From D2 football to the BIGTIME!

I have to start this week’s ASK JOE column by congratulating Mackenzy Bernadeau of Bentley College & Brian Witherspoon of Stillman College! As most of you know, “Mack” and “Spoon” started training with us in December to prepare for their NFL Pro Days. Both of these guys played at small, Division II colleges and neither of them got invited to the NFL Combine; yet BOTH of them defied the odds to make NFL rosters!

Spoon made a name for himself at our facility due to the fact that he “graduated” from our program as the fastest athlete in the history of DeFranco’s Training! His 4.16-second 40-yard dash set the internet on fire; and once Spoon put on a Jaguars uniform, he quickly showed the world that his speed translated to the football field! Spoon earned his roster spot after a number of electrifying punt & kickoff returns!

Spoon was the only undrafted rookie free agent to make the Jaguars 53-man roster!

Big Mack was one of the most focused, hard-working athletes ever to set foot in our gym! When this kid showed up in December, he literally couldn’t jog without limping due to a torn meniscus. In only 3 short months, Mack transformed his body and showed up at his Pro Day at 110%! His Pro Day performance was so impressive that the Carolina Panthers drafted Mack in the 7th Round (even though he attended a small D2 school and missed the last 4 games of his senior year due to injury)! Getting drafted wasn’t enough for Mack; he was determined to make the team! Mack came back to New Jersey in June to get himself in peak condition for training camp; he even ended up winning our 1st ever Professional Athlete Strongman Competition! Mack also became somewhat of a “YouTube Legend” with his incredible Uphill Tahoe Pull!  

The Carolina Panthers cut two veteran offensive linemen to make room on their 53-man roster for Big Mack!

Two longshots…
One goal…

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Congrats guys! Your accomplishments, work ethic and perseverance are an inspiration to all athletes! You are both DeFranco’s “Hall of Famers”…now we can’t wait to see what you do on Sunday’s!

Joe D.

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Q: Hey Joe – in your recent interview with Zach Even-Esh you briefly mentioned something about having your athletes perform heavy prowler pushes as a max effort exercise. Can you expound on this a little more? Would this mean you wouldn’t start your ME lower body day with a squat or deadlift? I thought all ME lower body days started with a squat or deadlift variation?? Am I missing something coach.
Thanks for your time. The info you have provided over the years is invaluable!

PS – I would love to come observe you and your staff in action after the football season. I’m very interested in learning form the best. And I’ve never been to NJ yet I’ve heard a lot about it lol.

Coach Campbell
Louisville, KY

A: Coach Campbell,
Although barbell exercises are definitely the most “traditional” (and usually practical) ways to perform max-effort movements, never be afraid to get creative and think outside of the box – especially when training athletes. In fact, strongman-type max-effort movements are usually more functional for athletes anyway! I suggest cycling strongman-type movements in with your traditional barbell exercises (squats & deadlifts) on max-effort lower body days.

One of the “non-traditional” max-effort movements we used with great success with our football players this summer was the Prowler Push/Sled Drag Combo. (This exercise should be a staple in every high school, college & NFL lineman’s program!) There aren’t many exercises that you can perform in the gym that are more functional than this one; basically, this exercise entails pushing a heavy prowler with a sled strapped behind you by a harness. We use a strong band as a “harness” to make it even harder – because the band has some “give” to it, so it actually pulls you back as you’re trying to push forward!

The great thing about this exercise is that it gets you strong as hell in a very specific manner, yet it’s actually easier on your joints, compared to heavy squatting or deadlifting. (This is because the heavy load is not compressing your spine.) Here’s a sample of how we used this exercise on Max-Effort Lower Body Day with some of our athletes this summer:

1. Heavy Prowler Push/Sled Drag Combo – 4 sets of 15 yards, rest 3 min. between sets
2. Weighted glute-ham raises – 4 X 8
3. Kettlebell swings – 3 X 15
4. Ground-based abdominal circuit – 2X through

This is also a GREAT max-effort movement if you only have an athlete for a couple weeks and they need to get strong, yet they don’t have a ton of time to train. For example, when we get NFL Combine clients that played in a major Bowl Game, they usually only have 4-5 weeks to prepare for the Combine with us. In their cases, the above max-effort movement would be a great choice, compared to squats or deadlifts. This is because the Prowler Push/Sled Drag Combo has almost no technical aspect to learn, it doesn’t make you that sore, and it has a great carry-over to the 40-yard dash start and all other short sprints performed at the Combine.

Simply put, this exercise is another great “tool” in our arsenal of “training weapons” to help our athletes achieve incredible results in record time!

And if you would like to come and observe our facility after the football season, just give us a call to schedule a day and time. And I’m sure you’ll love all the other wonderful attractions that New Jersey has to offer…

Best of luck this season…and we hope to see you in NJ soon!

Joe D.

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Q: Hey Coach – I was reading your ASK JOE archives (so much valuable info!) One of the things that interested me was your training tips for golfers. I am an avid golfer and one of your suggestions that has helped my power is training my forearm strength.  I have been doing all kinds of forearm exercises since reading your advice. Two things I have been unsure of have been radial and ulnar flexion? Can you explain or show some exercises that train this? I’m looking to add some variety to my forearm training because I have really seen the benefits.

Thank you for your valuable time sir.
Peter
Dallas, TX

A: Peter,
I’m glad to hear that your new-found forearm strength has carried over to your golf game! It is definitely a good idea to train the forearms with many different exercises. So many athletes would benefit if they took their grip/forearm training more seriously!

In my opinion, the two most overlooked aspects of forearm training are radial and ulnar flexion. 

Radial flexion entails flexing your wrist so the thumb moves closer to the lateral surface of the radius bone.

Ulnar flexion entails flexing your wrist so your pinkie finger moves closer to the lateral surface of the ulna bone.

Although there is more than one way to train radial and ulnar flexion, I feel the best, most practical way is with a mini sledgehammer. (See pics below.)

Radial Flexion (start)	Radial Flexion (finish)

Ulnar Flexion (start)	Ulnar Flexion (finish)

The further away you place your hand from the head of the sledgehammer, the harder the exercise becomes. I suggest starting with a 4lb. sledgehammer and performing 3 sets of both radial & ulnar flexion 2X a week. Perform this movement for high reps (15-30) and make sure your wrist is the only thing moving. Keep your elbow locked to ensure that you’re performing the exercises with strict form.

And remember that strengthening your radial and ulnar flexors – as well as your forearms in general – aren’t just for golfers! Most sports require a high level of forearm and hand strength. Some obvious examples are baseball, tennis, football, judo, wrestling, MMA, powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, rock climbing and arm wrestling, just to name a few!

The moral of the story is…Train your forearms and watch your strength and performance levels skyrocket!

Have a great weekend,
Joe D.

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