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Built Different: Performance Unchained Insider (Ed. 13)

Welcome to Edition 13 of Performance Unchained Insider: Built Different! 💥

This edition is for the athletes, coaches, and professionals who refuse to settle for average because being built different means more than just genetics. It’s about how you train, how you recover, and the science you stand on.


In this issue, I’m bringing you research that challenges assumptions and equips you to train with sharper precision, greater resilience, and next-level intention. These aren’t just studies, they’re evidence-based blueprints to help you move, adapt, and perform in ways that truly set you apart.


To every subscriber, thank you for being part of this journey. Your support fuels my drive to find and spotlight the most overlooked, underutilized, and impactful research in the field. If you’re new, welcome to the movement!


📥 Not subscribed yet? SUBSCRIBE and get exclusive, research-backed insights sent straight to your inbox, built for performance, not fluff.


Let’s keep pushing the limits because if you’re reading this, you’re not here to blend in. You’re built different. 💪

So lets get into it!


Randy Palacios


Founder, Flexfit Wellness & Recovery


Wellness Spotlight: Top Recovery Tip of the Month



💪🧠 Muscle Meets Machine: The Future of Strength Starts in a Lab

Picture this: a muscle grown in a lab.


Not just to repair injuries, but to power a robot!


Welcome to the sci-fi-turned-reality world of Skeletal Muscle Tissue Engineering (SMTE), where cutting-edge science isn’t just rebuilding bodies… it’s building the future of biorobotics.

In a brilliant 2025 review published in Cyborg and Bionic Systems, researchers Cordelle, Snelling, and Mouthuy deliver a masterclass review on how SMTE is evolving from healing damaged athletes to helping machines move like humans.


Let’s break it down like a muscle fiber under a microscope:


🧬 What Is Skeletal Muscle Tissue Engineering (SMTE)?

Originally developed to repair or regenerate large-scale muscle loss (like that from traumatic injuries or surgery), SMTE involves crafting bioengineered muscle tissue using:

  • Specialized scaffolds (think high-tech frameworks that mimic muscle structure)

  • Powerful stem and satellite cells

  • Bioreactors that simulate real-life tension, movement, and even electrical signals

But here's the plot twist: these lab-grown muscles aren’t just for people anymore.


🤖 From Human Healing to Bionic Building

This review flips the script: instead of only putting muscles back in humans, what if we could put muscles into robots?


That’s where biorobotics comes in. Imagine soft robots powered by living muscle. These aren't Terminator-style machines, instead they’re bio-hybrid systems that mimic human movement in ways motors and hydraulics never could.


And guess what fuels these breakthroughs?

✔️ Precision-engineered scaffolds

✔️ Electrical pulse stimulation

✔️ Advanced robotic interfaces to simulate real-world use

We're talking robots that train the muscle while growing it...wild...RIGHT?! like having a gym built inside a petri dish.



📣 Why Should Athletes, Coaches & Innovators Care?

This tech isn’t just about robots, it’s about redefining performance and recovery:

  • 🔄 Faster muscle repair for injuries that used to be career-ending

  • ⚙️ More accurate testing environments for rehab and training simulations

  • 🧠 Interdisciplinary insights that link performance, neuroscience, and biomechanics


This is the kind of knowledge that can supercharge recovery, refine prosthetics, and even create biofeedback systems to optimize real-time athletic output.


🚀 The Future? Biologically Engineered Potential

So whether you're in elite sports, clinical rehab, or next-gen wearable tech, SMTE is your front-row ticket to the next evolution of muscle intelligence.

In the words of the researchers: this isn’t just tissue repair, it’s tissue with purpose.


🔗 Ready to Work with Someone Who Thinks This Far Ahead?

I specialize in bridging the worlds of human performance, recovery science, and future-forward training. Whether you're an injured athlete, a coach navigating complex rehabs, or a wellness company building smarter systems; let’s collaborate.


Because muscles aren't just made in the gym anymore, especially elite athletic performance.



Athletic Performance Spotlight: Unlock Your Edge Tip of the Month



🏀 Agility Unlocked: The Secret Sauce Behind Sharper Cuts and Faster First Steps

💡 What’s the difference between good and great on the court?


