Dylan Noell

This gym is where it all started. The Minturn Fitness Center (Minturn, CO). Summer 2019. I had just graduated from high school. Wanting badly to play college football, yet not having the right resources or mentors, left me scratching my head. Luckily, the least exciting internship of my life — at a wealth management firm — became, arguably, the most important. My supervisor was a former strength coach from the University of Kansas converted into a CPA. He not only got me started with finance, but also was open enough to let me come workout with him in the mornings at MFC. He would give me starter workouts & a list of the best literature for strength training & performance training. He got me started on a path that ultimately led to my earning a tryout at the University of Miami. 6 years. Now at almost 25 years old, I look forward to opening my own facility & giving athletes the tools & guidance I wish I had long before that internship. Onward….

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Box jumps aren’t the “holy grail” plyometric that social media makes them out to be. If anything, the more experience you gain in performance training, the more obvious it becomes: Box jumps are not true plyometrics — sprinting, bounding, altitude plyos, jumps & hops are. Most box jumps require almost zero reflexive or reactive input. The ground forces aren’t even close to the demands athletes face when sprinting, cutting or jumping in sport. (👆🏻This is why there’s a technical difference between plyometric training & traditional jump training.) Now — they aren’t useless. For beginners, group classes or certain competitions, box jumps have their place. But if your goal is real, measurable athletic performance, there are far more effective options… & they all use the box in smarter ways. Want better options? Here’s TWELVE of them. Pair these with high-threshold outputs — especially Olympic lifts — then you’ll build actual elastic power, not just “jump-on-a-soft-box” fitness.

It’s time — with respect — for top athletic programs to stop recycling outdated systems & start embracing innovation. For decades, too many strength coaches have survived on old reputations instead of evolving their craft. There are still Division 1 & professional programs running HIIT circuits & year-round bodybuilding splits as their primary training method. Calling these systems “obsolete” is generous. Athletes — especially those trying to extend their careers — cannot afford outdated preparation. They need training built around explosive qualities, movement efficiency & longevity… not endless fatigue. The standard should be simple: • Measurable performance improvement • Controlled fatigue • Reduced overuse & injury risk Most programs fall short of these standards because they’re overloaded with unnecessary volume disguised as “hard work.” This is where Olympic-style training changes the game. Olympic athletes train explosively, at high velocities, year-round, using minimum effective doses. Just enough volume to progress sustainably — then condition only when it’s purposeful. Of course, Olympic athletes are genetic outliers, so results won’t be identical. But the principles transfer: explosive training + freshness + quality = superior performance outcomes. When you stop chasing exhaustion & start chasing expression, you build athletes who are powerful, durable & consistently improving — unlike many college & pro programs that overwork & under-deliver.

Off-season training isn’t random — it’s an applied sequence of transferable qualities. Here’s an example: 1️⃣ Hang Power Snatch → Express Power Output Developing explosive strength & rate of force. 2️⃣ Depth Drop → Absorb & Store Energy Teaching the body to absorb + store force efficiently. 3️⃣ Safety Bar Squat → Recruit Motor Units High-threshold motor recruitment & total-body force. 4️⃣ Nordic Curl → Improve Braking Capacity Every pound of strength on the Nordic compounds knee integrity. 5️⃣ Weighted Chin-Up → Tension/Decompression Decompress the spine & strengthen the surrounding structures. 6️⃣ Single-Leg Reverse Hyper → Address Strength Imbalances Addressing & loading commonly weak muscles. The off-season is where athletes are built. Do the work that transfers.

ATHLETES NEED THESE👇🏻 Dynamic efforts involve moving submaximal loads (usually anywhere below 80% of 1RM) with as much speed & intent as possible. This is usually for fiber-specific development (Type 2A/2X), but more closely relates to contractile quality. Louie Simmons & Westside Barbell helped popularize this approach in the U.S. While traditional periodization relied on slowly building from light to heavy, Simmons paired heavy/maximal work with fast, dynamic efforts year-round. Athletes need the heavy effort for neural development & hormonal response, but they also need consistent exposure to dynamic actions. Nearly every sporting movement — sprinting, jumping, throwing, swinging, hitting, etc — happens with submaximal loads & maximal velocities. That’s where dynamic correspondence comes in: how well a movement in the weight room transfers to actual sport performance. Nothing in the gym is truly “specific” to sport, but certain methods build qualities that directly support it. Dynamic effort training is one of them. How to implement this? I’ve always been a fan of Olympic-style lifting & accommodating-resisted variations, but there are a million ways to get to Rome. Coaches ought to have their own methods on this front. I have mine.

