Matt Jordan: What Every Athlete Gets Wrong About Power

Apr 2, 2026

Matt Jordan, a sports scientist and strength coach who studies biomechanics, eccentric muscle function, and ACL prevention, joins to unpack power and injury risk. They explore braking force, eccentric overload training, jump-based injury profiles, precision load management with IMUs, and how gait and neural patterns predict overload. Short, surprising takes on training, rehab, and longevity.

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ADVICE

Use Environment To Rewire Fearful Movement

Use environmental 'backdoor' exposures like pool work to re-educate movement patterns below conscious fear.
Jordan used aquatic environments to nudge athletes into ranges they feared, then progressed them back to land-based function.

ANECDOTE

Gabe's Three Year Comeback To NHL Playoffs

Gabe, an NHL player, returned to play after a three-year, multi-disciplinary rebuild that used precision loading and manual therapy.
He re-entered competition, played playoffs, and continued competing after careful layered loading and reset phases.

ADVICE

Change Mindset First To Unlock Strength Gains

Start with athletes' psychology before physiology because attitudes toward heavy strength training shape strength development.
Jordan found many female athletes believe heavy lifting is inappropriate, so change mindset to unlock strength capacity in adolescence.

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Get precision-dosed nootropics at: https://www.Troscriptions.com/muscle What if everything you think you know about injury and recovery is wrong? Ben Pakulski sits down with world-class sports scientist Matt Jordan to unpack the real science behind power, injury risk, and staying athletic after 40. They cover eccentric training, why braking force is the most overlooked quality in human performance, and what an NHL player's three-year comeback taught them about precision load management. If you train hard and want to stay that way, this conversation will change how you think about your body. 5 Bullet Points:

Muscle power drops twice as fast as strength
Your jump pattern reveals hidden injury risk
Eccentric overload drove 30% power gains
Unilateral training stops nervous system compensation
Gait predicts overload before pain appears

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3. Work with me 1-on-1 If you're a top performing executive or entrepreneur who wants a fully customized comprehensive health protocol and support from a team of world-class specialists, click here to speak with a member of my team to review all of your goals and options: https://www.muscleintelligence.com/apply?utm_campaign=YT About Ben Ben Pakulski is the Chief Performance Officer to elite executives, successful entrepreneurs, and top athletes.With over 25 years of experience, he coaches high achievers to build the physical, psychological, and metabolic resilience required to lead at the highest level. As the creator of the Muscle Intelligence framework, Ben specializes in aligning biology and behavior to drive sustained peak performance. His mission is to redefine what's possible for people in their prime and push the boundaries of human potential. Guest Bio Matt Jordan is one of Canada's leading sports scientists and strength coaches, specializing in biomechanics, injury rehabilitation, and elite athletic performance. Based at the University of Calgary, his research focuses on eccentric muscle function, ACL injury prevention, and precision load management. He has worked with Olympic athletes, NHL players, and elite alpine ski racers, helping some of sport's most complex injury cases return to competition. A former mentee of Charles Poliquin, Matt brings rare scientific depth and genuine coaching mastery to every conversation. Time Stamps: 00:00 Intro 04:35 Imaging ACL Morphology 07:36 Rebuilding Movement Patterns 11:29 Precision Load Tracking 21:03 Mindset Shapes Physiology 28:55 EMG Jump Power Testing 39:11 Unloading and Braking 41:28 Unimodal vs Bimodal Curves 43:21 EMG and Pre Activation 45:13 Cueing New Jump Strategy 47:14 Injury Style Jump Profile 50:33 Eccentric Leg Press Machine 01:16:39 Tissue Quality and Recovery