Mike and Jade Esmeralda | Defying Gravity through Strength and Conditioning in the Performing Arts

Night after night, Cirque du Soleil’s performing arts athletes defy gravity and expectations — executing elite-level feats across 480 shows annually. Maintaining peak performance requires more than talent; it demands strategic preparation, adaptability, and trust. Channeling backgrounds in dance and martial arts, married coaching duo Mike and Jade Esmeralda bring a philosophy of continuous improvement to Cirque’s collectivistic infrastructure. Preparing performers with diverse training experiences, they connect on an artistic level to balance readiness with creative expression. From applying RAMP (Raise, Activate, Mobilize, Potentiate) warm-ups for mitigating injury risk to tactical load carriage insights for LED costumes, the Esmeraldas leverage parallels across high-performance environments. Strategies for Cirque’s “valuable human artistic assets” must enhance durability, manage load, and support longevity in an unpredictable, physically — and psychologically — demanding profession. Jade’s evidence-based journalism also combats social media misinformation. Discover how they adapt daily, build buy-in across cultures, and redefine training for a one-of-a-kind population.

Connect with Mike Instagram: @m.b.esmeralda, and LinkedIn: @michaelesmeralda, and Jade on Instagram: @jadesmeralda_ | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs

Discover more stage-specific strategies in the NSCA Performing Arts Special Interest Group on LinkedIn.

See some of these impressive feats mentioned in this episode performed by Cirque du Soleil athletes on Instagram at @cirquedusoleil and @cirquedusoleilcasting.

“As far as needs analysis, I always watch the shows, and I time it. Like everything else, like evidence-based practice, it all started with just really learning on what that is. Before it became research. It was all practice-based evidence. Then it became evidence-based practice. So that's kind of what we're doing right now, whether it's, like, energy systems, how long are they hanging on that strap, what positions are they going into, what are the injury points that I'm looking at, and how can I make sure that they become very durable? Mind you, they are performing 10 times a week, two sequence shows per day with an hour break in between, and it all adds up to 480 shows a year.” 9:55

“I think no matter what show it is, it really encourages you to get creative and get experimental with what you're doing because for me, the biggest correlation that I saw was with tactical populations and how they have to wear different types of equipment, whether it's strapped in a harness in the front or the back. And then suddenly, I'm diving into research to learn about different interventions and strategies that can help tactical populations and just seeing a correlation between traditional, tactical, maybe special operations who have to wear certain equipment, and these dancers that may be totally different in terms of the surface, but they might have more similarities than you might think.” 23:27

[00:00:02.60] Welcome to The NSCA Coaching Podcast, season 8, episode 20.
[00:00:08.12] As far as needs analysis, I always watch the shows, and I time it. Like everything else, like, evidence based practice, it all started with just really learning on what that is. Before it became research, it was all practice-based evidence. Then it became evidence-based practice.
[00:00:27.00] So that's kind of what we're doing right now, whether it's like energy systems-- how long are they hanging on that strap? What positions are they going into. What are the injury points that I'm looking at. And how can I make sure that they become very durable? Mind you, they are performing 10 times a week, two sequence shows per day with an hour break in between, and it all adds up to 480 shows a year.
[00:00:56.03] This is the NSCA's Coaching podcast, where we talk to strength and conditioning coaches about what you really need to know, but probably didn't learn in school. There's strength and conditioning, and then there's everything else.
[00:01:06.68] This is The NSCA Coaching Podcast. I'm Eric McMahon, the NSCA coaching and sports science program manager. Today, we're joined by a husband and wife team. They work for Cirque Du Soleil in Las Vegas, Mike and Jade. Esmeralda. Welcome, guys.
[00:01:21.41] Thank you for having us, Eric.
[00:01:23.01] Thank you so much. So excited to be here.
[00:01:25.20] Yeah, I run into you at a lot of NSCA events, national conference in Vegas, right down the road from you guys, Some of the coaches conferences. You guys are always there.
[00:01:38.75] I have to be honest. I love the energy you bring to the profession. And when I found out you worked for Cirque Du Soleil, I thought it was just about the coolest thing ever, that we have. CSCS-certified strength coaches working in that environment.
[00:01:51.86] Want to get to know you guys. It's also really cool. You're a married couple in the field of strength and conditioning.
[00:01:57.66] We don't hear that all the time. So let's get into your story a little bit. Mike, why don't you start us off? Tell us about your background, how you discovered strength and conditioning, and what led you to Cirque Du Soleil.
[00:02:10.30] Yeah, that's a really good question that I need to dig into the annals of my brain. But it all started-- I mean, it all was the transition from being an artist and getting injured and actually going into physical therapy first. One of my first mentors, his name was Anthony Lannarino. He was at [INAUDIBLE] form. He currently works for the Washington Wizards.
[00:02:33.32] He was also a strength and conditioning coach, CSCS-certified. And I had no idea about the profession. All I know, I was just an injured B-boy just getting treatment and did not believe in strength and conditioning at the time.
