Velocity tracking with Jacob Tober

A 55-minute conversation with Eric on velocity tracking for athletic performance — where my interest in bar speed started, and how the method holds up on a real gym floor.

Show notes:

• What makes you interested in VBT
• Who should be using VBT (velocity tracking)
• How does ROM affect velocity
• Load–velocity profiling vs force–velocity curve
• Velocity zones

The range-of-motion discussion is worth the listen on its own. Two lifters moving the same load at the same velocity aren’t doing the same thing if one has 15 cm more bar travel, and most velocity conversations gloss over that entirely. We also unpack the difference between a load–velocity profile — built from your own lifts, specific to you and the exercise — and the force–velocity curve most coaches learned in a textbook, plus where velocity zones help and where they get applied too rigidly.

For the written deep-dives on the topics we cover, see the load–velocity profiling guide and the velocity zones guide.