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Q: Mr. DeFranco – when are those MoJoe bars that you were talking about coming out? I’ve been following your skinny bastard diet and I want to incorporate a new protein bar into my diet when I’m at school. and where will I be able to buy them?
Please get back to me,
Mathew
A: Mathew, IT’S COMING…
…Protein bars will never be the same!
I’m excited to announce that I received the final test batch of MoJoe bars early this week and everything turned out PERFECT! To say that I’m pumped would be the understatement of the year! The ingredients were right on, they still taste incredible, they make you FEEL great and my graphic artist produced the most kick-ass wrapper you have ever seen! (Yes, the picture above is the actual wrapper that the MoJoe bars will come in.)
Anyway, now that everything tested out O.K., we will be ordering the first official batch of bars within 2 weeks! Shortly after, you will be able to purchase the bars on this website. (We are currently creating a “MoJoe” page which will contain nutritional information about the bar & purchasing information.)
In the meantime, I encourage everyone who reads this to call their local Vitamin Shoppe or GNC and ask if they will be selling MoJoe bars. If these stores decide to distribute the MoJoe bar, it can cut down on YOUR cost on shipping, etc. So give your local store a call, or next time you go to GNC or the Vitamin Shoppe, inquire about this bar. YOUR demand can drastically decrease the time in which it takes us to get these bars available throughout the country.
If you’re interested in distributing these bars at your gym or through your personal website, etc., email me at joe-d@defrancostraining.com with “MoJoe Bar” in the subject line.
This isn’t just hype…this bar is the real deal!
Stay tuned…
Joe D.
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Q: Joe, I purchased your combine video a couple months ago. I’ve never read about any of those techniques on the internet. Your info is unbelievable!! My question is what else do you do when you get guys ready for the NFL combine? Is it just technique training or do you have them lift and do other stuff? Thanks Joe and once again you put out an amazing video!
Nick Thompson
A: Nick,
Without question, the most important aspect of preparing a college football player for the NFL Combine or their Pro Day is teaching them the proper technique to the tests (40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle, 3-cone drill, vertical jump, broad jump, 225 lb. bench test & the 60-yard shuttle.) As I’ve said time & time again, even though these test aren’t great predictors of a players on-field ability, they are here to stay…so learn how to do them!
With that being said, I do have my guys do other aspects of training if they are staying in New Jersey to train with me for a prolonged period of time before their NFL workout. Here is a sample template of one of my training week’s with my future NFL hopefuls…
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MONDAY – 40-yard dash technique (Most of the time we focus on the first 10 yards & acceleration mechanics.)
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TUESDAY – Max-Effort Upper body lift (See my Westside for Skinny Bastard’s template.)
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WEDNESDAY – 20-yard shuttle & 3-Cone technique
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THURSDAY – Vertical Jump and/or Broad jump technique warm-up / Lower body strength training (I do 2 week mini-cycles, alternating between dynamic days & max-effort days. See my Westside for Skinny Bastard’s template.)
Pictured above is Duke defensive end, Phil Alexander, box-squatting 405 lbs. with an added 80 lbs. of chain for 2 strong reps! (Remember this name! Phil suffered a devastating lower leg & ankle injury last year…many NFL scouts question if Phil will ever be “normal” again. Judging by the above picture, his 35 ½” vertical jump at a shredded 271 lbs. and his 10-yard sprint times are better than some receivers, I know that Phil is going to be BETTER than “normal”…and he still has 2 more months of training before his Pro Day!)
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FRIDAY – Repetition or Dynamic-effort Upper body strength training (See my Westside for Skinny Bastard’s template.)
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SATURDAY – Resisted short sprints (using weighted sleds or the TredSled) or extra work on any of the tests which need extra training.
Pictured above is another one of my “sleepers” in this year’s NFL draft, Miles Austin, sprinting on our resisted TredSled last Saturday. Miles is the 1st ever football player from little Monmouth University in New Jersey to be invited to the NFL Combine. But don’t let the small school fool you! Miles is a JACKED 6’02” and currently 220 lbs. (and getting more shredded every day!) He already broke the gym record in the vertical jump last Thursday with an eye-popping 42” legit jump! Remember his name come draft day!
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SUNDAY – REST!
Joe D.
