Cristian Plascencia, NSCA CSCS
Cristian Plascencia, co-founder and CEO of The Durable Athlete, specializes in enhancing performance and wellness through mobility and holistic health practices. With a B.S. in Exercise Science and extensive certifications, he improves athletes’ performance in Austin, TX. Cristian’s approach integrates nutrition, sleep, and movement, making significant impacts from professional sports to the Jr. NBA and as a Lululemon ambassador.
Hello, my name is Cristian Plascencia and I am Durability and Sport Performance Coach as well as the CEO & Co-Founder of The Durable Athlete. I have spent my whole life trying to find the best equation to life to help maximize daily performances and the longevity of our careers. It all began when I was twelve years old and sprained my ankle playing basketball. Having spent about 2 months in the physical therapy office, it was apparent that this was a setting that I wanted to surround myself with. I had always been into athletics and sports and the fact that this facility was helping athletes and general population move and feel better really resonated with my passions. I ended up spending 1000 hours at this physical therapy facility before leaving high school and heading into college.
While in college, I was able to intern with another physical therapy clinic out in Los Angeles County who exposed me to a holistic approach to health and fitness. It was the first time anyone had explained to me how nutrition, sleep, and our mental practices ultimately dictated the quality of everyday life as well as our physical performances. It was not too long after this realization and exposure to holistic health that I received a grant to conduct research on the effects of Whole Body Vibration and other training techniques on collegiate level athletes. This was a great exposure as it led me to eventually work with the strength and conditioning coach in assisting in the weight room with football and volleyball athletes.
Soon after graduating from California Lutheran University, I received admittance into the University of Texas, Austin and decided to move out to Austin, TX. Upon moving to Texas, I was able to land a personal coaching position at the Onnit Gym working with general population as well as professional athletes. Wanting to compliment the structure of the gym, I decided that I would put all my efforts into helping people improve their quality and library of movement and more importantly, helping people experience less pain in their body. Within my first two years working at Onnit, I was awarded a position on the education team, teaching certifications to doctors, therapist, coaches and general population attendees. I was also promoted to the lead Durability coach position which assisted other coaches at the Onnit gym better understand and implement movement and breathing techniques to assist in recovery protocols.
During my time at Onnit, I was able to travel and train with individuals like Earl Thomas, Avery Bradley, Andre Roberson, and The Taylor Swift ‘Reputation’ tour. I was also asked to lead and present a continued education seminar for the medical and training staff of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, University of Texas and the NSCA conference. One of the major themes I realized was regardless if you are a professional athlete or a 9-5 desk athlete, the principles’ that dictate your quality of life and performances are the same. If you are not moving in your body in a variety of ranges of motion, then we are NOT maximizing our potential as human beings. I am a firm believer in constantly working out and exercising using the same movements, over-and-over limits not only our physical capabilities but our mental capabilities as well!
This now brings me to today, where the majority of my training clientele consist of either professional, collegiate or high school athletes here in Austin, TX. My girlfriend and myself are also advisors and coaches for the Jr. NBA as we spend much time creating educational content for kids, parents and coaches of the global Jr. NBA community around the importance of nutrition, sleep, breath, and movement. I am also a coach on the Mirror platform as well as a Lululemon ambassador in Austin, TX. If I had to place a more direct title on my “niche” or expertise, I would say that many clients seek me out to help improve their mobility, movement variability, and overall sport performance. This means that many of the training protocols I implement have science and research backed behind everything that we do, and most often we spend the our time training on the ground with just our bodyweight. I absolutely love my job and the relationships I have been able to cultivate over the past 8+ years. Find some of the certifications below that I have accumulated.
CERTIFICATIONS:
- California Lutheran University | Major: Exercise Science B.S.
- NSCA CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist)
- K3 Combat
- Franz Bosch Pre-Hab and Rehab
- Onnit Academy Certified Trainer (Kettlebell, Mace, Clubs, Battle Ropes, Durability)
- FRCms and FRA Certified
- AED Certified
- Fascia Stretch Therapist
- Animal Flow Certified
- RPR Lv. 1
- Art of Breath
- Precision Nutrition Lv. 1