[00:02:50.02] As I continued with my intervention with physical therapy and also being introduced to evidence-based practice and just also practice-based evidence stuff in the clinic to find out how they can get me returning back to dancing, that's when I was like, oh wow, I've been throwing away everything that I used to do as a high school athlete. I was a track and field athlete for high school for four years, And I was actually really in belief of strength and conditioning because of my aspirations to one day be an Olympian.
[00:03:25.88] Of course, I'm a failed athlete, but that was just, like, young man aspirations of being like either Michael Johnson or Allyson Felix. But for me, it was always dancing ever since I was a kid. That never got away. That was part of my culture.
[00:03:43.37] But as I saw, long story short, as I saw performance increase in my performance background as far as breaking, house dance, locking, popping, and no-- I mean, mitigating the injuries, never going to take away injury, but mitigating the injuries as much as I can possible-- I was really interested. I started to ask questions, and I was starting to be led in the right direction, going to strength and conditioning internships in the collegiate setting at University of Maryland, understanding what that culture is like because it's totally different from the culture that we were brought up with, being very archaic.
[00:04:23.43] So, I mean, long story short, we went through the whole thing, internships, going to GW right after, having a graduate teaching assistantship. And from there, I worked with the UFC Performance Institute for a little bit, and that's when I really started to thrive and really learn even more. I think it's so funny.
[00:04:45.04] You start to think that a lot until you meet the people that are the best in the field, and I'm like, OK, well, I'll sit back and learn even more. And till this day, I'm now working for Cirque Du Soleil, and I'm always working to learn every single day. It's a school day, every day for me.
[00:05:01.24] That's awesome. Jade, you are part time with Cirque du Soleil, and you're also a fitness journalist. You do some writing.
[00:05:09.05] I think that's really cool. You wear a lot of hats in the profession. Tell us about your path.
[00:05:14.96] Yeah, absolutely. That's exactly right. Yeah, I'm a full time health and fitness staff writer.
[00:05:21.74] We cover a lot of different verticals from women's sports, which, as you know, is having incredible momentum from the WNBA, to New developments with professional lacrosse in the works for next year. You've got unrivaled basketball. You've got a lot of things developing.
[00:05:39.02] But I think what really excites me about my role is there's a lot of misinformation, as we know, in our society and with the younger generation getting a lot of health and fitness-related information through TikTok. So we try our best to infuse evidence-based journalism and really try to debunk some myths out there that are still pervasive and floating around, whether it's women shouldn't strength train because they're going to get bulky or things like this.
[00:06:08.43] So we really try to push forward high standard with evidence-based journalism. But yeah, my background is very similar to Mike's. I have a background with dance and martial arts. Those are two of my very, very, very dear to my heart passions.
[00:06:25.26] And I originally wanted to go towards becoming a physical therapist. And as I was going down that road with prerequisites and getting more observation hours and internships, I started to see this gap and this bridge between finishing up the rehab process and getting back into performance. And I was really excited about that space, and that's what eventually led me to being more interested and curious about strength and conditioning and how we can bring a mixture of things we've experienced in our background in dance and martial arts, and how to help other dancers, other martial artists, or just people of all backgrounds.
[00:07:07.13] Jade, you mentioned your background-- dancing, martial arts. You both have that. And that's, I'd say, in the strength and conditioning. field, that's an untraditional background to enter strength and conditioning from. When you're working with Cirque du Soleil type athletes or artistic sport type athletes, what are some of the key areas? Or when you say, in strength and conditioning terms, a needs analysis, what are the areas to pay attention to just to inform coaches that don't come from this background?
[00:07:41.18] Absolutely. It's a great question because it's so diverse when it comes to these type of performers. I'll let Mike speak as well, but I mean, when I just look at it in a general way, there's some very diverse acts. Like, for me, I've never hung by my hair before. That's an artist that I work with and that's very out of the box.
[00:08:01.85] It's very nontraditional. But when you take a step back and you start to get to know them, you start to connect to them, and you start to hear where they're coming from and what their experiences are and learning, oh, she actually does have a dance background too, and then you're able to connect and find those commonalities. And sometimes it's not even as maybe complicated or as big as we make it in our mind.
[00:08:25.16] Sometimes, you can find ways to help an artist with how to improve their warm up routine, teaching them what is a ramp warm up. That's just like a concept in itself. Or helping them with mobility. Introducing functional range conditioning, reminding them it's OK to take time for recovery and not be as 150% all the time, every single time there training in the gym-- so I'll let Mike speak, But that's one thing that sticks out to me, for sure.
[00:08:58.30] Yeah, so to piggyback on what Jade said, that all of that happens, I'll talk about a background or acting discipline that I don't do, that I'm a dancer, but I'm working with this-- like, an aerialist, for example, an acro aerialist. So currently, I'm working with a dual straps main act for Cirque Du Soleil, Ka. And I was very nervous when I was doing the whole analysis and to find out what do they need.
