511: Mike Guadango on First Principles of Building the Total Athlete

Today’s podcast guest is Mike Guadango. Mike is a performance coach and founder of Freak Strength, known for developing athletes from youth to the professional level across sports like baseball and football. A former All-American collegiate baseball player, Guadango blends strength, speed, and movement quality into a systems-based approach focused on long-term development, resilience, and high-level performance. In this episode, Mike breaks down his evolving approach to athletic development, emphasizing general preparation as the foundation for long-term performance. He discusses building capacity through high-volume med ball throws, tempo work, and progressive strength layers, alongside the role of isometrics and elastic training. Guadango also shares his perspective on fascia, intent, and movement quality, highlighting how simple, well-executed principles drive adaptation more than chasing trends or overly complex methods. Today’s episode is brought to you by Hammer Strength and Lila Exogen. Use the code “LILAJUSTFLY10” for 10% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to Lilateam.com Use code “justfly10” for 10% off the Vert Trainer View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Topics 0:00 – Welcome Back, Mike Guadango 4:39 – Modern Lifestyle Challenges 10:40 – The Power of Fasting 20:56 – Sleep and Productivity 28:58 – Training Mindset and Mastery 36:33 – Intent vs. Result 42:41 – The Role of Environment 51:04 – Creating a Training Environment 1:06:43 – Training Individuality 1:30:24 – Coaching Philosophy and Bias 1:36:26 – The Role of Fascia Mike Guadango Quotes "The nervous system doesn't care about the weight; it cares about the intent." "Environment is the invisible coach. It's the thing that's working when you're not talking." "You can have the best program in the world, but if the energy in the room is dead, the results are going to be dead too." "Most people coach how they were coached or how they were successful as athletes. And that's usually the worst thing you can do for the person in front of you." "Mastery is not about knowing more things. It’s about knowing the same things at a much deeper level and understanding how they all connect." "We have to stop looking at training as just sets and reps and start looking at it as a way to manipulate the environment to get the result we want." "If you can’t get the athlete to buy into the process, the science behind the program doesn't matter. You have to win the person before you can train the athlete." About Mike Guadango Mike Guadango is a performance coach and founder of Freak Strength, known for developing athletes from youth to the professional level, including competitors in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and Olympic sport. A former All-American collegiate baseball player, Guadango transitioned early into coaching, where he trained under respected figures such as Buddy Morris and James Smith. He has served as a Director of Sports Performance at a high-level training facility and brings a holistic approach shaped by experience in both strength and conditioning and manual therapy, including work as a licensed acupuncturist. Through Freak Strength, Guadango continues to coach, consult, and educate, blending performance training with a systems-based view of long-term athlete development.