Tag: D league

Variability, The Problem of Transfer, and Gymnastics – Charlie Reid

 I recently had a great conversation with my dear friend, Charlie Reid. Charlie is a very successful trainer in the San Francisco Bay area, and a wealth of knowledge when it comes to a variety of fitness domains. He reached out to me to help audit his thought process, and it turned out we had an incredible conversation. Here were a few topics we discussed: Where does variability training fit when chasing fitness? What do certain variability tests theoretically look at, and what are the relevant mechanics? How well does variability training transfer to higher level activities? and many more  Click below to check out the video, and read along with the modified transcripts. I’ve linked some helpful pictures and links throughout. Enjoy. or if you’d rather, here is the audio version: Modified Transcript Charlie: I’m always looking for people to to audit my own thought process on things and help with shifting my paradigm. I’ve had these conversations with Joe Cicinelli regularly about interjecting PRI-based things with with fitness. It’s not even PRI, it’s just looking at like the body with this neuro-pulmonary/neuro-mechanical lens that I want to move towards and understand more of, but I’m also a pragmatist. I want to be as practical as I possibly can within the context that I’m working. That’s always a challenge. How do we take this information and make it as practical as possible? I’ll start with a confession first. I don’t I actually have a strong prejudice against PRI clinical exercises.

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My Feature on Mike Robertson’s Physical Preparation Podcast

I was recently featured on my boi Mike Robertson’s Physical Preparation Podcast. It was quite surreal to be interviewed by a guy who I have tremendous respect for, and who has been a huge influence on me. MR was one of the people who I was initially exposed to when I got into this field. After reading all the cool things he wrote on t-nation, I bought most of his products, became a huge reader of his blog, and applied many of his teachings to my own training. Zac = fanboy. Can you imagine what it was like the first time I met him and Bill at IFAST? Like meeting rockstars, fam. Then he we are, having a conversation as peers. Point being with this story, if there was no Mike Robertson, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. The Life of A Mercenary PT Here were some of the things we discussed in this podcast: How I got started in the world of physical prep. What life is really like in the NBA/D-League, and what it’s like to transition from therapy to performance at the highest level. What skills I was comfortable with, and how he grew and evolved to take his coaching skills to the next level. My biggest struggles in pro sports. Movement Variability: What it is, and why you probably need more of it. What it’s like to transition from the biggest stages in sport, to working in a smaller setting with a more general

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How Sleep Saved the D-League – Resilient Podcast

Sleep is a big deal. Not only has a lack of sleep been linked to many big bad diseases, it also contributes to poor performance. Behavior change through education and persuasion is hard enough as is. We are all resistant to change, namely because our current habits and routines require Herculean willpower efforts to break. This problem  is especially true in non-conducive environments. It’s hard to eat healthy when your family cooks fried foods and orders pizza for dinner every night. It is these situations where we just have to make the most with what we have, and that’s exactly what I spoke about on one of my best friend’s podcasts, Doug Kechijian. Before we go into the content, let me tell you a bit about Douglas, my younger-older brother. Doug and I first met way back in 2013 at a PRI course in Phoenix.  I was the first person who arrived in town, and it was up to me to take care of the rental car. We had five bros to get to the class, so I needed to find something cozy that could fit everyone and their luggage to and from the class and Phoenix airport. So I’m looking at some midsize SUVs, a couple sedans, trying to find the right car that I could fit everyone in. Then I saw this: Doug and I had never met before, and he was the first person I had to pick up. He asked “what will you be driving?” I

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He Sleeps He Scores: Playing Better Basketball by Conquering Sleep Deprivation

A 16 game losing streak. Worst record in the league. 8 rookies. We were in dire straights. Could we fix it in 2 hours?!? The NBA travel schedule is one of the hardest in pro sports. 82 games in a season plus playoffs. Several back-to-back games that require time zone changes, late nights, early mornings, and playing nightly at a high level. And a high level of sleep deprivation. Fortunately, many NBA teams, including the one I worked for, take whatever measures possible to ensure our guys get enough sleep. They modulate flight times, stay in the best hotels, and use their unlimited budgets to improve sleep quality. We call that soft where I come from. My domain—the NBA D-league. Home of the worst schedule in professional sports. I can’t even call it a nightmare because you don’t sleep enough to hit your REM cycle. Let’s take a look at this disastrous schedule.

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