Meatheads, Magazine Covers, and a MONSTER Rookie year!

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Last year, T-MUSCLE author - Nate Green - took a trip to New Jersey to do an "investigative report" on how we prepare our college football players for the NFL Combine. For an entire week, Nate did exactly what our NFL Combine clients did; he lifted with them, stretched with them, ran with them, and conditioned with them. After being "in the trenches" with our future NFL stars, Nate wrote a kick-ass article about his experience and the results he achieved in such a short time; he also gave an inside look at our philosophies on training athletes in general.

This year, Nate became intrigued when he heard about our newest product - our Built Like a Badass ebook. This is because Nate mainly knew about our work with athletes, but he was unaware that we were achieving equally incredible results with our "Washed-up Meathead" clients! So last month, Nate set up a conference call with me to discuss some of my rules, tips and tricks for helping former athletes get their physiques - and their swag - back! You can check out Nate's latest T-MUSCLE article by clicking on the link below!

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Last week, I wrote a "congratulations" post to Miles Austin & Brian Cushing after they were selected to the 2010 NFL PRO BOWL! This week, they were both in the news... AGAIN!

Miles earned himself a spot on this weeks cover of Sports Illustrated and we couldn't be prouder!

Cush put the final exclamation point on his storybook rookie season by being named the NFL's DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR! He can now put a "check" next to every possible accomplishment a rookie can achieve...

• He started all 16 games!
• He lead his team in tackles with 134!
• He lead the entire AFC in tackles (tied with Ray Lewis)!
• He lead all NFL linebackers with 4 interceptions!
• He earned the 'Defensive Rookie of the Year' Award!
• He earned a trip to the Pro Bowl!

What a way to start the new year!!!

I'll be back to posting training info and answering questions on the blog next week!

-Joe D.

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Miles Austin & Brian Cushing voted to PRO BOWL!!!

Announcements

I couldn't let another day go by without posting an official "Congratulations" to two of our longtime clients - Miles Austin and Brian Cushing - for being selected to the Pro Bowl!

When most people look at the Pro Bowl roster, the names 'Miles Austin' and 'Brian Cushing' will probably catch their eyes as two of the most unlikely players to be selected. After all, Brian Cushing is a ROOKIE...and rookies just aren't supposed to make it to the Pro Bowl! In fact, the last rookie outside linebacker to make the Pro Bowl was San Diego's Shawn Merriman back in 2005!

Miles Austin's story may be even more unbelievable! Four years ago, Miles was an undrafted free agent out of little Monmouth College in New Jersey. HUNDREDS of players were drafted over him. Yet, on Tuesday night, Miles was one of only four wide receivers selected to the NFC's roster! When you think about all the guys who were drafted over him and who were said to be "better" than him; his accomplishment is even more impressive!

CHECK OUT WHAT THESE TWO GUYS ACCOMPLISHED THIS YEAR...

Brian Cushing leads the entire AFC in tackles with 128! He also ranks #1 among all NFL linebackers with 4 interceptions and 10 pass break-ups! (I guess he silenced all the "experts" who said he wasn't an 'every down' linebacker because he lacked speed and cover skills! How bad do those people look right now HAHA???) He was also named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season! (Not a bad rookie campaign, huh?!)

Miles Austin leads the entire NFC in receiving yards with 1230 yards! He also ranks #3 in touchdown catches (11) and he's ninth in recpetions (74). The most amazing thing about Miles' stats is that he only started 8 games this year!! (Can you imagine what he would have done if he started the entire season?!)

Congratulations to two of the hardest-working athletes that have ever walked through our doors!!! You guys EARNED your success and you both DESERVE it!

If any of our readers are going to be in Miami for the Pro Bowl; we'll see you there!!!

-Joe D.

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Top 22 Ways to be BUILT LIKE A BADASS!

