Ep. 92: David Alexander – Victor Oladipo’s sports performance trainer

Before Victor Oladipo was traded during the 2017 offseason, he was already two months into his offseason program. And for the first time, he completed it down in Miami at DBC Fitness with David Alexander. On the suggestion from Dwyane Wade, Oladipo worked out five days a week with the sports performance trainer who trains dozens of elite athletes, including Wade. “Nothing we do is standard,” Alexander explained on the podcast. “We’ve done a great job of looking at what the industry is doing and kind of going the opposite way. “You got to get comfortable being uncomfortable.” Initially, sweeping changes were made to Oladipo’s nutrition — which led to this side-by-side photo after just three weeks. “The number one thing was dialing into his nutrition,” Alexander says, “eliminating all flour, refined sugars, gluten – things that we knew would inflame his body. When he came in – I’ve probably said it a million times – he was very inflamed upon his first day entering our facility. So for us, it was to calm all that down, to try to flush out all the inflammation, get all the toxins out of his body, and to start to educate him on what real food is and what should be going into his temple and what shouldn’t.” Beginning with the 2017-18 season, Oladipo began carrying a gallon jug of water around — throughout the practice facility, to media interviews and other obligations. It became a lifestyle of Oladipo, who turned 26 in May. “The hydration plays a big factor,” Alexander emphasized. “The minimum we were starting him on was about three liters of water a day and we graduated him to a gallon of water a day, which he knocks back no problem now.” After one summer of work with Alexander, who is 42 and has been in the industry for 21 years, Oladipo posted his best season yet on the basketball floor. His numbers were up across the board. So he followed it up with another summer in Miami. “This guy is 100 percent comfortable and confident at who Victor Oladipo is and I think that gives him an edge,” Alexander said. “His confidence in knowing who he is I think is going to really translate onto the court this year and I think the public is going to be in for a treat watching that kid play.” View this post on Instagram @vicoladipo •PHASE 3 And we still got plenty of work to do. 3 planes of motion. I train my athletes to become the most efficient athlete possible. #Progression #NewSeason #NewGoals A post shared by David Alexander (@dzandertraining) on Jul 13, 2018 at 12:54pm PDT Subscribe to the Pacers Podcast on Apple Podcasts. I welcome your questions and comments @ScottAgness on Twitter or via email. Topics Discussed: * The focus on nutrition and what was eliminated immed...