Abel Romero, DPT, TPI, RYT 200 is a licensed physical therapist and movement coach with a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from UC San Francisco/San Francisco State University. He has worked with a wide range of clients, from high-performing athletes to women postpartum and seniors. He is fascinated not only with helping others achieve a high level of health and well-being, but also with the science and art of improving skill, preventing pain, and having fun through movement.

On this podcast, Abel and I discuss how humans evolved to move, and the role of pain in avoiding injury. Abel talks about some of the common issues that lead to pain in our culture and why moving harder and faster is critical for long-term fitness and healthspan. I’m excited to announce Abel has partnered with us to lead a group program in January 2021. He’ll be working with us on how to avoid chronic pain, improve mobility and feel total confidence in lifting through mindful movement practice, functional training, and plyometric and power training. By the end of the program, you’ll have greater control, ability to generate power, and awareness of how your body interacts with its environment.

Here’s the outline of this podcast with Abel Romero:

[00:01:25] Early interest in movement and physical therapy.

[00:05:51] Book Free to Learn, by Peter Gray; Podcast: Free to Learn: Unleashing the Instinct to Play, with Peter Gray.

[00:07:29] Book: Play Anything: The Pleasure of Limits, the Uses of Boredom, and the Secret of Games, by Ian Bogost.

[00:11:24] Book: The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff.

[00:13:00] Pain.

[00:18:26] Herman Pontzer, PhD; Daniel Lieberman, PhD.

[00:19:32] Hadza of Tanzania squatting “better than a baby”.

[00:22:30] Videos: Why Things Hurt and The Pain Revolution with Lorimer Moseley.

[00:26:15] Common issues that lead to pain in our culture.

[00:29:37] Exercise.

[00:30:38] Doing things harder, faster, with more precision.

[00:36:42] How movement changed during pandemic.

[00:38:50] Simon Marshall, PhD; Self-generated optic flow as the basis of EMDR therapy.

[00:41:54] Posture.

[00:47:08] Katy Bowman; Podcast: Move Your DNA with Katy Bowman

[00:48:33] 4-quadrant model.

[00:50:12] Podcast: Movement Analysis and Breathing Strategies for Pain Relief and Improved Performance, with Zac Cupples.

[00:50:55] Remote coaching with Abel.

[00:52:36] The value of group programs; Podcast: The Community Cure: Transforming Health Outcomes Together, with James Maskell.

[00:56:55] Sign up for the group program with Abel, beginning in January 2021.

[00:57:04] Abel’s website; [email protected]; Instagram.