle Sherman 14:00 - When life shifts after Team USA 14:30 - Worth beyond results 15:30 - You are who you are, not what you do 16:30 - Two best pieces of advice 18:30 - Reminders we all need 19:00 - Closing reflections and thanks #podcast #athlete #bowling #sports #ConditionedToBowl #BowlersAreAthletes #DiandraAsbaty #TeamUSA

  3. Oct 20

    The Mental Game: Mindset, Youth and Training with Diandra Asbaty | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 41

    Mental game coach and Team USA veteran Diandra Asbaty explains why bowlers need delusional optimism, quiet time, and a willingness to be uncomfortable. In Part 2 of the Diandra Asbaty mini-series, the conversation moves from injury to mindset. A host asks whether intuition can be learned, and Diandra answers yes, with the work beginning by quieting the noise in a world of constant scrolling. She explains why she listens to podcasts instead of music at the gym, how one workout led to an idea for a whole new product, and how her Mindset Reset subscription, her Champions Framework team sessions, and her one-on-one 12 Frames to a Stronger Mental Game program help bowlers train their minds. Her free resources live at beyondthelanes.com, including a guide called All the Mental Mistakes That I Made So You Don't Have To. The hosts ask how to build a culture shift with youth bowlers, and Diandra gets honest: you get out what you put in, practice what you are not good at, and expect to fail. She shares what it required at age 12 to think she could be among the world's elite bowlers, why she calls that delusional optimism, and how a girl from Dyer, Indiana became a two-time World Bowler of the Year. The group also talks about comparison, Instagram highlights, and raising strong girls who set their own trends. Then Heather asks the question every strength coach hears: why lift if the results do not show up right away on the lanes? Diandra recommends putting a Whoop band on for your longest day of bowling, pushes back on the idea that you do not feel the difference, and explains why building muscle changes how she feels at the line almost immediately. The episode wraps with a reminder that everyone falls off the plan sometimes, and that beginning again carries no shame. Diandra closes by thanking Paul and Heather for what they are doing for the sport. Timestamps: 00:30 - Training Your Intuition by Quieting the Noise 02:30 - Finding Inspiration Through Exercise and Podcasts 03:30 - Diandra’s Mental Game Training Programs 05:30 - Developing Mental Skills Beyond the Lanes 07:00 - Learning from Failure and Practicing Weaknesses 09:00 - Delusional Optimism and Becoming a Champion 10:30 - Embracing Discomfort and Putting in the Work 11:00 - Social Media, Comparison, and Self-Confidence 12:00 - Raising Confident Girls Who Set Their Own Trends 13:30 - Strength Training and Bowling Performance 15:30 - Core Strength and Stability at the Line 16:30 - Commitment, Consistency, and Starting Again 17:30 - Getting Back on Track Without Perfection #ConditionedToBowl #DiandraAsbaty #BowlersAreAthletes #mentalgame #podcast #bowling #youth #delusional #optimism #athlete #sports

  4. Oct 14

    Advocating For Oneself: Knee Surgery with Diandra Asbaty | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 40

    Told she was too young for knee surgery, Team USA veteran Diandra Asbaty kept speaking up until she found a doctor who saw her as a good candidate. Paul and Heather welcome Diandra Asbaty, a two-time U.S. Amateur champion, 15-time member of Team USA, and co-founder of the Elite Youth Tour, for her first appearance on Conditioned To Bowl. The bio rundown covers over 70 international medals, two PBA Women's Series titles, and the 2012 USBC Queens major. Then Diandra opens with a message for young bowlers who only see their heroes on television: you do not get to skip to the good part. She also explains how she met Paul at Diversey River Bowl, when he reminded her they had crossed paths at the 2007 U.S. Open, and why it mattered to find a physical therapist who understood both bowling and movement. The heart of this episode is Diandra's knee story. She describes years of pain, cortisone shots that bought her one season at a time, and the moment standing up became impossible after she got out of her car. She explains why she went looking for a new care team, what her X-rays showed, why she chose robotic knee surgery called Makoplasty, and what a nurse told her on the way out of the office. Her recovery lasted three months, and she says her real goal was walking around Europe with her kids without having to sit down. If you are putting off a surgery like this, she has a message for you. From there the conversation turns to advocacy. Heather explains why a professional athlete in a repetitive sport should think about the demands on her body instead of her age, and Paul makes the case that people have to advocate for themselves in a medical system built around time management. Diandra explains how asking questions and trusting her intuition led her to the right answer. She also talks about why you have to do the work even when you do not feel like it and how she leaned on her strengths against the men at the 2007 U.S. Open. The group closes on the question every patient should ask: what is the long-term plan? Timestamps: 00:00 - Welcome Diandra Asbaty 05:00 - You don't get to skip to the good part 06:00 - How Paul and Diandra met 07:30 - Early knee pain and finding the right help 09:30 - Grit and refusing to settle 10:30 - Cortisone shots and the Band-Aid cycle 11:30 - Doctors say she is too young for surgery 12:00 - Finding a new care team 13:00 - X-rays and robotic Makoplasty 14:00 - A nurse's advice and zero knee pain 15:00 - Why she did it and what recovery looked like 16:00 - You have to do the work 17:30 - Giving yourself grace 18:00 - Training for the life you want 19:00 - The 2007 U.S. Open as a woman 21:00 - Why you have to advocate for yourself 22:30 - Paul on instant gratification and healthcare 24:30 - Asking questions and trusting your intuition 26:00 - What is the long-term plan? #ConditionedToBowl #BowlersAreAthletes #DiandraAsbaty #KneeSurgery #AdvocateForYourself #Bowling #Injury #Advocacy #Surgery #BowlingInjury