One of the biggest misconceptions in speed performance is the idea that you must be thin or stringy to be fast. A lot of athletes think they’re “genetically slow,” or that dropping weight is the magic fix. Others believe that long legs or a specific body type automatically determine sprint speed. Reality check: Good genetics help. Dropping weight can help. But only quality creates speed. There are athletes who move exceptionally well despite carrying far more mass than the “traditional sprinter build” like a Noah Lyles type. The best example? Bo Jackson — 230 lbs, 9.54 in the 100-yard dash, and a 4.12 forty. He had a once-in-a-lifetime fusion of mass, elasticity, and absurd power output. His dominance wasn’t because he was light — it was because he could apply massive force with elite mechanics and elite efficiency. Speed comes from qualities like: ✅ Stiff ankles + positive shin angles ✅ High eccentric & concentric force per foot strike relative to bodyweight ✅ Low heel recovery during acceleration ✅ High heel recovery at top-end speed These qualities make up the foundation of sprint performance — and none of them require you to be skinny. If anything, mass + mechanics + elasticity can make you even faster than lean + long.

I had fun editing this one again, but it’s for a purpose. Performance training is becoming one of the fastest-growing industries that nobody talks about & now the modern landscape has created a Matrix with two paths: 1️⃣ THE GOLIATH ROUTE (Blue Pill) Goliath was built on appearance — intimidation, theatrics & fake complexity. That’s today’s “sport-specific” culture: gimmicks, instability drills & high-tech circus moves designed to look impressive instead of actually developing athletes. 2️⃣ THE DAVID ROUTE (Red Pill) David wasn’t flashy — he was disciplined, precise & anchored in principles. This path is built on sound training: strength, power, speed, mobility, real progressions & the same methods used in collegiate & Olympic training environments. One path prioritizes optics. The other builds undeniable athletes. Choose wisely. Which route are you on?

HINT: Time in between reps 👀

What do you notice?👇🏻

As you can see in the clip, there is a noticeable contrast between the load & speed of the bar showcased during a Heavy Clean Pull (Peak Power) compared to the Clean High Pull with Chains (Maximum Velocity). This is the key difference in application based on target qualities. Follow @dnoelltraining for more 📲

As I explain in the clip, Olympic lifts and their derivatives are dynamic efforts — typically falling in the high-RFD, higher-velocity categories: 1️⃣ PEAK POWER Emphasis: Maximum work (force x displacement) over minimal time Average Bar Speed: 0.75-1.0 meters/second Examples: Heavy Pulls, Accomodated Back or Front Squat 2️⃣ SPEED-STRENGTH Emphasis: Maximize resistance at given high velocities Average Bar Speed: 1.0-1.3 m/s Examples: Snatches, Cleans, Jerks, Pushpresses 3️⃣ SPEED (or Maximum Velocity) Emphasis: Moving light weights as fast as possible Average Bar Speed: 1.3+ m/s Examples: Snatch Panda Pulls, Clean Panda Pulls (as shown), Any Reactive/Rebound Variation

Most Athletes Get This WRONG About Olympic Lifting👇🏻 Olympic-style weightlifting exists in a category of its own, but most athletes & coaches treat it like any other set of movements: do it sometimes, try to go heavier each time & it should work too. Not the case 🧵

Speed = Elasticity

Hooke’s Law (The Law of Elasticity) states, “For relatively small deformations of an object (or structure), the displacement or size of the deformation is directly proportional to the deforming force or load.” Speed = Elasticity. The fastest athletes bend or “deform” under high forces & recoil them instantly without breaking.

ROMANS 12:2 “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

Most athletes chase numbers. Champions chase control. 7-second eccentrics separate the two. Eccentrics aren’t “slow reps” — they’re the fastest way to build real tensile strength & they trigger a massive hormonal response you can only get under supramaximal loads.

I’ve been known to jump in from time to time

12 Drills That ACTUALLY Improve Acceleration 🚀🚀🚀