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#1 Squat heavy

#2 Jump rope

#3 Do chin-ups

#4 Bench heavy

#5 Run

#6 Sprint

#7 Jump

#8 Do push-ups

#9 Drink lots of water

#10 Perform barbell or dumbell complexes once a week

#11 Eat lean protein with each meal

#12 Deadlift

#13 Get 8 hours of sleep each night

#14 Eat lots of green veggies

#15 Perform high intensity "cardio"

#16 Incorporate high & low reps into your workouts

#17 Allow adequate recovery between workouts

#18 Don't EVER go on a low calorie diet

#19 Use the foam roller, tennis ball & lax ball to improve tissue quality and alleviate soreness

#21 Train like an athlete!

#22 Buy the "BUILT LIKE A BADASS" ebook and follow the program!

The wait is almost over! "BUILT LIKE A BADASS" will be released Tuesday, November 10th on our STORE page! Get ready to change the way you train forever!

-Joe D.

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"Built like a Badass" ebook preview!

Announcements

During the past couple of days, my email and facebook message inboxes have been flooded with questions regarding the release of our "Built like a Badass" ebook.

"When will the program be released"?

"Who will benefit from the program"?

"What does the program consist of"?

"Is it similar to your 'Westside for Skinny Batsards' template"?

"Do I need to purchase any special equipment before starting this program"?

Due to popular demand, I decided to give some general information regarding the program before it's released. This will enable our readers to decide if they are "candidates" for the 'Badass System' ahead of time. I obviously can't give away any specifics, but the following info should give everyone a better understanding of our "Built like a Badass" ebook.

First of all, I'm very pleased to announce that the "Built like a Badass" ebook will be launched on or before Tuesday, November 10th. The ebook will be sold on our STORE page and only our STORE page at this time. I also want to clarify that this product will be an E-book. This means that immediately upon purchasing this product, you will receive an email with a link to the product. THE PRODUCT DOES NOT GET DELIVERED IN THE MAIL!! An e-book is a PDF file that you open and read on your computer. (You can obviously print it out and make it a "hard copy" manual if you like.) I just needed to clarify this because some people are still unclear about ebooks.

*By the way, if you're not a subscriber to our email newsletter, I strongly encourage you to sign up now (it's FREE)! It literally takes 5 seconds...you just need to type in your email address in the box at the top/right corner of this web page and click "Join". This will ensure that you receive an email notification the second the ebook is added to our STORE page!

Here's what Alwyn had to say...

About a year ago I was talking with my friend Joe DeFranco. The conversation quickly turned to business. (Joe is one of the few guys who has gained a lot of popularity because of his online presence, but he actualy makes a living in the real world training people. I love talking with guys in the industry that really fuc#ing train people - not just write articles about training people!) DeFranco's Training has become world-renowned for the results they've gotten training athletes - but Joe and I were talking about what we both felt was the most under-served market in the fitness industry --- the "washed up meathead".

Please don't get me wrong - the term "washed-up meathead" is not a derogatory term. It's a fun term for the former athlete who still loves to train. The guy (or girl) who used to be a competitive athlete and trained for sport, but has now retired, or is just playing on weekends. This group wants to stay ATHLETIC. They want to look better, feel better and perform better. But this group of individuals has run into some challenges. Here are just a few:

They no longer have the recovery ability that they once had. Many times, this is because they no longer do the mobility and conditioning that they once did for their sport. Their only "mobility" and "conditioning" is what they do in the gym --- and let's be honest, it's not much more than an after-thought once they finish their weight training. The problem is, they don't want to feel beat up from their training - they want to feel better. But, with the lack of flexibility/mobility and conditioning - many times their strength-training ends up doing more harm then good. This eventually leads them to give up training all-together.

Most "washed-up meatheads" also have careers and families that, let's face it - definitely come first. Because of this, many of them can only devote three or four hours per week to training. As a trainer/coach, if you can't get them physically fit in that time frame, they will walk out the door and go to another gym.

