How Mekhi Ragland Transformed His Body This Summer

Support PFB with a PFB+ membership — $8 a month or $50 for a year.

STILLWATER — While his teammates were arriving in Stillwater for their first session of summer workouts, Mekhi Ragland was in Arizona living in a house with six other people.

A sophomore center on the Oklahoma State basketball team, Ragland spent seven weeks at Live in Fitness, a weight loss retreat in Scottsdale, Arizona. There, Ragland transformed his body before getting back with the Cowboys ahead of their preseason trip to Puerto Rico.

Ragland said of the other people at the retreat with him, he was the youngest there and the only athlete.

“I was waking up at 4 a.m. every morning, going on hikes,” Ragland said. “Diet, it was a personal chef, so I was eating — I was probably eating seven to eight times a day, which is completely crazy because you would think you wouldn’t eat as much. But I ate more when I was there, actually. It was cool, though. It was definitely a mental challenge in the beginning. Once you get over that part, it becomes an everyday routine to be honest.

“Me and the strength coach here and the nutritionist, we’ve been trying to implement that same schedule for me here.”

Ragland said the idea for him to go to the camp came when he, his agent, OSU coach Steve Lutz and associate head coach James Miller got together in the early portions of the offseason. From there, it was about finding the right camp, and that’s where Live in Fitness stood out.

The retreat was founded by Eric Viskovicz, who has worked alongside the likes of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. The camp involves baseline tests, personalized meal plans, workouts and daily lectures focused on rewiring habits.

“It says that he is serious about improving — as a person and as a player,” said Miller on Ragland going to the camp. “He’s done a tremendous job. … His mentality in showing his growth and maturity has been awesome. It says a lot about him because when other guys had maybe a little bit of a break, he did not. When he went and did something that would be abnormal to try to better himself, to help himself first and foremost but obviously to help our team and make some personal sacrifices is pretty cool to see him and his journey. He’s come a long way.”

Ragland is a little banged up right now, but he showed flashes of his improved body while the Cowboys were in Puerto Rico.

Looking notably trimmer, Ragland averaged 9.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in about 12 minutes a game in the three games in Puerto Rico. That came after he took part in just 14 games as a freshman last season, where he averaged 1.4 points and 1.6 rebounds a game.

“I think that’s just a glimpse of what I can do,” Ragland said. “I think it shows all the hard work I put in in those months I was away trying transform my body. It’s a carry over from last year, the last couple games we got at the end of the year, where I showed flashes, showed glimpses. I feel like now it’s just having do to the same thing in long spurts.”