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Healthy Baller

@healthy_baller

17.6K

followers

564

following

Developing Athletes at Every Level
Performance Training
Physical Therapy
Lacrosse Skills
Nutrition Counseling
Online Training
MD/VA/DC

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Healthy Baller didn’t start with a business plan — it started with a spark.
A young athlete, Matt Boyd, and a rising performance coach, Blair O’Donovan, connected over a shared obsession with growth. What began as a few sessions in high school became a mentorship, and eventually a mission. By 2014, after years of cramped gyms and long hours, they launched Healthy Baller — a space designed to give athletes the coaching, mentorship, and movement-driven training they never had growing up.

It wasn’t easy.

They coached all day and ran the business at night, struggling to scale without sacrificing their hands-on approach. Everything shifted when Chris Wychock and Gussie Johns joined as true partners — bringing leadership, structure, and a shared standard of excellence. Together, they divided roles, refined systems, and made one critical tweak: slow down, protect the culture, and scale with intention.

Today, Healthy Baller spans five locations, a 20+ person team, and a community of thousands of athletes and adults. But the numbers only tell part of the story.

We’ve helped train thousands of athletes and adults to become the best version of themselves — not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. From young kids finding confidence… to high schoolers earning scholarships… to adults reaching their goals — we coach the whole person. Strength. Mindset. Discipline. Leadership.
Built on mentorship. Fueled by purpose. Still guided by the same core belief:

“Be the coach we needed growing up.” by @healthy_baller

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a year ago

Follow us to learn more about how we help current & former Athletes achieve peak athleticism through customized training programs to perform at elite levels. Here’s how it works:

1️⃣ Personalized Assessment
We kick off with a deep-dive questionnaire to learn your goals, injuries, and routines. This helps us build a program that’s truly yours—no guesswork, no cookie-cutter plans. It’s your fastest path to safe, effective results.

2️⃣ Custom Training Plan
Using your assessment, we create a fully tailored plan with expert coaching, in-person or online. You’ll know exactly what to do, how to do it, and stay on track for real progress—anytime, anywhere.

⁠3️⃣ Support & Accountability
We don’t just hand you a plan—we’re with you every step. With constant check-ins and personal support, you’ll stay motivated, consistent, and never feel like you’re doing it alone.

Follow us for more info and tips! by @healthy_baller

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a year ago

At Healthy Baller, we’re not here for quick fixes.

We’re here for the athlete who wants to put in the work, stay consistent, and see long-term results—in performance, confidence, and overall health.

We help our clients move better, feel stronger, and unlock their full potential—whether that’s on the court, field, or in everyday life.

These are just a few testimonials from athletes who trusted the process and are seeing real results. Their wins fuel our mission every day. The best part? They’re just getting started!

Want to take the first step? DM us "ELITE" and let’s talk about how we can help you perform at your best. by @healthy_baller

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a year ago

⏰ Not sure what to eat before training? Try the 4-2-1 method!

For athletes, pre-training nutrition is about timing. The closer you get to practice, the simpler and easier to digest your food should be. That way you have fuel in the tank without a heavy stomach.

Here’s how it works:
🍳 4 hours before: Eat a full meal with carbs, protein, and some fat (think oatmeal with berries + eggs)
🍌 2 hours before: Snack on carbs with a little protein or fat (banana + nut butter packet)
💧 1 hour before: A quick carb and/or fluids (applesauce pouch + water)

As training gets closer, fats and protein drop off and carbs take over. Carbs digest faster and give quick energy for the session.

A few easy pre-training staples to keep on hand:
✔️ Oatmeal or toast
✔️ Eggs
✔️ Bananas & other fruit
✔️ Nut butter packets
✔️ Applesauce pouches
✔️ Pretzels or crackers
✔️ Water bottle (always!)

Right food + right time = better energy on the field.
Every athlete is different, so test what works in practice before trying it on game day. Start simple and adjust from there!

📌 Save this for your next training day.

#sportsnutrition #fueling #nutrition taken in Healthy Baller by @healthy_baller

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a day ago

PSA: Your physical therapy shouldn’t only consist of when you are in the clinic.

If the only rehab you’re doing is during your 1–2 PT sessions each week, you’re missing a huge part of the process.

Physical therapy should be comprehensive. It’s not just about the exercises you do together in the clinic. It’s about understanding your lifestyle, daily activity, training demands, and goals, then building a plan that addresses all of those things.

The second slide is an example of a set of exercises I gave one of my patients to work on outside of our sessions. Note: I do not want them working on ALL of these every single day, however this is just a menu of exercises for them to do on their own.

All of these subgroups of exercises were included for a specific reason based on what we’re trying to accomplish.

Does every patient need this many exercises? Absolutely not. And not every exercise needs to be performed every day.

But every patient should have a clear understanding of what they can be doing independently to continue making progress.

The goal of good physical therapy isn’t to make you dependent on your PT. It’s to give you the education, confidence, and tools to succeed without one.

