Physiotherapy: the ins and outs of Athlete Recovery w/Dr. Jeffrey Scarella

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Jeff Skarela—a sports chiropractor, competitive triathlete, and my personal go-to guy for performance recovery and injury prevention. Whether you’re a weekend warrior, high-level athlete, or the parent of a competitive teen, this one’s packed with practical insight you can actually use.

We talk about VO₂ max, lactate threshold, muscle scraping, BFR, peptides, exosomes, GLP-1s, cold plunges, saunas, and more. You’ll hear how Jeff treats his patients like athletes—designing concierge, one-on-one recovery sessions that keep them training, moving, and competing. We also dive into how the science of recovery is changing: why ice may be outdated, why range of motion is king, and how the "Enhanced Olympics" are reshaping our views on optimization. This is a crash course in high-performance human care—without the fluff.

Quotes
"My ideal patient? Someone who’s already healthy—and wants to stay that way. That’s the real goal."
— Dr. Jeff Skarela

"VO₂ max is a proxy. You can’t cheat it. You either put in the work—or you didn’t."
— Dr. Jeff Skarela


Key Takeaways
Intro: Who is Dr. Jeff Skarela? (00:00)
Sports chiropractic vs. traditional chiro or PT (02:24)
VO₂ max, lactate threshold, and what actually matters (09:38)
How to train your VO₂ with max-effort intervals (13:04)
Why muscle scraping and manual therapy matter (16:20)
What is shockwave therapy and when to use it? (19:09)
The truth about GLP-1 drugs and muscle loss (31:44)
Building lean muscle after 40: resistance + protein (28:45)
Why Dexa scans matter more than a scale (29:51)
Ice vs. heat: why rest and compression may beat icing (57:57)
Are statins causing your muscle issues? (34:10)
The promise and limits of peptides and growth hormone (37:02)
Blood flow restriction (BFR) training explained (45:00)
Compression boots, cold plunges, and recovery hacks (23:01 & 49:17)
What are exosomes and why they may matter next (54:45)
The "Enhanced Olympics" and the future of performance (38:29)

Additional Resources
If you’re serious about staying active, feeling strong, and recovering faster—this episode is your roadmap. Whether you're 27 or 57, you can’t afford to guess anymore when it comes to health and performance.

👉 Listen now—and then book that Dexa scan, rework your training, and maybe invest in a pair of compression boots. Your future self will thank you.

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