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Author: Sean Cochran

Golf Digest Magazine – November 2024

by Sean Cochran

Golf Digest's Best Fitness Trainers in America by Ron Kaspriske Golf Digest continues to recognize the very best in golf fitness. It started with our first list of the 50 Best Golf-Fitness Professionals in America in 2017. The honor has since evolved to identify the top trainers “in the trenches,” those who actually work with and excel at making amateur golfers better and healthier. For the 2025-’26 list, Golf Digest’s Fitness Advisory Panel received hundreds of nominations of quality trainers from golfers...

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A review of the effects of concurrent resistance and endurance training on cyclists

by Sean Cochran

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of concurrent resistance and endurance training in the physiological and performance parameters of well-trained cyclists (Levin et al., 2009). Optimal training programs for cyclists are vague, and the implementation of resistance training concurrently with endurance training is not detailed in terms of the inclusion of resistance training can enhance certain aspects of cycling performance (Levine et al. 2009). A limited number of studies have examined the effects of resistance training...

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Bunkered Magazine – May 2023

by Sean Cochran

Meet the man who got Phil Mickelson into his best shape ever by Sean Cochran and Ben Parsons "I leave it up to the players for what works best for them. They know their bodies. In the off season with no competitions, we’re in the gym four times a week for about 90 minutes. In season, it’s 45-60 minutes and we drop it down to three times a week. The program is broken down into mobility, flexibility and exercise. We work on joint...

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Force Production in Relation to Muscle Fiber Types

by Sean Cochran

Muscles facilitate locomotion of the skeletal system. This process is achieved through the ability of a muscle to actively shorten and produce tension (McGinnis, 2020). The production of tension occurs through the active contractile unit of each muscle fiber. This basic contractile unit of a single muscle fiber is the sarcomere (Haff and Triplett, 2016). Muscle Fibers The process by which a single muscle fiber contracts to create tension is termed the sliding filament theory (Haff and Triplett, 2016). The sliding filament...

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Principles and Guidelines of Speed, Acceleration, and Agility

by Sean Cochran

An athlete’s ability to outrun the opposing team is a characteristic of many athletic endeavors. As is the ability to change direction rapidly and beat an opponent during competition. A common component of field sports is high speed locomotion and rapid changes of direction. Additionally, many track and field events success is based upon linear locomotion and rapid acceleration. It is these characteristics of sport which make addressing speed, agility, and change of direction an integral component of training the...

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Guidelines and Principles of Strength Training

by Sean Cochran

The intended goals of a strength and conditioning program for the athletic or general population is based upon the implementation of a properly structured program. The design component of the program will utilize a structured approach to stimulate the intended physiological, psychological, and tactical goals of the athlete (Bompa and Buzzichelli, 2019). The physiological goals of such programming are typically centered upon adaptations within the cardiovascular and neuromuscular systems of the body. To create the intended adaptations within these systems...

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Factors, Guidelines, and Types of Flexibility Training

by Sean Cochran

The training components of flexibility and balance are integral components of a comprehensive strength and conditioning program for the athletic population. At times the athletic population does not necessarily understand or even misconstrue the importance of these two components for successful athletic performance and prevention of injury. To provide support for the importance of these components of training and provide explanation as to the processes of implementation can be of great benefit. Providing substantial background information and scientific support can...

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The Score 670 – June 2021

by Sean Cochran

Bernstein & Rahimi White Sox Talk with Sean Cochran By Dan Berstein & Leila Rahimi "They have to utilize the biomechanics of their pitching motion with the goal of executing that motion with the greatest amount of efficiency and deliver the greatest amount of energy into the baseball...

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Golf Digest Magazine – July 2021

by Sean Cochran

Phil Mickelson's Blueprint for Getting Stronger & Hitting Farther After 50 by Ron Kaspriski “The point is to prep his body for the more vigorous part of his workout,” Cochran says, “and what is required in a proper swing when you’re moving laterally, rotationally, vertically. ” From there, he will finish his prep work by doing a series of what Cochran calls “joint-integrity exercises,” trying to keep things like the pelvis and shoulders as strong and functional as possible—knowing that they can...

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Golf Digest Magazine – January 2020

by Sean Cochran

The 50 best golf-fitness trainers in America by Ron Kaspriski If you’re interested in getting “golf fit,” you’re in the right place. After closely examining hundreds of applicants, a panel of 10 of the most respected experts in golf fitness (see below) have selected the top 50 trainers in the United States. (They actually selected 52; there was a three-way tie for the last spot.) Unlike our first fitness ranking in 2017, which included professionals in all aspects of wellness, this list focuses...

