WHO WE ARE
Danny Blake, MS, CSCS, C*ISSN
Danny is the owner and head coach at Dynamic Performance Systems, where he specializes in helping mountain sports athletes achieve peak performance. His coaching is centered on optimizing the athletic potential for a wide range of mountain disciplines, including ski mountaineering (skimo), alpine skiing, trail running, ultra-endurance sports, and other outdoor adventures. Danny has worked with multiple high achievers in the mountains including multiple professional trail runners and professional skiers in Alpine, Freeride, and Skimo. His client base also spans elite athletes in the NFL, PGA Tour, USA Gymnastics, and various NCAA Division I sports.
Danny’s approach to training is rooted in the collaboration between science and practical application, blending cutting-edge research with time-tested strategies to provide customized, user-friendly solutions for mountain athletes. His goal is to offer world-class high-performance support that empowers athletes to push their limits and succeed in demanding mountain environments.
A former NCAA Division I skier, Danny holds a Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Sport Physiology, with a minor in Biology, from Plymouth State University. He then earned a Master of Science in Kinesiology from California State University, Fullerton, where he led research in the Biochemistry and Molecular Exercise Physiology Laboratory, focusing on human muscle structure and function. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), a Certified Sports Nutritionist (C*ISSN), and an avid outdoor athlete, regularly competing in ultra-marathons and mountain races.
In his free time, Danny enjoys reading, learning new skills, and listening to hip-hop music. Above all, he is passionate about exploring the mountains, challenging his limits, and helping others achieve the same.
First Principles Framework
Strength
Power = Force x Velocity
A powerful physical system reduces injury risk, improves physical health, and optimizes athletic performance.
CONDITIONING
Conditioning = Vo2max x Critical Power x Economy
A polarized approach developing specific metabolic qualities based on the time, energetic demands and velocities of sport.
NUTRITION
Applied and periodized sports nutrition strategies focused on energy utility, protein balance and micronutrient availability through a human centric lens.
LIFESTYLE
Sleep, stress management and mindset are the foundational elements of healthy being.
Mental preparation
Finding flow and well being.
*Currently using 3rd party services.
How We Think
Dynamic Performance Systems is inspired by dynamical systems theory and its implications for sport performance and the human body.
Human Adaptation and Optimization are a dynamic interface between you, the objective and your environment. We deliberately manipulate specific training and lifestyle variables with the intention of developing a robust physical system.
Our model for optimal performance leverages sound physical, nutrition and mental solutions / strategies developed in anticipation for the big day.
Evidence Based. Logically Applied. Pure Experience.
Model was adapted from Newell’s Constraints on the Development of Coordination, 1986 and Davids et al., Sports Med, 2003
Visual spectrum displaying the Constraints Led Approach process of skill acquisition.
A CONSTRAINTS LED APPROACH
The coach’s goal is to move an athlete from their current state towards their goal by manipulating constraints (variables) to elicit a deliberate outcome (performance).
Attractor states (...behavior, patterns, movement, physical attributes) are deliberately weakened to elicit an unstable / unpredictable spontaneous emergence of an adaptation in the direction towards the intended outcome.
As the intended state becomes more stable, outcome variability is reduced.
Once established, the new state is deliberately exposed to increasing variability to amplify it’s robust nature
Three Pillars
DATA: Evidence based practice rooted in objective measurable to guide decisions.
LOGIC: Application of specific principles and methods in a contextually appropriate manner.
EXPERIENCE: An iterative approach across the is - ought gap.
