Ep. 13: A Conversation with Dr. Duncan French, Vice President UFC Performance Institute

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In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Spina sits down to speak with the Dr. Duncan French, Vice President of Performance at the UFC Performance Institute (UFCPI) in Las Vegas. Dr. French is globally recognized as a leading expert in high-performance sport and is responsible for directing sport-specific technical interfaces that maximize the impact of performance services for UFC rostered athletes. Prior to this role, he led Strength & Conditioning at the English Institute of Sport and was also the head S&C at Newcastle United Football Club in the Barclays English Premier League. He has also co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and seven book chapters.

Duncan holds a PhD from the University of Connecticut in Exercise Physiology with a focus on Neuroendocrinology. As such, the discussion focuses largely on the endocrine (hormonal) responses to resistance training and conditioning. Topics include the selection of appropriate training intensities, creating an anabolic environment in the athlete, the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA Axis), stress and its effect on hormonal output/metabolism, exercise selection, sport specificity, psychological factors that enhance or depress neuroendocrine output, progressive overload, training accommodation, the role of genetics in high level athletics vs. training effect, and more.

Dr. Spina and Dr. French also discuss the inner workings of the UFC Performance Institute which has become the world leader in Mixed Martial Arts research, training, and athlete care.