How to Increase Your Speed, Mobility & Longevity with Plyometrics & Sprinting | Stuart McMillan

Andrew Huberman

Mar 17, 2025

Episode description

My guest is Stuart McMillan, a renowned track and field coach who has trained dozens of Olympic medalists, professional athletes, and team coaches across a diverse range of sports. We discuss how to use plyometric work to improve mobility, strength, posture, and overall health.

We emphasize the enormous benefits of skipping—a form of plyometrics—for joint health, aerobic conditioning, and coordination, as well as its advantages for people of all ages and fitness levels. We also explore the expressive nature of human movement, highlighting how certain movements reveal and can evolve one’s unique personality and abilities.

Stu explains how resistance training, skipping, and striding can improve movement efficiency in all aspects of life. Anyone who exercises, as well as serious athletes, will benefit immensely from Stu McMillan’s knowledge of human mechanics and the practical tools he generously shares in this discussion.

Watch a track and sprinting warm-up with Stu McMillan: https://youtu.be/Aj5SONT3T2o

Read the full episode show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/TktUQjo

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*Stuart McMillan*
Altis: https://altis.world
Articles (Altis): https://altis.world/author/smcmillan
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-mcmillan-89094215

*Timestamps*
00:00:00 Stuart McMillan
00:02:27 Running, Sprinting, Event Distances
00:09:01 Sponsors: Our Place & Wealthfront
00:12:13 Natural Sprinters, Kids, Sports Specialization
00:17:00 Athletes, Identity, Race Selection
00:23:38 Walking to Sprinting, Gait Patterns, Tool: Flat-Foot Contact
00:30:35 Visual Focus, Body Position, Running, Lifting Weights
00:36:00 Tool: Skipping & Benefits
00:42:18 Sponsors: AG1 & Helix Sleep
00:45:01 Tools: Skipping, Beginners, Jogging Incorporation
00:49:50 Transition Points, Tool: Skipping, Maximum Amplitude
00:53:03 Concentric & Eccentric Phases, Running
00:55:32 Transitioning to Striding, Posture, Center of Mass
01:03:11 Older Adults, Eccentric Control, Tool: Skipping
01:08:00 Naming Importance & Public Health; Skipping, Plyometrics
01:12:18 Sponsor: Function
01:14:06 Cross-Body Coordination, Rotation, Gaits; Phones & Posture
01:22:27 Expression Through Movement, Playfulness, Confidence
01:28:53 Being Yourself, Expression, Essence & Movement
01:36:39 Connecting with Movement, Building Cues, Mood Words
01:45:05 Pressure & Peace; Exercise, Movement & Age
01:51:39 Music, Art, Rhythm, Coaching; Soccer, Greatest Players & Countries
02:00:25 White & Black Athletes, Genetics, Environment
02:08:27 Running Form, Tools: High Knees, Stiff Springs, Hip Extension
02:17:21 Skipping Rope, Aging; Protocols & Rigidity, Principles Alignment
02:22:12 Resistance Training to Improve Movement, Sprinting Kinetics, Individualization
02:32:29 Transferring Weight Room to Track, Staggered Stance, Stretching
02:36:52 Performance-Enhancement, Elite Athletes, Androgen, Reputation
02:46:45 Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT), Age; Pharmacology vs. Training
02:52:14 Single Physical Metric & Sprinting; Pressure & Peace
02:58:34 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

#hubermanlab #health #plyometrics #sprinting

Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Balance pressure and peace in elite sprinting for optimal performance

An elite 100-meter sprint can be conceptualized as 50 meters of 'pressure' during acceleration followed by 50 meters of 'peace' to maintain speed with fluidity.

#balance

#exercise

Understand sprint mechanics to improve running efficiency

Most people lack the physical capacity to truly sprint, which involves a 'two-mass system,' and are instead operating in a less efficient 'spring-mass' running gait.

#efficiency

#exercise

Let torso lead to enhance running posture

When running, allow your torso to dictate when your chin and eyes rise to avoid a hyperextended posture that hinders performance.

#posture

#running

Focus on 'flat foot' contact to improve running form

Instead of focusing on heel or toe striking, simply think about making 'flat foot' contact and your foot strike will naturally adjust to your speed.

#exercise

#running

Prioritize eccentric force training to elevate athletic performance

In almost every sport, eccentric (braking) force capacity is the key differentiator between elite and sub-elite athletes, not concentric (pushing) force.

#exercise

#training

Incorporate skipping for superior plyometric training

Skipping is a superior plyometric activity for adults because it mimics the demands of sprinting on tissue and coordination without the high risk of injury.

#balance

#exercise

Measure health and vitality through maximal sprint speed

The ability to safely express your personal maximal sprint speed may be the single best metric for overall health and vitality.

#exercise

#vitality

Incorporate run-specific isometrics to enhance running performance

Advanced athletes can improve running performance more effectively with run-specific isometric exercises in sprint-specific positions rather than by increasing their squat.