[00:09:34.45] But it all starts with just connecting first. It's very psychological. There's generations and generations and cultures that could possibly be very dogmatic, and they don't even know why they're doing it, but they're doing it.
[00:09:47.74] But I'm coming from the outside in, learning about them, and they're giving me information. As far as needs analysis, I always watch the shows, and I time it. Like everything else, like evidence-based practice, it all started with just really learning on what that is. Before it became research.
[00:10:09.75] It was all practice-based evidence. Then it became evidence-based practice. So that's kind of what we're doing right now, whether it's, like, energy systems, how long are they hanging on that strap, what positions are they going into, what are the injury points that I'm looking at, and how can I make sure that they become very durable? Mind you, they are performing 10 times a week, two sequence shows per day with an hour break in between, and it all adds up to 480 shows a year.
[00:10:40.50] And I'm not an aerialist, but I have communication. I connect with the emotional backgrounds and treating them like a human. And when I get that, because Cirque Du Soleil is very international, they come from many different methodologies and different backgrounds and maybe possibly from different approaches from different strength and conditioning coaches in the past. And then from there, I just come in and I make sure that they know that they're being protected and I'm under their care, and I treat them like a valuable human artistic asset. That's one thing.
[00:11:14.35] Now I got them. And then I start to provide the evidence-based practice, everything that we learned from the NSCA, from the central strength and conditioning book. Everything is very simple and basic.
[00:11:26.17] That's all they need. They do a lot of things that are very chronic in movement. So that's one way for me to really manage that training load.
[00:11:36.94] And also I have a team of people that I work with. We don't have the best resources, but we have what we got. And having that collectivistic infrastructure of having PMED, like, performance medicine and coaching come together and also the artist, it's like the things that I learned from Duncan, having the wheels and the cog and just going together and marrying them together.
[00:12:01.37] And if one of those things are broken, well, the whole system is broken. So the artist is part of that. It's an athlete-centered approach, and we're just trying to really look at what they feel as what is valuable through the optics and through their lens because sometimes, yeah, it's not always perfect.
[00:12:21.27] In the beginning, I can tell you like it was never perfect. But now, two years and a half, it's really shaped my mentality to get to where I need to be to help any of these guys, whether it's an aerialist, a climber artist at Ka, a dancer with different backgrounds, a Russian swing artist, a beggar boy that's, like, hanging on the-- rotating on the bungee, and another person on the high bar rotating bungee. It's so diverse, but it all comes down to communication and really looking at that as the foundation and to make sure that shapes, like, the assessment and making sure that we're providing science-based practice to make sure that they're well-protected.
[00:13:07.67] You mentioned Duncan French, the vice president of performance at UFC, that you worked with, and he's one of our board members at the NSCA and that interdisciplinary performance concept he highlights in the essentials of sports science textbook through the NSCA. But what it sounds like is you're bringing strength and conditioning, really, on the most basic level to a culture of sport that traditionally hasn't adopted strength and conditioning.
[00:13:36.18] And I mean, talk about a really cool environment to grow what we love, strength and conditioning, and bring it to another area. And it just really expanded. And I love hearing the language that you're using to describe the sport.
[00:13:54.36] And what I would say is, if you've never seen a Cirque du Soleil show, go see it because it is-- it's really impressive what these athletes do and what they put their bodies through. And then if we as coaches go back and compare that to what we're having our athletes do or what they're doing in maybe the more traditional field sports that we work with every day, it can really expand our mind a ton. So I think that's a really cool-- I just think this is such a cool topic.
[00:14:26.67] And Mike, if you would, take us through, what does a typical day look like for you at Cirque Du Soleil? I know the shows are at night. What kind of leads up to that?
[00:14:36.17] Yeah, so a lot of the guys-- I can speak on MJ here, but every show is different. I worked at three different shows. One of them is Michael Jackson One, which is the show that you've watched. Cirque Du Soleil, Ka, MGM-- yes, that's another one.
[00:14:54.55] And Beatles Love just closed just recently. Every show has their own culture. Every show has their own way of doing things.
[00:15:03.55] They like to say that as artists, I'm working with different personalities. I have to wear different hats with different individuals. But a lot of the things that I am giving these guys is to make sure that they can get through the day. I'm understanding their training schedules.
[00:15:22.94] They have training schedules. They have to show up for trainings at specific time periods. And sometimes that's not every day. It's not the same every single day.
[00:15:32.99] It all depends on what the artistic director or the artistic advisor sees the night before and whatever he or she feels that, oh, well, we need to fix this. So OK, everyone, you have to come in at this time. Well, I always have to pivot, flex and adapt my programming, even though I've already made something that was made for maybe a warrior, which is the industry dancers.
[00:15:55.83] I made something for them. But the artistic director or advisor said, oh, I see something and beat it, which is the first act with the rotating bungee or just the dancers and, well, we got to fix this number because it didn't look clean. And then they're going to start drilling it and drilling it. And I'm over there waiting in the training room like, well, they're supposed to start, and they're supposed to do this.