  5. Oct 7

    No Sleep, No Snacks: Surviving Tour with Lynda Barnes | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 39

    After three years of barely sleeping and a lifetime of hating push-ups, Hall of Famer Lynda Barnes says the recovery tool that's actually worked best for her is laughter. In the final part of the Lynda Barnes mini-series, hosts Paul Schroeder and Heather Sterner get into the practical side of staying in the game for decades. Lynda opens up about the years of broken sleep that came with being a diabetic mom, the relaxation tools she borrowed from competition to finally calm her mind at night, and why laughter, more than any cold plunge or ice bath, is still her number one recovery tool. The conversation turns to training and nutrition: what she wishes she'd done differently for her upper body, her honest take on old WIBC tour life versus today's PWBA grind, her favorite and least favorite exercises, and the go-to playlist that gets her fired up. She and the hosts also dig into the very real challenge of eating well in bowling centers, especially when managing her son's blood sugar on the road, and why she thinks bowlers deserve better nutrition support as athletes. Lynda closes out the mini-series with two pieces of advice she's carried for years, and a heartfelt thank-you to the sport that's given her a lifetime of family and purpose. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:00 - Years of broken sleep as a diabetic mom 04:00 - Learning to rest without the guilt 05:00 - Laughter: her number one recovery tool 05:00 - Old WIBC tour versus today's PWBA grind 09:00 - Favorite and least favorite exercises 12:00 - Her go-to hype playlist 14:00 - Movement snacks and pre-bowl warm-ups 18:00 - Breakfast, balance, and ditching soda for water 22:00 - Eating well in bowling centers on the road 26:00 - Two pieces of advice and a thank-you to the sport #BowlersAreAthletes #ConditionedToBowl #LyndaBarnes #Bowling #Nutrition #podcast #diabetes #recovery

  6. Sep 30

    Mind, Body, and Heart: What It Took with Lynda Barnes | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 38

    Lynda Barnes says she was never the most physically gifted bowler in the room, so she built her entire Hall of Fame career on the one edge she could control: her mind. In Part 2 of the Lynda Barnes mini-series, hosts Paul Schroeder and Heather Sterner dig into the mental game that Lynda credits with her longevity, tracing it back to a single moment with San Jose State sports psychologist Glenn Toby that changed how she approached every shot. She walks through her full mental toolkit, from affirmations to a pre-shot tile-counting ritual, and gets candid about the very different way her husband Chris and son Ryan train their own mental games. The conversation turns personal as Lynda opens up about how becoming a mother to Troy, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age six, forced her to become a bolder, tougher version of herself. She talks about the Strike Out Diabetes charity events that followed, and how that same fight carried into her physical recovery from a 2006 wrist surgery and a 2011 shoulder labrum repair that she's still managing today. The episode closes on a rare left-field detour: after years of talking shop, Lynda finally tells the story of how she knew her husband Chris was the one, and it did not start the way you'd expect. Subscribe for the final part of the Lynda Barnes mini-series. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:00 The pencil that changed her mental game 04:00 Her mental toolkit: affirmations, rehearsal, and tearing up negative thoughts 05:00 Chris's mental game blind spot 09:00 Told she couldn't pursue sports psychology as a woman 11:00 Becoming a different kind of parent after Troy's diagnosis 14:00 Strike Out Diabetes and Troy's 20th diaversary 15:00 The 2006 wrist surgery 17:00 The shoulder labrum tear and surgery 20:00 Why bowlers need upper body work too 22:00 Chris's back surgery and the 2015 US Open 26:00 How she knew Chris was the one #podcast #ConditionedToBowl #LyndaBarnes #BowlersAreAthletes #MentalGame #StrikeOutDiabetes #BowlingRecovery #TeamUSABowling #Sports Psychology