It's not just the vertical or the handles, it's agility. That split-second change of direction. That explosive first step. That ability to read, react, and explode; before your defender even knows what happened.


But here’s the real question…


What kind of training actually improves agility?

The latest research says not all training methods are created equal and thanks to a massive meta-analysis just published in Springer Open Sports Medicine Open, we’ve got the receipts.


📚 The Study Scoop: Science Meets the Hardwood

Researchers Zhang, Li, Jiao, and others analyzed 29 studies across multiple training modalities to determine what really moves the needle on agility for basketball players.


They looked at five key methods:

  • 🧠 Reaction Training (RT)

  • 💥 Plyometric Training (PT)

  • 🧘 Strength & Balance Training (SBT)

  • ⚡ Speed Training (SpT)

  • 🧎 Stretching Training (StrT)


The catch?

All studies focused on closed-skill agility, meaning pre-planned movement patterns (think: shuttle runs or cone drills).

Not a single study looked at open-skill agility (which includes reacting to stimuli — a.k.a. real game scenarios).


🤔 That’s like trying to teach someone to swim... by only running sprints.


📊 So What Actually Works?

Here’s how each method scored when it came to improving closed-skill agility:

  • 🥇 Reaction Training (RT): 🔥 Best of the best (SMD = 0.86)

  • 🥈 Plyometric Training (PT): 💪 Very effective (SMD = 0.62)

  • 🥉 Strength/Balance Training (SBT): 🔄 Solid gains (SMD = 0.59)

  • Speed Training: ⚠️ Meh... (SMD = 0.43)

  • Stretching: 💤 Don’t bother (SMD = 0.00)


Just incase...SMD, or Standardized Mean Difference, is a statistical measure used in meta-analyses to compare the effectiveness of different interventions across studies, even when those studies use different measurement scales. It tells us how much of a difference a training method made, with values around 0.2 indicating a small effect, 0.5 a moderate effect, and 0.8 or higher a large effect.


In this agility training study, for example, reaction training had a large effect (SMD = 0.86) on performance, showing it’s a highly effective method for improving closed-skill agility in basketball players.


Secret Sauce: 👉 Small-sided games, reaction drills, and plyos beat out cones and ladders every time.


🧠 What This Means for Coaches, Trainers & Athletes

If your goal is to sharpen agility and performance where it matters most, in real-time game flow, you need to train both the body and the brain.

✅ Design drills that challenge reaction time

✅ Simulate game-like unpredictability

✅ Rotate plyometric and balance work into warm-ups

❌ Ditch “choreographed” movement-only drills as the main course


🚀 Pro Insight: The Next Level?

Future research needs to explore open-skill agility, where cognitive load and chaos mirror real competition. Until then, reaction-based, sport-specific training remains your best bet.

So next time someone asks, “How do I get quicker, laterally?” Don’t just point to the agility ladder.


Build smart athletes, not just fast feet.


📩 Need help building an agility system that integrates both physical & cognitive performance? 


Let’s talk. Whether you’re a coach, therapist, or athlete, I bring years of elite-level experience to the table, blending biomechanics, recovery, and performance strategy that works where it counts, when it counts.




Mental Performance Spotlight: Mind Over Matter Tip of the Month



💔 ACL Re-Rupture to Redemption: When the Dream Shatters... But Something Greater Emerges

We often talk about comeback stories. The grind. The recovery. The game-winning shot after the injury.


But what happens when the comeback never comes?


What if the injury comes back instead?


That’s the raw reality this new qualitative study explores, and trust me, it’s one of the most human, heartfelt deep dives into sport psychology I’ve read this year.


🎙️ The Title Says It All...

"I found much more joy than I ever did as a player."

This quote, from a young male athlete who suffered an ACL re-rupture after returning to sport, captures a powerful shift in identity. This wasn’t just about knees and cartilage, what I usually love discussing about. This article was about ego, purpose, loss, growth, and ultimately, rediscovery.


🔍 What Did the Study Look At?

Researchers interviewed young men who tore their ACLs...not once, but twice. After clawing their way through rehab and finally stepping back onto the court or field… snap. Again.


But instead of focusing on physical data, this study asked a deeper question:

“What did this experience do to your identity, your emotions, and your relationship with sport?”


