LeBron’s Strange Deadlift Video: Dr. Kelly Starrett Explains What’s Really Going On

NBA superstar LeBron James recently went viral for a deadlift video that had the internet scratching its head. Was it bad form? Brilliant training? Or something else entirely? The Home Team is joined by Dr. Kelly Starrett to break down exactly what’s happening, what we can learn from it, and how it ties into bigger conversations about training, injury prevention, and youth sports.

From hot takes on LeBron’s trainer’s methods to why pro athletes train differently than the rest of us, we cover the nuances of performance training—and where the general public often gets it wrong. We also dig into the rise of Achilles injuries, how parents can act as “human performance directors” for their kids, and why sports are a non-negotiable for youth development.

Episode Timestamps:

• 0:00 Kelly joins the Home Team

• 1:50 Questioning LeBron’s trainer’s qualifications

• 3:40 Kelly’s optimistic hot take

• 6:00 BUT… he’s doing couch stretch!

• 7:01 Why pro basketball players train differently

• 10:30 Critiquing the strength training world

• 12:40 The gym is the safest place in the world—LeBron’s goal isn’t getting stronger

• 14:22 The complicated rise of Achilles injuries

• 18:14 Sometimes you just let people be

• 20:10 Does CrossFit make athletes look non-athletic?

• 24:50 The gym should serve the court, not the other way around

• 26:30 High school sports demand more than ever

• 27:50 Parents as untrained “human performance directors”

• 30:00 The pay-to-play problem in youth sports

• 31:02 The purpose of athletics

• 33:17 Why kids should learn Olympic lifting

• 36:44 MDV’s World Bodysurfing Championship debut

• 41:25 Carbs that help performance (fueling is key)

• 49:55 It all depends on the sport and the athlete

• 52:14 The “beard of wisdom” moment

• 53:33 Could we do what they do at their age?

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  Dr. Kelly Starrett: thereadystate.com