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Step Loading Strategies for the Athletic Population

by Sean Cochran

Loading strategies directly affect the process of improvement in performance within the athletic population. The overall workloads of the athlete over the course of specified period of time must increase on a gradual basis and be manipulated over this time period in order for physiological performance characteristics to improve (Bompa & Buzzichelli, 2019). The manipulations and variations in workloads and invariably load, are based upon physiological, cognitive, and psychological components of the athlete in addition to training experience, and competitive...

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An Overview of Speed, Acceleration, & Reaction Time for Sport

by Sean Cochran

Speed, acceleration, and reaction time are all components of many sports. These sports can include field-based team sports as well as individual sports such as tennis. Each one of these components are integral in performance of a team and the individual athlete. The development of these three components are major drivers in the overall physiological preparation for success in competition. It must be recognized athletes of varying sports require differing requirements of speed, acceleration, and reaction time. Taking this concept,...

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A Brief Synopsis of Creatine Monohydrate

by Sean Cochran

Creatine monohydrate is a dietary supplement utilized by the athletic and general populations. The dietary supplement is a popular, commercially marketed sports supplement which proposes to facilitate ATP production in high intensity, short duration physical activities (Ransone, Lefavi, Jacobson, 2002). Most of the current literature on creatine monohydrate has investigated the benefits of this supplement from a physiological perspective, it has also shown to improve cognitive parameters (Machek & Bagley, 2018). Creatine is a naturally occurring compound which can be synthesized...

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Early Sports Specialization

by Sean Cochran

Early sports specialization has become increasingly common over the past twenty years in many sports. Sports specialization can be defined as intense training in one sport while excluding participation in other sport (Jayanthi et al., 2013) The specialization has the tendency to addres sthe skill acquisition components of the sport only with minimal attention paid to physiological components associated with general athleticism and maturation(Lloyd et al., 2016). An example would be a junior golfer at the age of six years...

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A brief review of periodization schedule

by Sean Cochran

Periodized training programs are planned distributions of workloads to avoid stagnation in performance improvement and to optimize performance for competitions within the year (Bartoloemi et al., 2014). A periodization schedule consists of specific periods of time in terms of days, weeks, or months of specificity, intensity, and volume of training (Baechle et al., 1991). Two common periodization schedules in present day sport are the traditional periodization schedule and undulating periodization schedule. The undulating periodization schedule involves daily fluctuations in terms of...

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Understanding the differences between speed, agility, and change of direction

by Sean Cochran

Speed, agility, and change of direction are all components of field-based sports. Each one of these components are integral in performance of a team and each individual athlete. The development of these three components within the athletic population is a major driver of success and improved performance of the individual within their chosen sport of participation. Understanding the underlying biomechanics of speed, agility, and change of direction is important in developing the constructs to improve each of these entities within...

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Overtraining & Detraining

by Sean Cochran

Overtraining syndrome (OTS) can be defined as a period of time where physical training is at an intensity or volume in which the body is not provided an adequate amount of time for recovery from bouts of exercise (Clark & Lucent, 2010). Overtraining syndrome may also occur when chronic under-fueling from a nutritional standpoint occurs in which the body is unable to recover from bouts of exercise. Either cause of overtraining syndrome may result in a series of symptoms, signs,...

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Concepts Behind the Trend in Sports Specific Training

by Sean Cochran

The term sports specific training has become a popular concept within the field strength and conditioning over the past decade. The underlying premise to sports specific training is the more similar a training activity is to the movement patterns performed during competition the greater likelihood there a positive translation to performance parameters during competition (Haff & Triplett, 2016). The concept of sport specific training is based upon the specific adaptations to imposed demands (SAID principle (Haff, et al., 2016). The...

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The Wall Street Journal – April 2018

by Sean Cochran

How Phil Mickelson Can Defy Age to Win the Masters - The 47-year-old has maintained his power better than most golfers do in the twilight of their careers with a swing that limits the physical toll on his body. By Brian Costa With an average length off the tee of around 300 yards this season, Mickelson is driving the ball about 10 yards longer than he did in 2013, when he last won a major. He’s a longer hitter than some of...

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THE DAN PATRICK SHOW – MARCH 2018

by Sean Cochran

Phil Mickelson Talks Winning, Tiger, and His Future By Phil Mickelson and Dan Patrick "I've worked hard to strengthen all the muscles that support my spine, my knees, and my shoulders to help elongate my career. And my trainer Sean Cochran has been very good at that...

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