![]() ![]() Machinery and is bent on building the perfect prototype. ![]() This is, after all, a man who views the human body as so much The fact that Nailon was the third-leading scorer in the NCAA last season, and that he’s on the verge of a multimillion-dollar pro career, impresses Verstegen not one whit. “Lee, you have to get up on your toes,” he says, grasping the shambling 23-year-old by his shoulders. “Now you try.” Size 14 and 15 high-tops thud loudly against the floor, their owners jerking about in a none-too-successful attempt at mimicking Verstegen halts abruptly and nods at Nailon and company. Nailon has been touted as a potential star power forward, a bruiser who’ll be able to bang bodies with the likes of Karl Malone. When the beach volleyball game starts up. ![]() Growing up he was called Little Spruce, but actually, he’s more of a giant sequoia, the kind of guy you’d grab as first pick “Stay up on your feet and keep your posture.” Then he demonstrates, exploding forward in a blur, resetting, and then moving backward with equal speed.Īmong those watching is Lee Nailon, a sinewy 6-foot-7, 230-pound junior from Texas Christian University with an illuminating Magic Johnson grin and the hope that someday he’ll “drive a big Suburban” down the streets of his hometown in Indiana. “Now let’s see if we can grasp this exercise,” Verstegen says gently, becoming the Simone to his earlier Sipowicz in a one-man good cop/bad cop routine. All accommodations have kitchens, but cafeteria meals are also included. On-campus lodging ranges from $550 a week for a two-bed, hotel-style room to $1,550 for a three-bedroom suite. The closest regional airport is Sarasota/Bradenton, 15 minutes away, while the closest international hub is in Tampa, about 48 miles to the north. “if I think you need a pool workout.” Finally, all athletes depart IPI with a customized plan they can use at home and encouragement to call in as needed for further consultation with the staff - the last thing Verstegen wants, after all, is for you to stray from his program. And sometimes you’ll even get a little extra: “I won’t hesitate to pull you out of your room at 9:30 at night,” says Verstegen, It includes from two to five training sessions a day, covering all the usual IPI bases and nutrition as well. For $1,250, meanwhile, you get the sameĪttention lavished on NBA hopeful Lee Nailon: a personalized regimen designed to make you better at your native sport. You’ll then work with Verstegen or one of his crew for an hour each morning and afternoon, and follow a written routine with other students for three additional hours. “Whatever the sport, we tailor the workouts to that sport’s demands.” How bionic can you become? Thatĭepends, naturally, on the time and money you’re willing to spend.Ī one-week, $400 program at IPI begins with a fitness assessment that tests such attributes as agility, speed, power, strength, and flexibility. “We work with anyone who has a goal, even if it’s just to attain supreme physical fitness,” says director Mark Verstegen. Want to feel the pain for yourself? IPI is happy to oblige - even if you’re not starting out as the toughest kid on your block. ![]() He turns soft guys into hard guys, and hard guys into harder guys. As well he should: Verstegen, 29 and a former linebacker at Washington State University, is now a leading sports scientist and the director of the International Performance Institute, a training center on the Gulf Coast of Florida that’s quickly gaining renown for its ability to work physiological miracles with the country’s best amateur and “We need to work on your first-step quickness,” says the 6-foot, 200-pound drill sergeant, commanding complete attention from the trio of NBA Rivulets of sweat begin to drip from beneath his imposing flat-top. Verstegen is poised with his knees slightly bent and torso upright, well forward on his feet, like a cat keenly aware of the presence of an unseen rodent. “Pretty soon I’m going to have to kick some ass!” “You guys are moving like a bunch of 10-year-old girls,” Mark Verstegen bellows to the assembled, his voice rebounding off the retracted bleachers of an empty gym. And then he remade them: bigger, faster, better. But hard-guy trainer Mark Verstegen broke them down. You fancy yourself an athlete? Well, so did the NBA All-Star, and the American League Rookie of the Year. ![]()
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