Beth and I discussed pain science and how it comes into play for professional and recreational circus artists and aerialists answering these questions below: Pain perception - how do you describe and define pain?  What is the bare minimum you think a circus artist, coach, and physio should know about pain (and how to assess it) as it relates to circus artists?  How do we know what is “okay” pain vs. bad pain?  What are patterns of pain among circus artists and aerialist? How does fear interact with pain in circus and aerial? When circus artists are experiencing pain ..read more

You'll just have to listen to this one for the full description but below are some key take-aways! Takeaways: Incorporating variability and creativity in circus training and teaching is essential for skill development AND personal expression. Pedagogical approaches should be rooted in beliefs about learning and should align with the values of the coach and the student. Creativity can be fostered in students through intentional scaffolding and opportunities for personal input. Variability and creativity are distinct concepts, with variability being a necessary prerequisite for creativity. Bal ..read more

This conversation explores the concept of movement optimism and its application in circus and aerial training. The discussion covers topics such as biomechanics and performance in circus, the task-based approach to training, managing pain and injury, and addressing beliefs about joint misalignment. The importance of individual differences in training capacity and the role of minimal effective dose in recovery are also explored. The conversation emphasizes the need for a personalized approach to training and the importance of self-management in the circus and aerial fields. In this conversation ..read more

New season of CircSci is dropping y'all! Sorry for the delay between 'sodes (I've been slammed with programs and more online coaching resource development! If you want to help support the time that goes into interviewing and editing these episodes, definitely consider contributing via Patreon.com/circkoz (where you'll also get video tutorials and more!).  Anyway, Henri and I get up to some pretty deep discussions on how motor learning and skill acquisition occurs from a neuronal and proprioceptive perspective as well as practical examples of how you might program strength drills versus sk ..read more

I had the pleasure of interviewing Mariah before the holidays - they are an awesome physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor health for queer, trans, and other under-served populations, though works with all sorts of athletes. They work at Bethany Physical Therapy, but offer monthly pelvic floor focused physio classes online. We covered some commons signs and symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, ways to assess whether we are breathing properly during a movement (and how to scale if we aren't to avoid pelvic floor issues), and more! PHYSICAL THERAPIST Certified Manual Physical Thera ..read more

Y'all are going to love this one. Keith Baar joined myself and special guest co-host Max March-Steinman on this episode all about the molecular properties of tendons, their adaptive responses, and how to appropriately modify your training techniques depending on if you're interested in power, strength, range of motion (and maybe some things not to do), or stability (in the case of hypermobility). We also briefly touch on the dietary sources of the nutrients that support healthy tendons. During the episode, Keith explains a concept using a visual so here is a link to Keith Baar's tendon shearin ..read more

Today on the podcast, we've got an interview with Dr. Dave Tilley, who runs his own podcast (@SHIFTMovementScience), we cover a variety of topics related to gymnastics and circus training as well as coaching, culture and scandals. We discuss how we can move the sport in a better direction, what are the mistakes that people are making still, and how we balance keeping someone safe, moving towards high performance and staying up to date with new ideas. As always, to grab a free/sliding scale copy of the Couch To Aerial Fitness 12 Week Program go here, and to support the show, please share if yo ..read more

It was so wonderful hearing from Dr. Joanna Nicholas (with guest host Emily Scherb aka The Circus Doc) - this episode covers a range of topics from Dr. Nicholas who ran a broad study that looked at pole sport (physical and psychological factors) all over Australia! We talk about common injuries in the pole world, how much head position matters, how to structure classes to build competency in fundamentals while making sure students have fun, and what keeps people coming back to pole class. https://www.waapa.ecu.edu.au/about/our-staff/profiles/research-staff/dr-joanna-nicholas https://www.insta ..read more

Alright, y'all, it has been a MINUTE! This episode was recorded a while back, but there are some gems in here! We talk about Chris' recommended general handstand training session outline, coaching perspectives, and Chris' biomechanical modeling analysis of a 1-arm handstand. Chris Gatti's (@bearded_mann) background includes time in both academic and acrobatic domains. He holds degrees in mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, and machine learning and data analysis. In part, his research experience includes approximately five years doing computational shoulder biomechanics in an ortho ..read more

In this episode of CircSci, we cover aspects of pain science (and how tissue damage may not be as bad as we think), RPE scale usage (for strength versus skills), self-efficacy in coaching and rehab, and more (like some potential aspects of a good warm-up). Tait Brown is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist, and  is incredibly knowledgable in the field of Allied Health and is about as hilariously Australian as you get (he also has his own podcast: Into the Red Zone!). You can follow him here (https://www.instagram.com/totalbodybenefit/) and listen to his podcast here: https://www.spreaker ..read more