Decoding Excellence

Adam Ringler is a Boulder, Colorado-based S&C coach who currently works with collegiate basketball programs and has built this podcast around a specific idea: you can reverse-engineer what makes excellent performers excellent by having honest conversations with them about their process. The show describes itself as a deconstruction of the architecture behind human excellence. With 84 episodes, it is a smaller catalog than some of the bigger names on this list, but the content is dense. Recent episodes include a look at how wearable technology and workload monitoring data gets misused in coaching settings, practical discussions on NordBord testing and creatine research, and reflections on coaching legacy and reverse dieting. Ringler also produces casual "Cardio Talk" segments recorded during ruck walks, which have a different, more reflective energy than the standard interview format. The show has a perfect 5.0 rating, though from a small review pool. He also runs a community called the Former Athlete Society and offers membership tiers for extended content. If you appreciate a more thoughtful, philosophical approach to S&C coaching rather than just exercise prescription, Ringler asks the kinds of questions that stick with you after the episode ends.