💬 What They Said Might Surprise You

At first, these athletes went through the usual heartbreak:

  • Loss of identity

  • Disbelief and self-blame

  • Isolation from their teams

  • Anger, frustration, and grief

But over time, something surprising happened.


They found peace. They found new meaning. Some even became coaches, mentors, or advocates..and described feeling more connected to the game than ever before.

One athlete shared: “It gave me a bigger reason to stay in sport — not just for me, but for others.”

🧠 Why It Matters

If you’re a coach, therapist, or even an athlete reading this, here’s the truth:

🚨 Injury isn’t just physical. It’s emotional. Identity-shifting. Life-altering.


And for those who’ve re-torn an ACL, it’s like losing the same dream twice.


But this study also reveals a massive opportunity: to reframe rehab not just as return to play (RTP), but as return to purpose.


🔄 How You Can Apply This:

  • 🧠 Integrate mental health check-ins in rehab programs

  • 🗣 Offer identity coaching or mentorship pathways

  • 💬 Talk openly about the emotional toll of re-injury

  • 🤝 Encourage athletes to find new roles: coaching, mentoring, even officiating, that keep them connected to their passion


Because performance doesn’t end when playing does. It just evolves.


🧩 Final Thoughts

This wasn’t a study about numbers. It was about narratives, the ones athletes tell themselves when the lights go out. And sometimes, it’s in the dark that they discover a new light.

To all athletes out there: Your worth is not defined by the minutes you play, it’s in the impact you leave behind.


📩 Need a consultant who’s walked this road with elite athletes? 


As a high-performance specialist with years in sports rehab, recovery, and identity coaching, I help athletes and those guiding them transforming setbacks into comebacks of purpose.

Let’s build something powerful together. 💥



That’s a wrap on Edition 13: Built Different! 💡🔥


From the future-forward world of skeletal muscle tissue engineering and biorobotics, to how training types shape agility in basketball, to the emotional resilience uncovered in athletes facing ACL re-rupture and identity loss. This edition proves that being built different isn’t just about the physical. It’s about the full human journey: science, struggle, and strategy.


👇 If this edition made you pause, rethink, or refocus, help keep the conversation going:

💬 Drop a comment with your biggest takeaway or how you’ll apply what you learned

🔁 Share this with a coach, therapist, or teammate who thrives on evidence-based insight

👍 React to help amplify science-driven conversations across our performance community


📬 Not subscribed yet? Follow and subscribe now to get research that’s relevant, powerful, and ready to use.


To everyone who’s joined me for 13 strong editions, Thank YOU. Your support drives this mission, fuels the research I spotlight, and reminds me why performance isn’t just a result… it’s a mindset.


Here’s to the ones who don’t just show up. Here’s to the ones who are built different. 💪 See you in Edition 14.


Until next time—stay curious, stay committed, and stay unchained.


Randy Palacios

Founder, Flexfit Wellness & Recovery




🔗 Partner Spotlight: Supporting Performance at Every Level


At Performance Unchained Insider, I'm proud to collaborate with brands and organizations who share my mission: to elevate athlete performance, recovery, and human potential through science, innovation, and purpose-driven tools.


🙌 Special Thanks to my Sponsor:


Garmin – Leading the way in wearable recovery tech and proud to team up and support your goal to help people be the best versions of themselves. meet their spring goals with Garmin products that support progress and accountability. From heart rate monitors to the Index™ smart scale, these tools provide deeper insights and keep clients training smarter. Many of these items are also HSA/FSA eligible, making it easier than ever to get started. #garminfitness #garminsweatleader #garminhealth #garmin


I'm incredibly grateful for their continued support in helping bring evidence-based, actionable insights to our growing community of coaches, clinicians, and performance professionals.



📣 Want to Partner with Me?

I'm always looking to align with companies and brands that believe in science-backed performance, innovation, and community impact.


📩 Interested in sponsoring a future edition or collaborating with Flexfit Wellness & Recovery? Reach out at flexfitwelnessco@gmail.com or message us directly on LinkedIn.

Let’s build something great, together! 💡


PUI 13: Built Different
PUI 13: Built Different

 
 
 

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