SPARTA is an athletic training facility for high school, college and professional athletes who strive to maximize their sport performance while minimizing their risk of injury. Located in Menlo Park, the athletic programs are individualized incorporating a foundation of science, technology, training, nutrition and recovery programs.
Dr. Phil Wagner, owner of SPARTA, “I was always interested in training athletes. My career path has been based around that from the beginning.” The East Bay native received his medical degree from USC and in 2008 set up his training headquarters in Menlo Park because of the city’s location and abundance of high level athletes. Athletes who train at SPARTA are first tested on a force plate using the company’s proprietary software. The test results spotlight how each individual athlete moves and what his/her strengths and weaknesses are in relation to force and time output. Dr. Wagner says the process is similar to taking a fingerprint but of the total athlete. An athletes training program is then developed based on that fingerprint.
SZ:There are many performance training facilities in the bay area, Sparta has developed it’s reputation around being a science driven training facility. Explain how this method is a safer, healthier method of training for athletes.
PW: We focus athletic performance and injury prevention into its simplest need; force production. How much force you can put in the ground determines how high you jump, your sprinting speed, your ability to change direction, and how hard you can hit or throw a ball. The second major aspect of force production is the way you produce force, whether it very quickly or smoothly over a longer amount of time, as this balance determines your injury risk. The final aspect we analyze is the consistency of force production. If your nervous system is healthy and trained, you can repeat the same intensity over and over again.
We use a force plate buried in the ground to measure these qualities, coupled with our customized software to measure the needed values. After completion, we compare the athlete to our database of training over a hundred professional athletes and Olympic medalists of all sports and both genders.
SZ: What are the psychological benefits for the athlete using this method?
PW: There is a psychological component in everything we do, whether it is the tone of coaching feedback or the scientific approach. In the end, the goal is the same, to get results. So psychologically, the athlete feels more confident when they see the drastically improved results every day. If they happen to not improve as much, then they must learn to cope with disappointment and focus on aspects they can control.
SZ: What experiences from your own athletic play or training created your drive to seek out a scientifically organized method of improving athletic performance?
PW: I had countless injuries on the field; seven concussions, several surgeries on shoulders, and dozens of muscle strains and broken bones. While some could not be prevented, most of the setbacks were from pursuing training that was only supporting my innate imbalances. For example, I was naturally strong, so lifting heavier weights was fun, but did not necessarily increase my athleticism or improve resilience to injury. This training made me more explosive but also more prone to muscle strains
SZ: In an article you wrote for The Performance Lab, “Too Much Playing Harms Youngsters,” you mention that, “training the same muscles year round is believed to be the main cause of the rise in overuse injuries in young athletes.” What is Sparta’s system for recognizing overtraining outside of Sparta? Do you have a conversation with the athlete and parent when this occurs? What is a typical recommendation for the athlete when this occurs?
PW: Every athlete over trains, it just comes down to how much. Over trains doesn’t necessarily mean working too much as it does over specialization. Baseball players playing their sport year round never experience jumping or agility, while soccer players never learn how to throw a ball. We provide a stimulus with other skills to prevent the overuse of certain movement patterns, while still trying to enhance the most important parts of their sport.
SZ: What are the most interesting parts of your job?
PW: Improving athletes’ lives, helping them to achieve their dreams and changing lifestyle habits (nutrition, sleeping, etc.) that will last long after their sporting career is over.
SZ: Do you have a favorite quote or story that has guided you on your professional path?
PW: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Aristotle
The most important thing we measure is consistency; how often you can produce force, reproduce a skill, and pursue positive regeneration habits (nutrition, sleep, etc.).
Phil thank you for taking time out of your extremely busy schedule to talk about SPARTA
and the training it offers to athletes.
To learn more about SPARTA Performance: www.spartascience.com
*Guests featured are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro.
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