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Q: Joe,
Love the site! I’ve become
curious about strongman training ever since your article
on t-mag came out. In your pics section, I see that
you only have pictures of football players performing
strongman exercises. The problem is that I’m
a baseball player. I’ve never heard of any baseball
players doing this kind of training. Is it bad for
baseball players or can I incorporate it?
Thanks,
Chris
A: Chris,
Sometimes a picture is worth 1000 words…
The above picture is former University of Miami 1st baseman and current New York Met, Jim Burt, Jr. As you can see, he participates in my strongman training and he is a baseball player – a damn good one I might ad. He’s also a sick bastard. This picture was taken at 10:00a.m. on December 3rd and it was 35-degrees outside!
(Before I go on I’d like to say, “F-U”, to all of the people who are going to accuse Jim of being on steroids. I’ve been training Jim since he was in high school. There isn’t a more dedicated, harder-working athlete on the planet. Until you can last one workout with this guy, keep your comments to yourself. Hopefully this disclaimer prevents me from getting dozens of unnecessary emails from jealous people who have never trained ONE DAY in their life the way that Jim trains EVERY DAY of his life.)
Anyway, strongman training can definitely
be beneficial to baseball players. Unfortunately,
baseball players who are smart enough to strength-train
usually get convinced that “functional”
training is the best bet for them. When I refer to
“functional”, I’m referring to what
most of the mainstream personal training community
refers to as “functional”. That is, doing
every exercise known to mankind balancing on a stability
ball or wobble board. This is while using insignificant
weights that couldn’t even get an 8-year-old
girl stronger. In my opinion, this type of training
does little to improve athletic performance.
This brings me to the benefits of strongman training.
Strongman training increases hamstring, glute and
low-back strength; builds powerful, Popeye-sized forearms;
develops a rock-solid core and dramatically improves
an athlete’s anaerobic conditioning, just to
name a few. Do you think a baseball player can benefit
from these qualities? Of course they can!
In addition to traditional strength training, flexibility training, mobility training, proper nutrition/supplementation and skill work, strongman training can be a valuable tool for baseball players. Case closed!
Joe D.
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Q: Hi Joe,
I have a question regarding the:
Westside for Skinny Bastards lifting program. You
say on a lot of the exercises that you should "Work
up to a max set". What exactly do you mean by
“work up to”? Just curious because I would
like to start the program, but I won't do it until
I'm sure what it is.
Oh yeah, another question, how do you pick your athletes for your program? Do they contact you or how does it work? Because it seems like it's pretty selective.
Thanks a lot,
Mads from Denmark
PS: Love your work!
A: “Work up to a max set” refers to the sets that you will perform before your max-effort attempt. This will be different for everyone, depending on your strength level. The stronger you are, the more sets it will take you to reach your max attempt. The rule of thumb is that if you’re a skinny bastard and you don’t possess great maximal strength, perform AT LEAST 4 warm-up sets before your max attempt. The higher volume of sets will help you to add muscle mass to your frame. For example, if you were going to “work up” to a 3-rep max on the bench press and your goal was 200 lbs., your warm-up would be as follows:
Set #1 - Bar X 5
Set #2 - 95 X 5
Set #3 - 115 X 3
Set #4 - 135 X 3
Set #5 - 165 X 2
Set #6 - 185 X 1
Max attempt set - 200 X 3
As far as your question regarding “picking athletes” for our program, here’s my response:
Many facilities solicit the best athletes in the area to train with them. Their intent is to use these athletes in various marketing campaigns in exchange for free training, etc. Most places do this because they think it will attract more high-level athletes. I DON’T AGREE with this type of business model! This type of business model places the company’s ego above the athlete’s goals. I feel that getting results with your athletes is the most important part of the coach-athlete relationship. If you focus all of your attention on getting results, you don’t need to solicit athletes. The best athletes will respect you more and they will find you!
I'm very proud to say that I have NEVER called an athlete and recruited them to train with me. I spend my days training athletes, not calling them. In my spare time I research more productive ways to get better results. The high-level athletes that train with me just show up at my doorstep. This is because of the reputation that my company has developed. Once an athlete shows up or calls us inquiring about training, we then interview them. We explain our training philosophy and get to know the athlete better. We then make a decision whether or not the athlete is cut out for our program. The decision is based on the athlete’s attitude and work ethic. You DON’T have to be an All-State or an All-American athlete to train with us. You DO have to be focused and willing to pay the price, regardless of your ability level.
And those that say we only accept genetically gifted athletes – that’s BS! We bust our ass to get results. We don’t just recruit genetic freaks and then take credit for their success. Some athletes arrive to our program as genetic freaks; others get TURNED into freaks!
Joe D.
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Q: Hi coach!
How can I cycle in some direct biceps
work into a Westside-style routine? Do your athletes
do direct biceps work when doing Westside training?
Keep up the GREAT work with the website!
All the best,
Andy
A: Andy,I have a confession to make, “Our athletes train their biceps.” I know it’s a badge of honor for strength coaches to say that they don’t allow their athletes to perform biceps exercises, but I had to confess. Granted, biceps are NOT a focus in our program, but we do train them. I’m a big believer in the mental aspect of training. And for some reason, athletes of all levels love walking out of the gym with a biceps pump. I have no problem throwing in some biceps curls at the end of an upper body workout if it boosts my athlete’s confidence. An easy way to do this is to superset them with the last exercise of your upper body workouts. Here’s a copy of my max-effort upper body workout from last Monday:
A. Reverse band bench press (green bands) – worked up to 505 lbs. for 1 rep
B. 4-board press – 4 sets of 5 reps increasing the weight
C1. Lat pulldowns – 4 sets of 10 reps
C2. Kneeling scarecrows – 4 sets of 10 reps
D1. Dumbbell shrugs – 3 sets of 10 reps
D2. Straight bar preacher curls – 3 sets of 10 reps
You can incorporate another biceps exercise at the end of your other upper body workout as well. If 2 exercises a week aren’t enough, take up bodybuilding.
Joe D.
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Q: Mr. DeFranco,
I just watched the Bergen Catholic vs. Don Bosco state
championship game on MSG. Both teams are loaded with
talent! I know you guys trained the Bergen Catholic
football team this summer and I must commend you.
The one thing that stood out during that game was
that the Bergen players are physical specimens and
they’re damn tough too! The physiques on those
kids had me thinking I was watching a big time college
game. And that Cushing kid is a MONSTER! I commend
you on the win, I’m sure you put in a lot of
work with those kids.
I hope to make it up to new
jersey one day to train with you guys,
Jim T.
A: Jim,
Both teams played a heck of a game as usual. The Bergen-Bosco
rivalry may be one of the best high school football
rivalries in the COUNTRY, not just the state. The
kids are the ones who should be commended for another
great game, not us.
And yes, Brian Cushing is a monster. He was a man amongst boys this season. That kid busted his ass in the off-season and it paid off. He was back in the gym a week after his final game to prepare for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. This game boasts the top 78 high school football players in America in an East vs. West All-American game. The game will be played on January 15th and it will be aired live on NBC.
On January 15th the whole country will see what happens when you combine proper training with superior genetics. Check this kid out!
Joe D.
Copyright 2008
Site by Yellow House Design
| + | |
| + | "Skinny Bastard" program tips & DeFranco's athlete selection process |
| + | Incorporating biceps exercises into a Westside-style routine |
| + | Bergen Catholic vs. Don Bosco state championship feedback |
We will list past questions here so that you can go back if you miss any advice Joe has given