[00:16:16.18] So now what I have to do is have to pull the things that may be the same as what they do. Like maybe, for example, they're dropping into a squat. Well, we probably might have to take away a lot of the lower extremity exercises today and focus on mobility on that aspect. And they're going to communicate with me because when they come in, I'm already talking. I already know what they're going to say.
[00:16:38.14] They're going to say, Mike, you know what happened. It's really tiring. I'm really tired, and like, to be honest, I don't want to be here, and they're very transparent. But I'm going to do it because they want to keep their job. It's mandatory for Michael Jackson One, for them to do it.
[00:16:54.87] And I don't do them any harm. But that's what I pretty much do. They go through their trainings.
[00:17:02.98] They work with me for about 30 minutes. It's very short. We utilize, like, a lot of the methodologies that is very similar to the philosophies of Dr. Ian Jeffries for the RAMP protocol.
[00:17:16.38] It's very minimal, minimal effective dose. Once they do that, it cycles with different teams or just different accent disciplines that come in. And then right before a show, two different separate groups actually have to do warm-ups. This is something that we started to notice with musculoskeletal injuries through PMED data or performance medicine data that just due to the culture of dancers and including myself and Jade, like, we never did a ramp warm up.
[00:17:46.83] Like, we just stretched, and we went, and we went 100% It was very good for us to see that. And like, I was like, oh, wait, I remember doing that, you know? But I'm not 21 anymore.
[00:18:00.35] So a lot of the young cast at MJ, they're a bit younger. So they're able to just kind of not notice those injuries. But over time, they get musculoskeletal injuries due to an improper warm up, and they're not ramping up.
[00:18:14.91] And their first act is the hardest act in the whole show. But as we started to implement our ramp protocol right before shows like maybe 15 minutes for the dancers-- it's like 20 minutes before a show for the acrobats. It's about maybe 40 minutes before a show, but they do their own thing, just giving them the autonomy to do what they feel they need. Injuries went down, and it was really good.
[00:18:44.85] We had an injury burden, and we looked at it like, hey, what did we change? So it's like a mathematical equation that was very complex. And we went back to look at our problem solving. I'm like, oh, wow, this helped.
[00:18:56.40] And we'll just continue to keep on growing. Maybe it's just like something very small like a warm up. So a lot of the things that they're doing as far as the strength and conditioning intervention is very, very basic because they like to train.
[00:19:11.30] I'm not sure. You probably seen it. If you've seen a B-boy or B-girl or breaker train, they just keep on going. And I was like, OK, well they're doing-- they're pushing a lot. There's a lot of chronic overuse, and they will go into overuse injuries.
[00:19:26.28] So if they're doing a lot of pushing, well, I'm not going to be doing a lot of pushing my program. Even if it's on that day of, I'm going to say, take that off. We're going to put something else.
[00:19:35.67] Let's do the opposite. Maybe an antagonist muscle, that becomes an agonist. And that's when it becomes interesting when you see these guys just thrive on the stage after that. I was like, they forget, like, when was the last time they were injured.
[00:19:50.90] And it starts to translate into durability, which is really, really amazing. And I know it was a long winded answer, but I'm just so passionate to talk about that's just pretty much my everyday. And it's different for every show. Every show has their different approaches, and the way they talk to me, like I said, have to wear different hats and just adapt every single day.
[00:20:14.35] Yeah, and you mentioned you also watch the shows and analyze the shows. You were timing different segments and things to see what the needs are. So you're kind of creating that feedback loop for yourself so that you can constantly make adjustments in the programming and, obviously, being flexible with other demands the athletes have.
[00:20:38.18] So, I mean, it sounds like a typical strength and conditioning coach day leading right up to the game. One thing that's really interesting with the Cirque Du Soleil shows, you mentioned it, is the back to back shows every single night. Having sat through one show, I think I went to the early show, and then I remember walking out of there and thinking of, OK, what are these performers doing right now?
[00:21:02.36] Because they're on stage in 45 minutes or whatever it is for that first act, and you think about just the endurance, and they want to deliver just as great a show in that second show as they do the first. So it's really interesting to think about just all the ways that strength and conditioning coaches, we can pour into these types of athletes. Now, Jade, you guys work together. You guys have your own experiences and interests in strength and conditioning. Can you share just about the partnership and balance you guys have, and how do you make this all work?
[00:21:43.26] Well, that's a great question. I think we're always working. It's a continual work in progress.
[00:21:48.37] But I think just being supportive of one another and Mike's my rock. We're always trying to lift each other up. And when we get too bogged down in day to day and slowly veering towards being too much of a workaholics we try to take a step back and get out in nature, take our puppy, our Belgian Malinois, out in nature and go to the mountains. Or just disconnect I think is really important.