  7. Sep 23

    Fifteen Years Later: The Lynda Barnes Comeback Story | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 37

    Long before her current hip injury, Hall of Famer Lynda Barnes was already paying for damage that started on a gymnastics mat two decades earlier. In this episode of Conditioned To Bowl, hosts Paul Schroeder and Heather Sterner sit down with two-time Hall of Famer Lynda Barnes, a 36-year Team USA member, the wife of Chris Barnes, and the mother of Ryan Barnes, closing out the show's Barnes family thread. Lynda opens up about her current comeback season, including a hip labrum tear that mirrors her husband's own injury, and the physical therapy routine she leans on twice a week to keep competing at nearly 59 years old. The conversation turns to where it all began: a childhood competitive gymnastics career that ended before she ever picked up serious bowling coaching, and how years of technically incorrect fundamentals left a toll she's still paying for today. Lynda credits her San Jose State teammate Kim Tyrel with teaching her what it means to be a true team player, a lesson that shaped the rest of her competitive career. She also reflects on what it means to represent Team USA across four decades, from the jerseys she still keeps to the jacket she bought with money she didn't really have. It's a candid look at the roots of a Hall of Fame career, and the price a body pays for the sport it loves. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and introduction 01:00 Current season, hip labrum tear, and Senior Team USA 05:00 First-ever PWBA regional and the next generation of talent 07:00 Physical therapy routine with Eric Huffman 11:00 Gymnastics roots and the wear and tear that followed 13:00 Recruited to San Jose State in three weeks 14:00 What Kim Tyrel taught her about being a teammate 15:00 Representing Team USA across four decades 16:00 The USA jacket story #podcast #bowling #sports #BowlersAreAthletes #ConditionedToBowl #LyndaBarnes #TeamUSABowling #USBCHallOfFame #USBC #WIBC #STRIKEoutDiabetes

  8. Sep 16

    Tour Life: Training, Recovery and the Muscle Debate with Ryan Barnes | Conditioned To Bowl Ep. 36

    Training cycles, cornhole bragging rights, and a real on-air debate about muscle — this is what a normal week looks like for a PBA Tour bowler. In part 2 of this two-part Conditioned To Bowl conversation, PBA Rookie of the Year Ryan Barnes picks up right where part 1 left off. He walks through what his training cycle actually looks like from relaxed off-season to grinding preseason mornings, why he'll travel almost anywhere for a regional prize purse, and his prep for the upcoming Team USA trials in Germany. Then it's the lifestyle side of tour life: his cornhole and putt-putt rivalry with dad Chris Barnes, his go-to recovery tools, his "Barnzy" pregame playlist, and the stats to back up the swagger — 39 perfect games, 27 clean 800 series, and an 866 high set. From there, Ryan gets honest about nutrition: he's "the worst hangry person ever," and Heather Sterner breaks down what to actually keep in your bowling bag. That sets up the episode's centerpiece — a real debate sparked by a comment Ryan's dad has made on air before, that bowlers shouldn't build too much upper-body muscle. Paul and Heather push back with the training science, and Ryan closes with the best advice he's ever received and who he'd love to see on the show next. Timestamps: 00:00 Recap and welcome back  01:00 PBA training cycle: offseason vs. preseason  02:00 Prepping for Team USA trials in Germany  03:00 Chasing regional tournaments for prize money  04:00 Bachelor party stories  05:00 Cornhole and putt-putt vs. dad  06:00 Favorite recovery tools  07:00 His pregame playlist  09:00 Equipment, 300s, 800s, and his 866 high series  11:00 Nutrition and hangry confessions  14:00 Glycemic index and timing snacks across a block  16:00 Favorite and least favorite exercise  18:00 The muscle-building debate sparked by Chris Barnes  21:00 Building a bowling-specific training program  22:00 Best advice he's ever received  23:00 Who he wants on the show next #podcast #bowling #sports #athlete #BowlersAreAthletes #RyanBarnes #Barnzy #recovery #ConditionedToBowl #nutrition #pbatour #strengthtraining

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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
    43
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Paul Schroeder and Heather Sterner
  • Show Website
    Conditioned To Bowl

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