The work you do in the clinic matters. What you do outside of it matters just as much.

Finding the right PT is a huge piece of the puzzle when it comes to rehab.

* Also to note: this is a patient I am seeing biweekly, so there is an increased amount of things to work on in the time between visits. *

#foodforthought #physicaltherapy #strength #rehab #physio taken in Washington D. C. by @healthy_baller

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2 days ago

Every athlete moves differently and will use different strategies to change direction. While there isn’t one perfect way to move, there are angles and shapes we’re looking for that allow athletes to change direction safely and efficiently.

Position-specific isometrics allow athletes to spend time in those angles—learning to create, control, and produce force from the positions they’ll encounter when changing direction.

The goal isn’t just to get into these positions—it’s to build strength, confidence, and comfort while you’re there.

This can be a valuable tool for:
• Athletes who struggle to create effective angles when cutting
• Improving braking and re-acceleration mechanics
• Building strength and control in deeper change-of-direction positions
• Late-stage ACL return-to-sport athletes who need to regain confidence loading and producing force at game-speed angles

If you want to change direction faster, start by getting stronger and more confident in the positions that make it possible.

#HealthyBaller #ChangeOfDirection #AthleteDevelopment #SportsPerformance #ACLRehab ReturnToSport StrengthAndConditioning taken in Healthy Baller by @healthy_baller

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2 days ago

We love working with businesses that understand there’s a whole lot more to helping people perform at their best than simply putting them through a workout, and Healthy Baller is a great example of that.

Their team brings together performance training, physical therapy, personal training, recovery, and a whole-person approach to wellness while creating a space where everyone from beginners to high-level athletes is welcome.

Today, we also want to give a shoutout to one of Healthy Baller’s four co-owners, President/CEO Matt Boyd. Matt has been training athletes in the DC area since 2009, working extensively with high school and college athletes while helping develop programs that prepare them for the demands of their sport. His own experience as a Division 1 baseball player, combined with years spent coaching athletes, has helped shape the thoughtful approach he brings to performance training today.

Matt and the Healthy Baller team, we’re proud to have your back and even prouder to spotlight the work you’re doing for your athletes and community.

#clientspotlight #healthyballer #sportsperformance #fitnessbusiness #gyminsurance by @healthy_baller

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4 days ago

Grip Strength

3 Favorites:

1. Wrist Roll
2. KB Pronation and Supination
3. Heavy Farmers Carry

Building a stronger more robust grip strength is crucial not only in the weight room but on the field/ court. Grip strength is correlated not only with shoulder and elbow health, but also with all cause mortality.

Grip strength is derived from 3 primary actions. Flexion/ Extension, Pronation/ Supination and Gripping. By training all 3 progressively you can increase forearm musculature, grip strength and performance!

#gripstrength #sportsperformance #athleticdevelopment taken in Healthy Baller by @healthy_baller

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6 days ago

Step-up variations for athletic development.

Most sport happens on one leg at a time: sprinting, jumping, cutting, landing. Step-ups train that directly by building single-leg strength and stability through the hips, knees, and ankles.

Each variation shifts the demand. Forward step-ups build straight-line drive, while diagonal step-ups challenge hip and knee control as the body moves across angles, closer to how athletes actually move. Adding load or slowing the tempo increases the strength and stability challenge.

Prioritize control first, then progress height, load, or speed.

#HealthyBaller #AthleteTraining #StrengthAndConditioning #StepUps taken in Healthy Baller by @healthy_baller

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9 days ago

Here are 4 things swimmers should consider:
1️⃣ Training volume & intensity — A 60-minute easy session doesn’t require the same fueling strategy as a 2-hour high-intensity practice.
2️⃣ Stomach position — Swimming can make GI discomfort more noticeable. Large, high-fat or high-fiber meals right before getting in the pool may not be your best choice.
3️⃣ Multiple events or training sessions — When you have several races or sessions in one day, recovery between them becomes part of your performance strategy. Think carbs + fluids + easily digested foods.
4️⃣ Hydration — Just because you’re surrounded by water doesn’t mean you’re hydrated! Swimmers can still have significant fluid losses during training.

Don’t just think about what you’re eating. Think about what you’re eating, when you’re eating it, and how it supports the next practice or race. taken in Healthy Baller by @healthy_baller

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10 days ago

Upper Body training needs adequate stimulus and too often training programs neglect these factors...

🧠 Upper-Body Coordination — improve timing, rhythm, and control
🏋️ Loaded Mobility — build strength through usable ranges of motion
⚡ Plyometrics — develop explosiveness and reactive ability
💪 Isometrics — build positional strength, stability, and tendon capacity

Let me know if there are any I missed! 💫 taken in Healthy Baller by @healthy_baller

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12 days ago

Pull-ups are a great way to build overhead strength, but getting to your first pull-up can be challenging. Here are some progressions to build that strength!

#pullups #performancetraining #sportsperformance taken in Healthy Baller by @healthy_baller

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13 days ago