[00:22:16.09] I think we get really caught up in grinding, we have a really high standard for ourselves and professionalism and with work ethic, and we're very passionate about what we do. So it's very easy to be up until 4:00 AM grinding away on the computer but also really reassessing and taking a look and reflecting and being like oh, wait, this is a lot. Let's take some time to focus on being in nature and unplug for a little while.
[00:22:43.81] So I think that's one thing that helps with everything. But, oh, one thing that did come to mind when you were speaking earlier-- I have to throw this out there. When I was working at one of the Cirque affiliate shows, America's Got Talent Live at the Luxor, some of the artists I work with did not have any strength and conditioning experience, and they were primarily dancers.
[00:23:08.41] But their costumes were these led suits. So they had these LED lights, and they were weighted so they could be anywhere from 8 to 12 pounds, depending on the pants and the jacket or a combination of the two. So one thing that was really-- that I want to just bring up as an overall theme,
[00:23:27.49] I think no matter what show it is, it really encourages you to get creative and get experimental with what you're doing because for me, the biggest correlation that I saw was with tactical populations and how they have to wear different types of equipment, whether it's strapped in a harness in the front or the back. And then suddenly, I'm diving into research to learn about different interventions and strategies that can help tactical populations and just seeing a correlation between traditional, tactical, maybe special operations who have to wear certain equipment, and these dancers that may be totally different in terms of the surface, but they might have more similarities than you might think.
[00:24:12.50] I mean, that's a really great point about the equipment. And I remember Mike talking about some of the bungees and all these different things that, I mean, we don't typically use in the weight room too often. So these are unique environments to consider. And there's unique demands. So it requires us to be really open minded to how we do our jobs.
[00:24:36.41] Mike, most strength and conditioning coaches out there and our listeners are pursuing this field as an army of one. They're getting their CSCS. They're getting their education. They're looking for where they're going to land in the profession.
[00:24:54.74] You guys are doing it as a team, as a married couple. What's that been like? How do you guys pursue strength and conditioning and grow in the field together?
[00:25:06.56] Yeah, it's exciting for me personally because I get to ask Jade about things that I don't know about and vice versa. Like, for example, I'll give you a good example. I'm working with a lot of female athletes or artists that are postnatal, or that's-- I mean, I'm never going to get pregnant.
[00:25:30.90] I mean, I'm not-- like, I'm a male, and I don't know how it is as far as female. I mean, I understand, but I'm never going to feel it. I'm never going to really get to that point.
[00:25:42.63] So of course, I go and ask the subject matter expert, which is Jade, right? I mean, whether it's talking about menstrual cycles or anything in that aspect, how does it feel? Like, I mean, I know it's being researched right now as far as relative energy deficient or-- yeah, REDS of sport.
[00:26:06.14] And how does that really correlate to me? How can I deliver that information? Well, that's why we have each other.
[00:26:14.07] And sometimes, like, we get into our profession, like, so passionately. It's not bad at all. We're very excited. But we tend to forget, like, what we used to do.
[00:26:31.00] We used to dance every single day. We used to go to martial arts training every single day. Of course, we relocated from our old dance crew back in the East Coast. In Washington, DC.
[00:26:44.77] Our martial arts group is also there. So when we're moving here, it's a different environment. So for us we have to readjust whether that's training together.
[00:26:56.21] But of course, like, we're also very extroverted, and we like to train in a group. So we try to figure those things out. So some of the artists-- like, we don't ask, but they do invite-- like, we go out to their parties.
[00:27:09.46] Like, they have public parties that we go to, and we dance. I mean, that's just part of our culture as artists. That's a separate entity in itself as far as different from strength and conditioning, but still related.
[00:27:23.89] So when we go out, that's when we get to feel ours. That's when we get our natural therapy to dance in the circle or to really exchange with these artists on an artistic level. And we thrive on that.
[00:27:36.85] And for us, we talk about it like, OK, hey, let's try to create a schedule. So-- because we love our job so much. Let's kind of pull back a little bit. If it's a day off day, let's put that computer down even though, like, mind you, I work with 150 plus artists. And it's hard for me to just take a break.
[00:28:02.09] Like, if I take a break on my day off, I'm going to be behind. That's just the truth of the matter. But the thing is, like, I've tried it one time, it was very scary, but it was the best thing I've ever did.
[00:28:14.87] Like, when Jade talks about we're walking our dog in the mountains or we're going paddleboarding, we're doing things like that regular humans should do, be out in sunlight, it's great. And then we get to have minor, small, minimal conversations about strength and conditioning even though, like, I want to ask her more stuff or she wants to ask me more stuff. But we're learning those boundaries.
[00:28:38.47] It's a work in progress. We're just-- that's another part of the learning situation because we're both so into it. And we went through the GA shit together too.
[00:28:51.97] Like, we were teaching these kids at GW. Like, we were teaching, and we were also talking about it too because that was our job to get these labs together at GW. But it's no different.