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Q: Happy Holidays Joe, and I would like to thank you for putting together a kick ass seminar on December 10th. It did not surprise me that you put together such a first class seminar and I would like to see you put one together in the spring on your work for speed, agility and conditioning for HS and College athletes. Anyway I have been thinking, as I always try to do every day, and there seems to be this school of thought by some of your colleagues that SAQ work and strength work go hand in hand in the off season. That is to say they run their athletes as much as they do strength work with them in the off season. Now while I am new at this game I have developed a philosophy that you need to build the athlete's foundation first (his relative body strength) before his/her SAQ work can really be meaningful. Many times I become frustrated because parents want to talk about running and "getting in shape" when the reality of the situation is that their son or daughter are weak sacks of shit. A kid like this might be able to develop their energy system during SAQ training, but their true potential for speed is limited by their lack of strength.
So what's the deal? Are coaches doing this so they can sell bigger group lessons or am I missing some vital information??? Listen I am always looking to learn could you share your thoughts. I hope to speak with you soon.
Damian
Athletes In Training
A: Damian,
Great question...it's one that comes up everyday with us as well...it's also something that I feel very strongly about.
Here are some of my random thoughts regarding this topic…
1) It's fine if an athlete wants to run year-round to stay "in shape." Just remember that “conditioning” sessions & “speed training” sessions are NOT the same. I feel that STRENGTH should be the focus during the initial stages of the off-season if your goal is to improve an athlete’s “speed”...For example, lift weights 3-4 days a week and do some tempo runs on a Saturday. This can be done for the first 2-3 months of their off-season and then they can gradually add in more speed & sport-specific sessions (while cutting down on their strength training volume) as the season gets closer.
2) Most larger facilities have to preach running and conditioning 3X a week because they need to produce enough revenue to pay their bills. It’s much easier to conduct a speed training or conditioning session with a large group, compared to a strength training session. At my facility, we train 2-4 kids at a time in a strength session. Anything over 4 in a group and we’ve found that the productivity of the session decreases. On the other hand, it’s much easier to have kids train in large groups when they’re participating in a running session; having 8-10 kids in a running workout is no problem… To quote 50-Cent, “clickidy clank, clickidy clank, the money goes into my piggy bank!” Get my point brother? Simply put, more kids in a group equals more money per hour. If you are running your business out of a large facility, you HAVE to preach that kids should be running 3X a week all year long because you HAVE to pay your bills!
3) For the past 9 years, I’ve been analyzing athlete's running technique. I’ve literally watched thousands of kids run & I see the same technique flaws time and time again. Guess what I found? Almost ALL aspects of proper sprinting technique rely on RELATIVE STRENGTH & flexibility. For example, driving your knees up, pumping your arms fast, keeping an upright posture, taking big strides, etc., ALL rely on being strong in relation to your body weight & flexible enough to get in the proper positions! Ironically, most kids that are pathetically slow are also overweight & most of them can’t perform even one chin-up or do one good squat with their own bodyweight! What does this tell you? These kids would get better results by getting involved in a proper strength training & nutritional program, as opposed to just running all the time. I always tell parents that their kids are slow for a reason… I then explain to them that being slow is the PROBLEM, but relative body strength is usually the CAUSE of the problem. The most effective way of fixing a problem is to fix the CAUSE; treating the problem alone just won’t do it. Here’s a helpful analogy to hammer home my point…
When I was 17 years old, I started having severe nerve pain shooting down my leg. I was in excruciating pain all the time. I tried every remedy & treatment on the planet to help fix my “irritated nerve;” NOTHING WORKED! Four years later, doctors discovered a tumor in my back. Ironically my back never really hurt that bad during this time; it was the nerve pain in my leg that drove me crazy. After living with this “leg pain” for four years, I had surgery to remove the tumor. The day after my surgery, my “leg” pain was completely gone! For 4 years, everyone was treating my problem; I didn’t get better until I found a doctor that found the CAUSE of my problem!
Improper running technique is the “nerve pain”; a lack of relative body strength is the “tumor”. (Hopefully I didn’t just confuse the hell out of everyone!)
4) It takes most high school kids 3-6 weeks to get in shape. Why take away from their strength gains in January when they don't have to be in "game shape" until August?
I can go on and on regarding this topic. The bottom line is that the ignorant “speed disciples” are never going to change their minds. Come to think of it…I DON’T WANT THEM TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS! Thanks to them, my facility is absolutely flooded with athletes dying to get in our program because they are sick & tired of training at facilities that are “all show & no go”!
I’ll take box-squatting over form skipping any day!
Joe D.
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