The other "problem" with this group is that they want their workouts to be fun and exciting. Because most of them have played competitive sports in the past, they like to compete. Since their competitive days are over, they want some new and exciting challenges in the weightroom. They don't want to walk in the gym and do the same, boring workout that everyone else is doing.

Finally, most people in this group are no longer training in state-of-the-art university or professional facilities. They are now bunched with "normal" people at "normal" health clubs or corporate gyms. This dramatically reduces their equipment and exercise selection options.

This group hasn't only been overlooked in the gym; they have been overlooked in terms of programs and information products online as well. But last week this all changed when Joe sent me a preview copy of "Built like a Badass". This program is the brainchild of Joe and his staff and it's for the exact demographic I have been talking about! I quickly went through it looking for every little detail. Is there enough heavy work? Is there too much heavy work? What about conditioning? Enough? Too much? How's the volume? Will someone feel better because of this? Look better? Perform Better?

This program passed with flying colors! It's sick. Seriously! Joe and his team really stepped up with this one. The exercises are unique and hardcore (just as you'd expect from a DeFranco program), but the loading and conditioning guidelines are smart enough that it'll build guys up, instead of breaking them down.

But if you're like me - talk is cheap - results are what matters. Well, this program passes on that count too - as this is exactly what Joe and his team do. This program isn't a magazine article where there is limited space, or you can only shoot five exercises because that's all the room they have for photos. This program is exactly what you'd get if you rolled into Dirtee Jerzee and trained with Joe and his team!!!! But, you're able to get this world-class information at a fraction of the investment!

Any former athlete, 'Average Joe' or police/fire/military personnel would be crazy not to pick this Ebook up when it's released!!

-Alwyn Cosgrove

I wanted to back up some of the things that Alwyn had to say with some more proof of the effectiveness of this program. Here's another one of our "test subjects" after completing the 12-week program...

BEFORE - 228 pounds

AFTER - 198 "Badass" pounds

The above "test subject" also improved from 11 chin-ups to 23 chin-ups during the 12 weeks...and on Week 11 of this program he came within 15 pounds of his all-time best deadlift (570 lbs.)! The most impressive thing about his 555 lb. deadlift was that he did it at a bodyweight that was 30 pounds less than when he deadlifted 570!!

As you can tell, this program isn't just about being built like a badass --- completing this program will definitely give you some "go" to go along with your "show"!

On a personal note, I was able to bench 315 pounds for 10 reps and floor press 140 lb. dumbells for 10 reps while on this program. I can't tell you how many years it's been since I was able to bench 315 for 10 -- and I've never gotten the 140's for 10 reps on dumbell floor presses before completing this program! I gotta tell you - I think the set/rep/percentage scheme we came up with for the main lifts on this program is THE best system I've ever used for the combination of size and strength gains! I'm obviously not going to reveal the system we created for the BADASS Program - so for now - all I can say is, "The film doesn't lie, kids"...

And when I refer to having "go" to go along with your "show", I'm not just referring to strength. We provide some unique "finishers" at the end of each workout that will take your conditioning beyond what it was back in your "playing days"! And one thing's for sure --- you will never be bored during the conditioning portions of this program! Our "BeZercher Barbell Complex" is just one example to back up my statement...

By the way, although we consider this program the "Rolls Royce" of Washed-Up Meathead programs --- you do NOT need a "Rolls Royce" caliber gym in order to perform the program! We purposely designed this program so anyone can perform it (in it's entirety) at any "regular" gym! If you have access to barbells, dumbells and a cable unit, you can perform this program! This program was designed and created for YOU...so we left no stone un-turned!

Now you know why I haven't updated this blog as frequently during the past couple of months...I wasn't slacking...I wasn't hiding...

I just decided to get off the computer and spend more time in the "lab" so we can give back to our fellow "Washed-Up Meatheads". We neglected them for way too long.

Fortunately, good things come to those who wait..

-Joe D.

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