[00:29:04.30] I think for us, we thrive. We thrive off of each other a lot as far as the learning process and also just being a husband and wife and just doing normal people stuff and just looking for what makes us happy. Yeah.
[00:29:22.47] I like that. Maybe that's the title of the episode-- "Doing Normal People Stuff."
[00:29:26.56] Yeah. I love it.
[00:29:28.30] Yes, that's a challenge for a lot of coaches. And I do think there's-- a feeling of uncertainty in our profession at times of I'm going to work this hard, But is the field going to be there for me to give me a job where I can support myself or support my family? Jade, how do you navigate some of these challenges, or what are your thoughts on that just as coaches pursue the field?
[00:29:54.96] Well, that's super huge. I think it's tough. It's not easy. You have to navigate uncertainty just taking it day by day and step by step.
[00:30:06.85] As cliche as that might sound, I think I draw a lot from what I learned from martial arts, the philosophy of getting better every day, like, even if it's 1% better every day and just really tapping in and focusing on what you can control, controlling the controllables. There's so much, so many variables, and so many things that is out of our control, and it can stress us out and drive us crazy if we try to pinpoint and obsess about the small things that we can't.
[00:30:41.88] But the field can be tough, but I think the NSCA in particular, does a lot of work to help young coaches. When we were in school, we both attended George Washington University, did the Masters of Science in exercise science program, and we were working as graduate assistants. And NCAA was huge, went to so many conferences.
[00:31:05.28] I tried to attend as much things we can virtually. They really do put forth a lot of opportunities for professional development and networking. And I think all of those experiences help drive professional growth.
[00:31:20.46] I mean, I wouldn't be able to find a path, I think, if it wasn't for all of those different things. And also, it can be scary when you're reaching out to people just to get insight or connect. Sometimes, people won't respond to you, or don't take it personally. Just keep putting one foot forward and, like, keep having that trust in that uncertainty that eventually, something will work out. And yeah, I think that's what I have on that.
[00:31:51.05] Yeah, I like that. Joining the NSCA to help you find your path, I think that comes through from both of your backgrounds as something we talk about a lot. When you hear the NSCA talk about community, that's what it is. But it's not just to get emails from the NSCA or to see social media posts. It's to hopefully inspire you as a practitioner, as a young coach, as a experienced coach, to find what's next in your journey.
[00:32:22.14] And one thing, Mike, I've heard you talk about evidence-based practice and also practice-based evidence. And you're getting to the point you're a more experienced professional now. How do you continue to grow in your knowledge now that you're starting to work past some of the basics of the profession?
[00:32:44.68] 100%. So I love continuing education, whether it's a conference and I get to sit-in and learn new methodologies. I try to do my best to keep in touch with my mentors. Of course, I can be better with that, but when I do talk to them, I continue to grow because they're on the next level because they have different resources from what I have.
[00:33:08.26] I have a lot of people that I aspire to, whether it's my first mentor, Anthony Iannarino,, or during our GA shift with Todd Miller, Dr. Todd Miller and Dr. Levers and Doug Lentz. I do my best to keep in contact with them and also my friends at the UFC, and I'm really grateful that I can call them my friends. And I aspire to being like that and try to bring that into Cirque Du Soleil.
[00:33:39.17] And of course, with Cirque Du Soleil, a lot of people are not always 100% trained as far as being in the training room. The training level may seem very high on the stage, but it's very simple. And yes, you're correct.
[00:33:54.17] We are going past that now. So we are finally utilizing force plates at this point, which is really good. I'm keeping it basic, making sure that we can keep the plates to make sure that it's valuable. As far as doing, like, a counter movement jump or isometric mid-thigh pull for the acrobats and giving them something that's really fast-- something also I learned, is giving them the profile for the DSI.
[00:34:23.09] It's something very simple like that, and they love that. It gives them that motivation to understand, what am I? Like, am I a force producer?
[00:34:31.58] Am I like a ballistic type of person? Am I a concurrent person? I like how Gavin Pratt at UFC, he likes to use the gazelle, and he likes to use the elephant, and he likes to use the tiger.
[00:34:45.43] They like that too. Of course, I'm still trying to figure out a different name for it. So I don't want to do copyright infringement of Gavin Pratt, but that's the best that I can do right now. That's why I'm shouting it out right now in the podcast, because that's where I got it from, and I always like to give credit where credit is due.
[00:35:04.78] And for me, just putting it into the data on Excel, we utilize Force Decks from Vault. So, giving the artist the graph and to give them an understanding of what happened within this strength and conditioning intervention within the past three or six months, and what positive outcomes did we have, or maybe negative outcomes, and giving them the education and like, OK, what were we working on? Why did peak power go down?
[00:35:36.91] Why did concentric peak force go down? What does that mean? It's those type of conversations that help these artists thrive, and I'm slowly introducing it. And also like I have my team members that I work with, whether it's within strength and conditioning or within performance medicine, I try to get their thoughts because they come from the therapy world and, like-- and it's still valuable information for me.
