467: Rett Larson on Movement Puzzles, Sneaky Strength and Cultivating Joy in Training

Today’s guest is Rett Larson, strength coach for the German Women’s Volleyball Team and creator of the "No Zombies" training philosophy. Rett coached Olympic medalists with China and the Netherlands, blending energy, rhythm, and purposeful movement into world-class performance. As sport expands into an increasingly more high-pressure, early specialization event that can easily suck fun and joy away, there grows a need for a "counter-culture" within athletic performance. Not only does a "physical preparation" process for athletes that is joyful and gamified lead to more fun within a training session, but it also develops important athletic qualities, within that umbrella of "fun" that may not be possible in more "traditional" sessions. Rett Larson is spearheading an active, engaging approach to the physical preparation process for athletes with warmups designed for joy, engagement, and a comprehensive stimulation of athletic qualities along the way. On today’s episode, Rett speaks on a variety of engaging tools and gamifications in the warmup process for both thermogenic and neurological preparation. He goes into his take on partner exercises and isometrics, and the process of using a physical challenge to "sneak" strength and skill elements in the program. Today’s episode is brought to you by Hammer Strength and LILA Wearable Resistance Gear. Use the code "justfly25" for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to Lilateam.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Timestamps 6:12- Enhancing Athlete Performance through Innovative Training 20:06- Rope Flow in the Warmup Process 25:19- Team Bonding through Partner Exercises and Gamification 29:39- Athletic Development through Diverse Warm-Ups 31:24- Engaging Training Games for Athletic Development 38:00- Enhancing Motor Learning Through Novel Activities 48:14- Isometric and "Sneaky Strength" Exercises 54:50- Tennis Balls as a Powerful Warmup Tool 1:05:36- Animal-Inspired Safari Warmup Routine 1:14:35- Dynamic Movement Enhancement with Wearable Resistance Gear Rett Larson Quotes (5:30) "I like this idea of breaking the script of what athletes expect." - Rett Larson (8:59) "Are we not trying to get to a place in team sports, at least where we have vulnerability? Are we not learning that vulnerability and looking like a little bit of an idiot in front of your teammates and, and knowing that everybody gets theirs at some point? And that is, that's, that's also something we should be striving for." - Rett Larson (20:06) "In the thermogenic bucket goes a lot of almost like movement puzzles to steal some Ido Portal: if it's the tennis ball on a string, a stick in their hand." - Rett Larson (21:00) "Similarly, the rope flow stuff fits really nicely in that bucket because it is really challenging to unlock some of these very difficult movements that get your body rotating, certainly get you hot and sweaty, but it also feels like you are leveling up every time you actually conquer it." - Rett Larson (29:45) "The great thing about warmup is you get to be competitive in a, in an extremely low stakes environment; when I'm programming the weight room well, it's not just my twitchy, 23-year-old phenom whose parents both played volleyball that wins every event. There should be enough variety in the weight room that we're getting winners all over the place, that we're manufacturing celebrations from every single person on my team in a given week or a couple of weeks or month." - Rett Larson (31:16) "I'm manufacturing smiles, I'm manufacturing the joy that I think you and I understand can come out of the weight room." - Rett Larson (51:20) "I'm trying to hide grinding strength within either other fun games or, you know, include like having it be a part of the fun as much as possible." - Rett Larson (54:30) "The great thing about tennis balls is that there's, they can be used for all of it is they can be movement puzzles, they can be balance challenges, anything that you need them to be." - Rett Larson (1:00:38) "There's no reason that coaches shouldn't be actually actively trying to find more moments, more memorable things that stick with athletes, that make you a remarkable coach, that not for nothing, like, why not be original?" - Rett Larson (1:13:10) "I don't have five favorite shoulder exercises. I have 50 favorite shoulder exercises. I believe in throwing a bunch of different challenges at the shoulder and making that shoulder adaptable and good at all of them." - Rett Larson About Rett Larson Rett Larson is the strength and performance coach for the German Women’s National Volleyball Team, where he brings his trademark "No Zombies" philosophy—emphasizing purposeful movement, emotional engagement, and dynamic energy to every training session. Before joining Team Germany, Rett spent seven years in China, first as Project Manager for EXOS-China, supporting Olympic teams preparing for the 2012 London Games. He then joined the Chinese National Women’s Volleyball Team, helping guide them to victory at the 2015 World Cup and a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He later served as strength coach for the Netherlands Women’s National Team, contributing to multiple podium finishes. Prior to his international coaching career, Rett spent a decade with Velocity Sports Performance, eventually becoming Director of Coaching at their U.S. headquarters. Known globally for his innovative, rhythm-based warmups and blend of Eastern and Western methods, Rett is also a sought-after speaker and consultant for high-performance teams worldwide.