In this episode of the Power of Your Feet podcast, Dr. Jim Clough interviews Adam Visconti, a seasoned wrestler and coach, discussing the impact of Cluffy insoles on athletic performance, injury recovery, and the growth of wrestling, particularly among women. Adam shares his personal experiences with running, injuries, and how the insoles have significantly improved his stability and performance in wrestling. The conversation also highlights the increasing participation in wrestling and the importance of balance and strength in the sport.
00:00 Introduction to Wrestling and Coaching Background
02:13 The Impact of Cluffy Insoles on Performance
04:13 Injury Recovery and Prevention with Cluffy Insoles
07:01 Benefits of Cluffy Insoles in Wrestling
09:39 Recommendations for Wrestlers
12:23 Growth of Women’s Wrestling and Future of the Sport
Dr. Clough (00:03.904)
I am Dr. Jim Clough. We’re on the Power of Your Feet podcast today. Today we’re talking with Adam Visconti. Adam and I have known each other for about three and a half years. Adam has a pretty solid background in wrestling. And it was through Adam that we really started to check athletes and discover that their balance and strength was improving with the Cluffy insole. So that all came about after we had a discussion when we were elk hunting.
So anyway, welcome to the podcast, Adam.
Adam Visconti (00:38.295)
Yeah, yeah, Dr. Clough, thanks for having me on. Definitely excited to chat with you today.
Dr. Clough (00:43.458)
Yeah. So Adam has been a wrestler for a number of years. In high school, he was a Colorado wrestler. He placed four times for the state meet. He was a three time placer at state and two time finalist in the state.
Then he went to Colorado Mesa University and wrestled varsity for four years. And so Adam, you’re now coaching in Montana. And what are you coaching here?
Adam Visconti (01:27.671)
Yeah, yeah. So currently helping out with a couple of different programs, a high school program, you know, just south of Missoula here, Stevensville High School. And then we’ve got a club that we started about a year and a half ago. Really, we’re not set on ages. We’ve got, you know, four or five year olds all the way up through high school coming in there. So that’s kind of fun to get a good mix of ages in there. But that’s steadily been growing. You know, I think it’s kind of picked up some kids that maybe had lost a little bit of traction for some of those younger kids. So that’s what I’ve been doing the last two years. Kind of prior to that, you know, I was traveling with the Brazilian freestyle team to have the chance to do some international coaching with them. So that was 23 and then the beginning of 24 went over there a number of times, a couple of countries and that was a good time, definitely has helped me bring that experience back and, you know, help kind of coach these younger kids down here. We’ve got a really good talent pool in Montana. So it’s been fun to be a part of that.
Dr. Clough (02:40.618)
So Adam, when did we first try the Cluffy Insoles with you and what was your initial impression of that?
Adam Visconti (02:48.416)
You know, I think originally, I think I threw them in my running shoes to start. And I think that’s kind of, I had started to do some miles running and I’ll tell you a little bit about myself. You know, I’ve been wrestling since I was five years old. You kind of went through that introduction, but wrestling since I was five years old, played a couple of different sports, always been active, but running was definitely something that I never took the time to do. And honestly kind of despised growing up and training. I started getting into running and you know kind of just different exercises and I think you know initially I was having some some different foot pain and things like that and I think that’s when I first came to you started looking at different offerings that you guys had worked on. I think that’s when the discussion started initially with looking at the insoles for wrestling.
Dr. Clough (03:45.486)
Okay. So you are also a runner, right? You’re doing some long distance running right now and some marathons and some, you’re training for a Ironman, full Ironman event.
Adam Visconti (04:00.534)
Correct, correct. Yeah, I started with the Spartan races, you know, did quite a few of those Spartan races when they were up here locally in Montana. Kind of from that took a step up and started doing, you know, some like half marathons, some shorter distances. And then early last year I did the half Ironman that was down there in Galveston, Texas. That was fun to train for, you know.
Running being new to me, but also swimming and biking was new to me, you know, so kind of getting all three avenues there. About a month and a half after that I did my first full marathon again. That was local here in Montana, so I did the Missoula marathon. That was a great experience. And yeah, just looking to kind of steadily grow on that. You know kind of the next step for me is that full Ironman. So Looking at Sacramento in October this year
And I’ll definitely have some smaller events, you know, prior to that. I would like to get another marathon in, possibly a biathlon somewhere. So yeah, just steadily adding to that. You know, I think when you start going those long distances, it’s nice to, you know, chip away at it and have some things on the way.
Adam Visconti (05:29.258)
Dr. Jim Clough (05:43.31)
Adam Visconti (05:46.719)
Dr. Jim Clough (05:50.51)
So Adam, with your running, I think you’ve had some injuries. I’m aware of some Achilles tendon issues you’ve had in the past and other, maybe some other injuries. Have you had any experience with the Cluffy insoles as far as recovering from those injuries or preventing them? What has been your understanding about how they may have benefited you there?
