Thoughts 9 – Justin Ochoa

  1. If Mike Boyle tells you why he hates an exercise & why it’s a bad exercise in a 60-second Instagram clip, you know you’re still allowed to use that exercise – right?
  2. When people refer to stretches or mobility drills, they say it “opens up the t-spine” or “opens up the hips.” What does that really even mean? Is my spine closed? Is it after normal business hours? That is just a weird choice of words that I’ve always kind of wondered about. What’s wrong with just saying, “We’re going to relax THIS muscle to give THAT movement a little bit more range of motion.” That is what “open up” means, I’m assuming.
  3. Drinking a gallon of water a day is great for building the intent of hydration, but if you drink a gallon of water and fail to eat ample vegetables or fruits, you are not actually hydrating optimally.
  4. I just looked at an article I wrote in 2016 and literally considered asking the publication to remove it. It was so bad. I guess if you don’t have this reaction to some of your old work (articles, vlogs, programs) are you really improving?
  5. I’ve recently seen a rise in the popularity of the “Box Jump to Depth Drop.” So, the athlete will jump onto the box, gather themselves and then perform a depth drop (depth jump, snap down from box, landing from box, whatever you call it). I have no issue with either exercise, but paired together makes it a pretty silly thing to do. We box jump to get maximal jump height and force production without having to handle all of those forces in the landing. That’s why the box is there. If you jump 20 inches in the air onto an 18 inch box, you are essentially landing a 2 inch jump. It’s less impact. “Safer.” If you’re going to perform a depth drop off the box immediately after that, you might as well just do a vertical jump and land it. It’s more functional, more natural, more athletic and just flat out makes more sense to me.
  6. Do no harm does not mean do no hard work
  7. There is probably no best way to change direction. It is athlete, sport and situation-dependent. The best way for a Wide Receiver to change direction is based on the route they run. They best way for a Defensive Back to change direction is based on the Wide Receiver, and the ball. The best way for a Point Guard to change direction in defense is extremely different from both. Sport practice may be the better option when trying to improve these skills, rather than in the weight room.
  8. Having an athlete know, without a doubt, that I truly care about them as a person is my only way to measure success

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Enjoy!