[00:36:01.90] And once we start to collaborate in that way, then the company will start to grow. And then-- because with Cirque Du Soleil, we have competition as far as, like, other entertainment groups, right. And Cirque Du Soleil, ever since I first watched the 2009 Alegria show in Hawaii, when I didn't know what the heck was the circus and I watched it, I was like, that's a high standard.
[00:36:29.90] And they always have the highest standard possible on the stage. So for me, I come in with the highest standard but also to a boundary to make sure at it's not going over their head or they're going to have mistrust because as performance professionals, we like to share data. And I love data because it's very objective.
[00:36:50.01] We get to find out, like, how the heck did we solve that problem? And that's something just-- the timing was so right for me to learn that as a foundation from my first mentor in the physical therapy realm. Like, how did you get there?
[00:37:05.70] Like, you can't just, like, throw a dart behind your head and hope that you hit the bullseye. You probably have a better chance of, like, hitting the bull's eye by looking at the dart board. So that's how I'm pretty much growing, and to this day, I'm always, always learning.
[00:37:24.80] Sometimes, I get a gold medalist that comes in, and they had a previous strength coach. So yeah, it can be nerve wracking. But that's my opportunity to ask questions.
[00:37:35.79] What did you do before? Like, what was your methodology in Belarus? What did you do in Russia?
[00:37:41.43] Yeah.
[00:37:42.44] And I start to learn about those. I was like, whoa, you guys are still doing very, very hardcore methodology, and that's what they believe in. So I have to pivot my aspect of like, OK, well, to a certain extent I want to make sure-- because it's different.
[00:37:59.10] You're not in Belarus no more. You're here in Cirque Du Soleil performing 10 shows a week. So I got to figure out, how I can give you the proper stimulus to make you psychologically ready for the show, because to them, it's all psychological.
[00:38:11.73] And if they really accept that, what I'm doing-- and of course, it's going to change over time-- now I got them. Now I got that trust. I built that trust.
[00:38:21.95] And there's more to it than in between the lines. But that's how I learn, and I start to correlate that to what we do here in the US and the NSCA and different coaches and what their methodology is. does that align?
[00:38:37.84] Going going to the NSCA conferences, for me, like, and hopefully, I can make it to the coaches conference, is just a breath of fresh air. And that's how I evolve. And hopefully one day. We get to the point at Cirque Du Soleil where we can truly innovate.
[00:38:53.90] But currently, right now, we have to follow technical priorities of my boss to make sure that these guys like as and as a team-- not only my boss, but as a team and as a company to make sure that these guys can make it onto the stage and they can thrive and we can just lessen that injury as much as we can because we can never take away injury. I mean, you've seen what they do. It's is just sometimes, it's so dark in there, and they just get concussed by running into a prop. So--
[00:39:23.83] Yeah.
[00:39:25.12] --it's-- you never know what you're going to get sometimes every single day. And I think that's the beauty of being in an environment that's unpredictable. That's why I say I'm always learning every single day, whether if I see, like, an emergency rescue during a show, I'm like, whoa, what is going on here?
[00:39:47.26] It's another learning lesson for me, and that's why I like staying in, staying and watching the shows even though it's late Because it gives me so much information that I can write about. It's like a diary and like, sometimes, I just forget because one day, maybe yesterday is going to be very different from the following day. I'm like, wow, that just changed really fast.
[00:40:08.56] For an artist, like, they were so healthy one day, for example, and then all of a sudden they just got injured the following day because of something that they didn't expect to happen. Like, maybe they didn't land on the bavette correctly after Russian swing. And I start to think about readiness, like, OK, how did you sleep?
[00:40:30.64] I know that's the lowest hanging fruit. That's something that I've learned from Matt Crawley. He loves talking about sleep.
[00:40:38.32] And these guys like to party. So I asked the question every single day. When they come into the training room, before they even bust out their program, I'm like, wait, hold on. Before you start that, how are you feeling today?
[00:40:51.62] And it's just a simple question. We don't have the best technology in Cirque Du Soleil. We don't have Oura rings to measure their heart rate variability or whoop strap. We do have readiness questionnaires. I'm going to utilize that as much as I can possible.
[00:41:05.60] We have readiness surveys on-- Train Heroic is the platform that we're using. And I get to look at that real time on the computer, but I just got to make sure that they do it because if I don't see it pop up, then I'm going to be, like, going in the training room, like right away to that specific individual like, hey, wait. Before you touch that weight or before you start your warm up, like, how do you feel? And that's when I adjust just to make sure that they're safe.
[00:41:34.71] Yeah, as a follow up to that, Jade, you get the opportunity as a journalist to really see the entire industry and bring strength and conditioning concepts to life and what you write. But also, as a writer, you have to be able to funnel information. And there's so much out there just listening to all the different areas. Mike considers when he's building programs. With Cirque Du Soleil athletes, how do you navigate just the immense amount of information that is in the field, and what advice do you have for coaches? Just as they're funneling this information from the research articles all the way to the Instagram and things that our athletes are bringing us?