Adam Visconti (06:13.642)
Yeah, yeah, great question. You and I think that kind of takes us back to when we originally, you you originally kind of got me in a pair of them. You know, coming out of high school and college, I think I fractured my left ankle two times that I got x-rays on, but possibly another one rolled it a couple of times. So I think it’s just been banged up over the years. And you can even see it kind of kicks out on me a little bit sometimes, but had some really bad Achilles pain, especially when I first started running and started to add distance, even to the point that I think, you probably saw me limp a decent bit there, you know, but I remember kind of night and day, you know, throwing that in there and then continuing on my same running pattern. I was, you know, very quick, within the first two weeks of me running and that, mean, that whole thing had kind of subsided. That swelling was gone. I wasn’t having those big aching, you know, days and it was literally putting me almost out of work it would flare up like that. I mean, it would get so tight that I couldn’t even walk. And I really think, to be honest, I don’t think I would have ever been able to hit the distances that I have or I’m looking to do without that change there. And not even just wrestling, I think, or running, I used to notice it a lot while wrestling and training, even that Achilles, I don’t think I really understood how tight or damaged I may have had throughout my years competing. But you know, switching that in and then adding that to my wrestling shoe as well. You know, I just, it’s really almost come to the point that I don’t notice it anymore. You know, it’s something that I’ve lived with for four or five, six, seven years and would constantly be kind of going back through the recovery stage, you know, every couple of months, felt like it was almost quarterly. Quarterly, would flare up on me and I was down for two or three weeks. so that I have not had a flare up kind of knock on wood here.
but I have not had a flare up in over 18 months and I’ve probably put in twice as much work as I have, you know, the rest of my career, so.
Dr. Jim Clough (08:10.158)
Hmm.
Dr. Jim Clough (08:20.216)
Good to hear. So with wrestling, what do you think the main advantage with the insole is with the wrestling?
Adam Visconti (08:27.83)
Yeah, I get excited talking about just seeing that with wrestling, now, as I’ve obviously, you know, I’ve stayed very close to the sport, looking at coaching. And I think, you know, post competing, you know, after my, my competing days are over, I’ve become even more of a student of the sport. You know, I just enjoy it. I enjoy watching it and learning about it. One thing that I’ve always noticed is that there’s not a lot of, you know, offerings gear wise for wrestling, it gets kind of overlooked.
I think I remember the first time showing you my wrestling shoe, which was a higher end wrestling shoe and the insole that was in it, you know, and it just kind of clicked when I had seen it and stepped in it and started using it for running. was like, man, this is, you know, just a huge avenue that we’ve missed. But specifically looking at the benefits of it, I would say the stability gained, right? The one thing with wrestlers that I see in my opinion is that being stable and balanced. It is so important and you watch the top tier guys you know, the division one athletes, the international athletes, the one thing that they all have, kind of the symmetry for all them, is they have phenomenal balance and they’re very grounded. And I remember when we first started doing the testing, that was the first two things that I wrote down on that paper, you know. People go years and years training for that and trying to find that. And if you can have something that supplements that, right, that’s a huge benefit for everyone.
Dr. Jim Clough (09:52.138)
Mm-hmm. Very good. Do you think that that balance is going to tie in with injury prevention? Do you think that would make them less likely to become injured?
Adam Visconti (10:01.736)
I do, I do, you know, absolutely. You know, most common injuries that you see in wrestling, knees, elbows, shoulders, shoulders are a big one, right? But when does that stuff happen? Big falls, slams, things like that. You know, if you’re able to move more appropriately and ground yourself more appropriately, you know, I can only see that lowering the chances of those injuries coming through. So yeah, absolutely.
Dr. Jim Clough (10:25.71)
Okay. Very good. So do you think this will really change the success of the wrestler having the Cluffy insole in the shoe? Do you think that would impact their performance?
Adam Visconti (10:43.862)
I do 100 % wholeheartedly. And I guess really where my support for that comes is throughout my time coaching and, now, as we’ve kind of looked at this, I obviously got super excited about it right off the bat. But I have had a lot of peers use these, you know, friends,, Bruno that I coached internationally, world team member for Brazil, and, Gustavo, another guy out there that was on the Greco world team. Everybody has said pretty much the same thing, you know, phenomenal experience that they don’t want to wrestle without them. You know, I’ve got even guys here in Montana that were college wrestlers that are back competing, going to US Opens and stuff like that, that just swear by them now. So 100%, it’s exciting for me to see. And I think that, you know, my initial, we go through the testing and you see the results and I’m like, man, the first thing that kind of triggered for me is I need to get my kids in these, you know and see the benefits. But as my peers start getting into them, and, you know, everything that they say kind of lines up with what I’m saying with how we’re feeling in the insole. So 100 % I think it’s gonna add to what you’re able to do in certain positions. Wrestling is a very dynamic sport. Anybody that’s done it, or, you know, been around the sport knows it’s not just one avenue. You can’t just be strong. You can’t just be flexible. You can’t just know you have good technique. It’s kind of a combination of things, but what all those things rely on is your stability, your balance, your groundedness, right? Nothing works without that. So I kind of see that as being a core thing. Yeah, a hundred percent.
