Kinesiology Paths: Follow Your Heart and Keep Running!

Junhai Xu, Ph.D. Assistant Professor

Being a professor of Kinesiology is a dream come true. I enjoy teaching and doing research, through which I can impart my knowledge and experience to students, explore the unknown in exercise sciences, and help improve human performance, wellness and health. When I think back, the following assisted me in fulfilling my dreams.

Find Your Interest

My background was physical education. I was a professor teaching physical activity classes, including basketball, volleyball, track & field, and Tai-chi at Central University of Finance & Economics (CUFE) in Beijing, China. I had developed an interest in factors affecting exercise performance after completing graduate school. However, there were no classes taught about it at that time. However, a great opportunity presented itself to me when I got a job as an interpreter for the strength and conditioning coaches for Chinese national men’s basketball team. It was my first time to see strength and conditioning training applied in professional sports. I realized that was what I wanted to do in my career! It led me all the way to the United States for a Master’s in fitness and human performance, an internship with the Houston Rockets, becoming a strength and conditioning coach for the Chinese youth national basketball teams, a strength and conditioning coach for Chinese women’s Olympic team, completing my doctoral studies at LSU and a volunteer strength and conditioning coach of LSU football.

Sharpen Your Tools

English, especially spoken English, led me to the path of strength and conditioning. I did not realize it was necessary to improve my spoken English until I turned down a job recommendation as an interpreter for a Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) team. From then on, I developed a habit of practicing my spoken English early every morning through listening to the radio of Voice of America (VOA). I even bought a portable CD player when I got my first month’s salary, to listen to audio English articles whenever I could. My four-year practice helped me secure a job as an interpreter for Chinese men’s national basketball team, and eventually helped me get the job of strength and conditioning coach for Chinese national youth basketball teams.

As a strength and conditioning professional, a knowledge of the exercise techniques is very important. Starting from scratch, I learned every weight lifting technique from squat, bench press to Olympic weightlifting and plyometrics. I practiced the techniques learned from class and organized a training club with my classmates to practice Olympic weightlifting every weekend. Practice is vital to the learning process as well, because it corrects the false, even wrong, techniques and creates opportunities to learn why a certain exercise works and others don’t. Most importantly, it provides the ingredients for your future training program.

Be Committed and Work Hard

To love what you are doing, you should be committed and contribute time to it. In order to improve my spoken English, I have developed a 5-year habit, to practice for 2 hours starting from 5:30 in the morning every day. When I was doing my internship, I would normally go to the Toyota Center fifteen minutes early. Once my internship supervisor arrived, we would finish a 40-minute workout together before NBA player Yaoming came for practice. As the strength and conditioning coach of the Chinese national basketball teams, I was always the first one to get to the training room to set up all the equipment, to make sure the training session would go well. Before calling it a day I would complete a one hour training session myself. While I was a volunteer strength and conditioning coach for LSU football, I started the day by arranging training equipment and finished with cleaning and replacing the weights. All of this contributed to my success as a strength and conditioning coach for Chinese national basketball teams.

Be Grateful and Thankful

Without help from others, a person can hardly succeed. I always appreciated the people who have supported and helped me by maintaining great friendships with them.
Mr. Xue, my internship supervisor in Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), offered me a job as an interpreter for Chinese men’s national basketball team, which gave me an opportunity to work with professional basketball teams. Anthony Falsone, the athletic performance coordinator of San Antonio Spurs, led me to the field of strength and conditioning and taught me many weight training techniques. Dr. William Amonette, my Master’s advisor at University of Houston Clear Lake, played a huge role in my academic success, and is a role model for my career. Dr. Arnold Nelson, my PhD advisor, opened another window of opportunity in exercise for health. I have a deep appreciation for these people and others, as they have been role models for helping people. I plan to carry on their virtues by helping others. My time here in the Louisiana Tech Department of Kinesiology has been wonderful! My family and I enjoy life in Ruston and the Louisiana Tech community.