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PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT!
Joe recently sat down with Chris
Scarborough of TrainingYoungAthletes.com
and discussed the topic of “Strength Training
for High School Athletes”. Joe’s interview
was recorded and is now available as Part 2 of a 3-part
CD series on the topic. Top Canadian strength coaches,
Christian Thibaudeau and Larry Justanis round out
the other 2 parts of this information-packed audio
series. If you’re interested in purchasing one,
or all three of these CD’s, click on the link
below:
http://store.mixonic.com/athletebody
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Q: Coach
DeFranco,
Thank you for sharing so much valuable information
with other coaches. Your website has been a constant
education for me during this past year and I just
wanted to share my gratitude.
I know you’re a busy man so I just want to ask you one quick question. Who is the strongest high school football player that you train? I have just been hired as the first strength and conditioning coach at a high school here in Georgia and I wanted some real numbers to use as a guideline with my kids. I’m a big believer in developing strength and I’d like to have comparisons to some of the best high schools in the country. I know that there are some big, strong football players in New Jersey. Thanks coach!
A: Coach,
It’s good to see that high schools are finally
recognizing the importance of a properly designed
strength & conditioning program. High school is
where good or bad training habits are formed. A good
high school strength & conditioning coach can
literally change an athlete’s life. I wish you
the best of luck with your players. If there is anything
that I can ever do to help, let me know.
As far as my strongest high school football player is concerned, the first kid to pop into my head is Dan Larkin of Bergen Catholic high school. Dan is an offensive tackle who is getting ready for his senior year in high school. He’s 6’04” and 295 lbs. At 16 years old he box squatted 500 lbs. for 2 reps (He didn’t sit back as far as I would have liked, but we’ll take it.), trap bar deadlifted 600 lbs. and benched 375 lbs. All of these lifts were legit and under my supervision. No powerlifting equipment was used – not even a belt! This kid is strong and he’s continuing to get stronger! He’s also working with David Diehl of the N.Y. Giants on his footwork, hand speed and pass/run-blocking technique. Syracuse, West Virginia, NC State and Maryland have already offered full scholarships.
Hopefully this gives you some insight on how we do it up north.
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| Dan Larkin – Box Squat, |
Dan Larkin – Trap bar deadlift, 600 lbs. |
Best of luck coach!
Joe D.
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Q: Mr Defranco,
I have 2 questions: First off, I do find your site
very interesting. It seems as if all of the athletes
pictured on your site look very massive and strong.
But could you supply any good exercises or workouts
for a middle-aged guy who just wants a lean physique
without putting on too much muscle or getting too
strong??
Also, as a side note, I was
wondering if you think its important to have hobbies
outside of weight lifting to prevent you from burning
out? Will other activities indirectly help my efforts
in the gym?
thank you sir
Julius
A: Julius,
You may have stumbled onto the wrong site. I thrive
on turning athletes into animals on the athletic field.
I get paid to make athletes brutally strong and lightning
fast.
As far as my hobbies are concerned, here’s something that I recently did outside of the gym and I got a lot of enjoyment out of it: Last Friday, I went to Home Depot and grabbed a bunch of 2X4’s and other pieces of wood from the hardware section. I then carried the wood over to the guy who’s in charge of cutting the wood. I handed him a pile of wood and asked him to cut them for me. He asked me what I needed the wood for. I replied, “Board pressing. I need you to make me another 1-board and another 4-board.” The look on the guy’s face was priceless. He looked at me like I was from another planet.
Anyway, you probably have no idea what the hell I’m talking about. Check out the link that I’ve provided below. I think it’s more your style.
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Sometimes the questions baffle me…WOW!
Joe D.
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Q: Joe,
I still don’t understand why you advocate high-rep
training for athletes in your “skinny bastard”
program – even if you’re referring to
young athletes. Wouldn’t the muscle that these
young athletes gain still be useless (all show, no
go, as you would say) if it was built through high-rep
training?
Lenny
A: Lenny,
I used to feel the same as you do about high-rep training.
I was the first one to bash it and call it counterproductive.
After all, research shows that high-rep/bodybuilding
training hypertrophies the Type IIA fibers and causes
an increase in the non-contractile components of the
muscle (sarcoplasmic volume, capillary density, and
mitochondria proliferation). Although the cross sectional
area of the muscle increases with this type of training,
the density of muscle fibers per unit area decreases;
it is theorized that there is no increase in muscular
strength with this type of training. I used to feel
that this type of training was useless for all athletes.
Well, I’ve become more experienced and I changed
my mind.
Experience has taught me that young, “skinny bastards” benefit greatly from building a foundation of muscle mass, regardless of the fibers that we’re recruiting. This added muscle mass builds a bigger foundation for later training. This bigger foundation can lead to a greater peak in athletic qualities that rely on various aspects of strength, namely, speed-strength and strength-speed. Re-read my “Westside for Skinny Bastards” article. It might make more sense the second time around.
Thanks for the question.
Joe D.
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Q: Coach
D,
I just got done watching your
Combine video and all that I can say is THANK
YOU! That was the most informative hour and fifteen
minutes that I ever spent in front of the TV. I think
the most impressive part was John Iannuzi’s
(sp?) jumping ability. Man, that kid can jump out
of the gym! My question is, what are his numbers like
in the weight room – bench, deadlift, etc. And
also do you work with him on nutrition? I couldn’t
tell exactly from the video, but I doubt he carries
a lot of bodyfat.
Thanks for your time coach.
Keep the great info coming!
Pete
A: Pete,
I’m glad that you were another happy customer!
I took a lot of shit for giving away so much information
in that video. But, it turned out to be a great help
to thousands of athletes, coaches and parents throughout
the WORLD. That is really all that matters to me.
Screw the scouts and anyone else who doesn’t
like it.
With regards to John Iannuzzi, that kid is becoming
a mini-celebrity in the athletic community. I’m
so glad because he’s a kid who has consistently
busted his ass over the past 4 years. He is a testament
to what dedication, hard work and proper training
and nutrition can do for an athlete.
Relatively speaking, he is very strong – especially in the lower body and core. He deadlifts 425 lbs., bench presses 275 lbs. and now performs single leg squats holding 105 lb. dumbells for very strict sets of 6 reps. No weightlifting belts, wraps or any other equipment is used during these lifts. And John also plays basketball 6 days a week.
As far as his bodyfat is concerned, John carries about 6.5% on his 6’02” frame. He weighs 186 lbs. and he’s absolutely shredded! See for yourself.
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John will vertical jump 40”
(without cheating) before he goes to college.
Joe D.
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Q: How would you incorporate a max effort upper body pulling exercise and rep exercise into your modified Westside for Skinny Bastards template?
John
A: John,
This is very easy. I’ve been experimenting with
this with many of my wrestlers and baseball players
and the results are phenomenal.
Simply think of the chin-up as the equivalent of the bench press. Make up as many variations of this movement as possible. Here are some of my favorites:
-
Weighted Chin-ups (supinated grip)
-
Weighted Pull-ups (pronated grip)
-
Weighted Pull-ups (neutral grip)
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Towel Chin-ups
-
Flexed arm hang for time (vary all 3 grips / add weight if necessary)
Some of my favorite repetition exercises are as follows:
-
Bodyweight chin-ups (vary grips) for reps
-
One-arm dumbell rows
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Chest supported rows
-
Lat pulldowns (various bars)
-
Low cable rows (various bars)
-
Thick bar curls
Also perform accessory work for your grip strength twice a week.
Get ready to tear some phone books in
half!
Joe D.
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