[00:42:23.54] Well, that's such a huge question. I mean, I would-- it's tough. It's not easy. I mean, there's so much information out there, but being critical, taking a critical eye, and looking over your sources and what is actually being said, I think with writing, I'm ambitious.
[00:42:43.20] I would love to write about so many different things. But sometimes, I really have to narrow it down on specific themes. I mean, one thing-- and this might be really out of the box, but I'm really excited about writing an article this week about the training process for Cobra Kai. I got to interview some of the fight choreographer and stunt coordinator teams with helping design the action sequences but also learning about their training processes.
[00:43:13.82] How did they warm up the cast? Cool down? What helped them balance training load with filming and also practicing martial arts?
[00:43:24.00] They actually did implement as much as they possibly could traditional martial arts practice. It wasn't just for the camera. So, all that to say, as one example of just things that I'm passionate about, just finding commonalities in different spheres, whether it's filming for a show, or over the summer, we did a big focus on the Olympics, and I got to interview Coach Tracy Axel from Team USA surfing, and she helped give me so much insight about that type of preparation process that Team USA surfing is going through and how they prepare to get ready to compete in the Olympics in Tahiti.
[00:44:06.15] So, learning everything from how they delve through sports science data from [INAUDIBLE] or Aura but also to balance out how often they're surfing in the ocean and also their dryland training. So I think I try to find as much credible sources, as much professionals who are carrying NCAA certifications, masters of science backgrounds, just really trying to be critical about the sources that you're putting the information out there. We spoke about it earlier, but there's a lot of misinformation on TikTok and Instagram and social media in general.
[00:44:52.64] But I think it's taking that step of analyzing what you're hearing and critically examining it through a lens as opposed to just taking it in. And I think especially with the younger generation, with artists, they see things in these bit-sized clips that seem cool and flashy, but they could potentially be. damaging, or you could get yourself hurt if you try to do some of these things. So, just really trying to take a critical approach.
[00:45:25.36] There's some encouraging takeaways for coaches to keep an open mind. We thrive on evidence-based practices in this profession, but we're not always going to have the exact source or research that we need to inform every single thing in our day to day, and we have to keep our eyes open. We have to keep our ears open.
[00:45:46.31] We have to connect with other like minded individuals and people with different backgrounds, experiences, especially in some of these unique artistic performing arts sports. And it sounds like it's a really rewarding area of the field. Not a lot of coaches working in that area of the field right now, but I think after this episode, maybe there'll be a few more interested in it. So for anyone who wants to learn more, connect with you, what's the best way for them to do that?
[00:46:20.37] For me, my Instagram is private, but you still can connect with me on there. It's Mike.B.Esmeralda on Instagram, or you can connect with me on LinkedIn. You can can me there. I don't exactly know my link for that, but--
[00:46:38.61] All good. We'll look it up for you.
[00:46:40.69] Yeah, but you can-- you can find it. I'm pretty sure you can find it on there. But yeah, you can connect with me on there for sure.
[00:46:48.57] - how about you, Jade?
[00:46:49.72] - Oh, same. Yeah, Instagram is fine. JadeEsmeralda.-- It's J-A-D-E E-S-M-E-R-A-L-D-A with an underscore. I know that's a mouthful.
[00:46:58.93] But really, anytime, happy to chat. And yeah, thank you so much for the opportunity. I hold the NSCA in the utmost highest regard and respect. So this has been an amazing opportunity. I'm really grateful to share. I'm always learning every day and really inspired by all the content and work that you guys do.
[00:47:17.85] - Well, thank you so much and it's been a pleasure having you on learning about sports and strength and conditioning just in a completely different context than we often talk about it. Like I mentioned, if you haven't been to a Cirque Soleil show, definitely go check it out in Las Vegas. I will say we'll add this into the show notes as well.
[00:47:40.45] Cirque Du Soleil puts a lot of their content on Instagram, and they also have their call for talent. So there's a couple Instagram handles where you can see some of the training and shows and performance aspects that we were talking about today. And so we'll include that just to check it out. If you want to see these athletes in action and some of the topics that Mike and Jade were talking about today. But thank you for-- thank you both for being on today.
[00:48:14.33] We want to Thank all our listeners. We really hope you enjoyed this episode, and special Thanks to Sonax Exercise Equipment. We appreciate their support.
[00:48:22.52] Hey, this is Justin Levitt from the Los Angeles Rams. Honored to be the 2024 professional coach of the year for the National Strength Conditioning Association. It's been a great experience to be on the NSCA Coaching Podcast. Learn more about the NSCA at NSCA.com.
[00:48:44.75] This was the NCSA's Coaching Podcast. The National Strength and Conditioning Association was founded in 1978 by strength and conditioning coaches to share information, resources, and help advance the profession. Serving coaches for over 40 years, the NSCA is the trusted source for strength and conditioning professionals. Be sure to join us next time.

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