Adam Visconti (12:09.866) You can’t just be you know have good technique. It’s kind of a combination of things, but what all those things balance on is your stability, your balance, your groundedness, right? Nothing works without that. So I kind of see that as being a core thing. Yeah, a hundred percent.
Dr. Jim Clough (12:26.574)
Okay, good. So if you’re talking to somebody that is struggling with their game, you’d recommend the insole? What would you tell them about it?
Adam Visconti (12:38.646)
Yeah, absolutely. I absolutely recommend the Insole. You know, I would say get in there, let it adjust to your shoe. You know, get moving around on it and really, you know, you’re going to feel it. I don’t know what I would tell them specifically, you know, about it other than, you know, trust the process. And I think that you’re going to feel the difference. You know, I really do.
Dr. Jim Clough (13:02.318)
And you’ve been involved with some of the testing and in the testing we’ve seen some pretty significant gains. So you helped with a lot of that with your club wrestlers. And I think we’ve figured out it was talking about 31 % more force to pull them forward in the hand fighting position. Their knees were about 28-29 % more stable.
And their side to side balance was about 29 % more stable as well. These are all measured with a dynamometer, right? So we could objectively quantify the amount of force necessary to push them off balance. So those are fairly significant numbers, right? That would really change things for most wrestlers.
Adam Visconti (13:43.703)
Huge numbers, huge numbers. I know, prior to us doing any specific testing, I remember just putting them in the shoes and you know, we just wrestled for about an hour, hour and a half. It was actually with one of my college peers, Aaron Trygstad wrestled with him in college and we both threw them in and we wrestled, you know, drilled at first and then wrestled some live. And it was phenomenal to see, like feel that difference. But then when you put a number to it, right, it just shows you how significant that really is. And you know, you’re in your head, you’re always, you can feel it, you know, but you throw a number on there and it really does change everything, you know, coming from a coaching standpoint. Like if I could teach somebody how to be 30 % more stable in a year, I’ve done way more than my job, you know, but to be able to find that value from, you know, a product and the stability that you’re adding to their wrestling shoe. Yeah.
Dr. Jim Clough (14:43.31)
Very good. Well, Adam, we appreciate you being with us today. Thank you very much for your time and wish you well in your training for the Ironman and for your upcoming wrestling meet at the Montana Open too.
Adam Visconti (14:51.358)
Absolutely.
Adam Visconti (14:56.47)
Yeah.
Adam Visconti (14:59.958)
I appreciate it. I appreciate it. I failed to mention that I’m coming out of retirement for one. So yeah, next week we have the Montana Open. There’ll actually be a couple of us wrestling there. So, I think, we have a total of four that are going over and wrestling in the tournament. So yeah. Yeah, I know it. I know it. We’re going to be ready to go. We’ve got practice here in about an hour and a half. yeah, no, I appreciate it. Thanks for having me on. Definitely something.
Dr. Jim Clough (15:02.56)
Yeah.
Dr. Jim Clough (15:16.334)
You’re gonna have some tough competition.
Dr. Jim Clough (15:24.718)
Good deal. Very good.
Adam Visconti (15:29.29)
I’ve been excited to see and see you share the insole with the world. I love seeing the improvement of the sport. I think that the sport’s seen a lot more traction in the last three to four years than I’ve seen my entire career or life growing up. It’s really just starting to get the traffic and the attention. And the one thing that we haven’t had is supplemental gear to the sport, really. Outside of maybe an E-pad and I just think that you will find something that can help you that much, it benefits.
Dr. Jim Clough (15:33.784)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Jim Clough (15:52.492)
Yeah.
Adam Visconti (15:59.35)
It’s been really cool to be a part of and see.
Dr. Jim Clough (16:03.342)
It’s really cool to see how the women are grabbing hold of this sport. They’re doing well.
Adam Visconti (16:07.71)
No, I know in Montana, Montana’s kind of leading the pack in that they’ve got some phenomenal women wrestlers, female wrestlers, now, traveling across the US getting college scholarships. And it’s been really cool to see. Yeah. They have phenomenal scholarship opportunities in all these big universities now. Yeah. I mean, from the year that I came up, so it was 2021 that I came to Montana to now, I think that
Dr. Jim Clough (16:28.46)
Mm-hmm.
Adam Visconti (16:36.992)
The overall female participation has gone up about seven times, is what I heard. So, you know, seven times that amount. Which is, it is amazing. It is amazing. And you can see the talent pool just growing with that. You know, it’s been fun. It’s been really fun.
Dr. Jim Clough (16:43.488)
Wow. That’s amazing. That’s rapid growth.
Share: