Joe D’s interesting [but weird] CrossFit analogy

Released on July 9, 2015
In this weeks episode, Joe D. gives in-depth explanations of 6 different training topics.
These topics include:
- Practical examples of how both “Unconventional” & “Traditional” training methods contribute to a football players on-field success
- Weird (yet extremely interesting) analogy explaining why athletes should NOT do Crossfit
- Top 3 [advanced] exercises for improving your vertical jump…plus 3 BONUS “Dirty Tricks”
- Tried & True progression for improving your chin-up strength – even if you currently can’t do a single chin-up
- The safest & most effective way to incorporate ballistic stretching into your warm-up
- The quickest & most practical way to correct anterior pelvic tilt
All this plus the return of George DeFranco!
Rumor has it he broke Joe’s rule of “no politics talk” this week…
PS – I want to hear from you guys! Now that the podcast “lives” right here on my new website, it’s very easy for you to drop me a comment below and let me know what you thought of today’s show!
What Q&A topic did you guys like the best this week? (Let me know and you just may win a custom pair of Fat Gripz :))
-Joe D.
Important Links from the Show
- POWER DVDStrength alone just won't cut it! If you're looking to develop the ability to "display your strength quickly" and dominate on the athletic field, this is the resource for you! DVD contains over 90 eXpLoSiVe exercises used by DeFranco-trained athletes.
- Olympic snowboarder trains for lower body power @ DeFranco'sThis 3-minute video was taken of Switzerland's Olympic snowboarder, Nevin Galmarini, when he traveled to the US to train w/ Joe DeFranco. 2 of the 3 "special strength" exercises that Joe spoke about in this weeks podcast (for improving the vertical jump) are shown in this video. "DUMBELL DROP BOX JUMPS" are shown at the beginning & "PARTNER KETTLEBELL POWER BOMBS" are shown at the 1:30 mark.

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-The Industrial Strength Show team
But it’s not what you’re looking for, and that’s not why
you’re here. Many people think that there is a secret tto ump higher
andd get the kind of air and hang time the big NBA players get,
butt you know what. Hold for a count of five, then pull
your legs back into your butt keeping your hips off the floor.
And think of a good balance between protein and carbs, such as
40 grams foor the first and about 50-100 ffor the second.
Vertical jump section was awesome!
Hi Joe-
Thank you so much for doing this podcast. I might not be your typical listener- a girl recently healed from a shattered ankle who’s new to training. That said, your podcast, articles, and insight has been so helpful as I get started and turn my health around, and even when you get in to the science of what you’re saying, you’re great at breaking it down so I can understand the logic of it.
The chin-up progression was the most helpful to me, as I’m in that category and recently bought Onnit’s pull-up bar and have been working up the strength to be able to use it. So thank you again for all the work you put in to the podcast, DeFranco Insider, and the new site is great. You’re making a difference in my life, and thanks again.
-Krista
Joe,
First of all, thanks for all the knowledge, inspiration, motivation, and even entertainment you’ve provided me and many others over the past years. The Industrial Strength Show has especially been extremely informative and very inspiring to me, and as a young (19 years old) certified personal trainer I feel like you have really laid some critical foundations for how I train my clients and how I run business. So huge shout outs for that, and keep up the podcast for those 52 in a row! Secondly, I found that the “jump training” segment of podcast #19 was the most interesting and informative. I liked it most because you dove into a lot of the science and physics of jumping and the thought process behind each exercise you prescribed for increasing vertical. This “science” side of training is exactly what I love most about training, so I was all ears while you were talking about that. Thanks for the dirty tricks to increase vertical on the assessment too, I’m eager to test those out myself!
Yours in Strength,
Matt Hisscock
Your Crossfit analogy really struck a cord with me. I liked it a lot because it is an easy, digestible way to understand how being a jack of all trades makes you a master of none. I also really like your tips for tackling anterior pelvic tilt. I look forward to your shows so thank you and keep the podcasts coming!
I want add to my last comment. I would love to hear an episode about rehabbing an injury, or training with injuries. Something along those lines. Please, and thanx Joe! You are awesome!
Love the new website Joe! I just listened to this episode again, sorry it’s taken so long for a comment on here lol. I’ve never been able to do a chin up, so I found the information you gave on chin up progression extremely helpful. I’m glad you had your dad’s segment on again, I was missing it lol! Have a great week!
Joe,
You’ve been doing an amazing job with these podcasts. You deliver consistent premium content on a weekly basis. Episode 18 was great even if you weren’t feeling it. I haven’t missed an episode yet. It’s hard not to listen when you’re providing these knowledge bombs like the dirty tricks for increasing the vertical. Depth jumps with the underhand med ball throw is genius. Never would have thought about the importance of the upper body in the jump. The industrial strength show is thought provoking every week which is one reason why I love it, so thank you for that. Let’s get to 52 straight episodes!
Thanks again,
Sean
Hi Coach,
it was really difficult for me to choose. I find all of your advice highly useful but I guess the part concerning improving vertical jump was the most interesting.
I have listened all your podcasts so far and looking forward to many more.
Greetings from Poland
Marcin
Joe D.,
Loving the podcasts. I never subscribed to anybody’s podcasts on ITunes until you started your podcasts. I also never signed up for a membership on anybody’s website until you started the Insider. I find all of your discussions, videos, tips, etc. fascinating; I wish I could have used them when I was playing sports in high school. Now, I look for little nuggets to get me through life and I just enjoy learning things from you since I love sports/athletics. Loved the tips for the vertical jumps just because I never thought about a couple of them. I don’t even have a need for the tips since I won’t be doing a vertical jump test anytime soon, but I hope the athletes that need the tips are listening and subscribing to your podcasts. You are putting out valuable knowledge for free. One request. Most, if not all, of the podcasts have been about exercising/stretching. Since they say 80% is really about diet, I would love it if you could interview some well known nutritionist for professional athletes. I have found it interesting how athletes have gone gluten free, dairy free, etc. and their performance has immediately shot through the roof (e.g., Novak Djokovic and, most recently, Mark Teixeira). Some people thought these diets were “fads” and/or B.S. I would be interested to hear a nutritionist’s take on these diets (and the corresponding improvement in performance) and a discussion of what pro athletes eat pre-workout, post-workout, generally for meals, etc. to properly fuel their body. Thanks and keep bringing the knowledge!
JoeD,
I’ve been following your gun advice for around 10 years. Nothing I’ve seen or heard from you has registered a negative thought process (except for maybe your ability to turn a 30 second answer into a 10 minute one – HA).
I listened to this podcast today whilst driving up the coast (NSW, Australia) to the airport.
I really love all of your podcasts so far – they are all so different and full of gold information.
I took a lot from every topic on this podcast but I’d say Dave Tate’s restaurant analogy sold me on the Crossfit for Football.
I was involved in a QRL Rugby League team a few years ago where they brought in Crossfit to train the players – this competition is State level (next down from National Rugby League). The guys got really fit, but they all became too light and were bashed most games – finished around 7th from 12 teams after winning the comp the year before when I first was involved as Asst S&C coach. They found that they were finishing stronger, but the damage was done early in the game. It wasn’t successful and was canned at the end of the season. I could never put it in to words why I didn’t like it – but the focus on “WOD’s” and not a solid strength program was what threw me off. I ended up leaving the club early into the season as I wasn’t interested in learning from a CF coach. I’ve always liked CF as a base level of training for the average person but when it comes to athletes it loses specificity – to be honest, all of the elite CF athletes don’t even do CF – they do specialised S&C programs.
Thanks for the chinup tips too – sometimes it’s easy to get away from the basics. I’ll certainly be implementing that advice into my clients training programs from now on.
Anyway, keep up the great work mate. Always look forward to your podcasts mate.
Cheers,
Matty 🙂
Once again a, “Grand slam” podcast. I look foreword to Thursdays! Joe has a unique ability to take complicated subjects and communicate them in a way that any, “meat head” can get. If you are new to the podcast or to Joe DeFranco’s training I can share my experience with you. In almost 30 years of off and on weightlifting I have got better results in the last 10 month using Joe’s systems. The DeFranco insider was a great investment . It took the guess work out of my fitness programs.
Most importantly the podcasts keep me motivated to stay on track. It is free weekly coaching at its best. Joe gets it. Its the only place on the planet where a regular guy like me can get the same coaching as a top pro athlete! FOR FREE!!! Thank you Joe!
WHAT YOU DO MATTERS!!!!!
Hey Joe,
My favorite part of the podcast is the chin up progressions. Always been a struggle area and this podcast takes it all the way down to starter exercises.
On another note, welcome to the 40s. Would you do a podcast on what us midlife guys can do to increase longevity?
Thanks much Joe!!
Joe, first off I would like to thank you for everything you have done over the years to help current and future coaches and athletes. This has meant so much to me because I didn’t become interested in being a strength coach until half way though a master’s program in counseling. That being said, I do not have a formal education in exercise science or any related field, however, due to the work of yourself and a couple like-minded coaches, I feel I have learned so much that is based more on real life experiences.
Anyway, the question you addressed that I found the most interesting was the same one I think most people liked, your opinion on crossfit. This has been my main concern about crossfit. It was nice to hear your opinion on this topic. I also liked your tips for correcting anterior pelvic tilt. I have had low back issues since my last year of college football and am constantly looking for ways to cope with this. I like hearing from you and learning what you do to take care of your back.
Again thanks for everything you have been doing.
Joe D.
Thanks for another great podcast. It’s like taking a free weekly master’s class. Besides the Ric Flair wooo you let out after telling Orlando to hit the damn intro music my favorite topic this week was all the tips and tricks for increasing vertical jumps.
Thanks again,
Rob
Hey Joe I just want to start off by saying a massive thank you for another awesome, in depth podcast. The information you provide is incredible and is second to none. I love the content you provide and always look forward to Thursdays (well it’s Friday over this side of the world) when you release another podcast.
The vertical jump component was definitely the best part for me and finding out some dirty tricks into instantly improving it, which i am definitely going to try out in the near future.
It’s incredible how you’re willing to share so much information with everyone and in particular some of the tricks of the trade. There’s not many industries or other people that would share so much for nothing and you definitely over delivered in your dvd series.
I hope to make it over to you certification course sometime in the near future.
Thanks for everything and all the best
Ashley
Joe!
I listen to your podcasts everyday! I’ve followed various strength coaches over the years but your’e the best. Thank you for being you and helping us be our best!
I really liked your insights on CrossFit, pull up progressions and increasing the vertical jump! You hit the nail on the head every time! Excellent tips! From an athlete’s stand point & hopefully CF coaches heard it; “athletes need to develop specific physical attributes to excel at their sport” and “the key is knowing when, how much and how often to train each attribute”. The analogy you gave from Dave Tate about going out to dinner and the various courses relating to which attributes to focus on the most and when was brilliant!
Simple, yet powerful!
Thank you for enlightening u!
Tim
Hi Joe,
Let me begin by thanking you for the time and effort you put into your podcast. I heard about it from a mate only a couple of weeks ago, and haven’t stopped listening to it since! Your passion and knowledge has reignited my own. I hope to come over to the U.S one day and take the CPPS cert. It sounds fantastic.
I found it really difficult to pick my favourite question from this week’s episode. It came down to either the Anterior Pelvic Tilt question or the Chin up progression. I work in an office, and find that I do suffer from tight hip flexors in particular, however the Chin Up progression won. I spent a fair bit of time in the gym recently, trying to increase my chin up count. I have a great trainer who used some of the techniques and movements that you mentioned, but there was a couple that I haven’t done yet. I am frothing to get into the gym later today to try them out! (I’ll let you know how I go)
Thanks again for putting a rocket under me and giving me the tools to improve as a coach and an athlete.
Grant
Hey, Joe!
Great mind thinks alike 😉
My favorite question that you addressed this week was about Crossfit. For the general population, specifically first time gym-goers or those sorely out of shape, I believe that Crossfit has the ability for MUCH more harm than good. Want a new business venture? Open a Chiro office adjacent to a Crossfit “box.” Instant stream of clients that won’t run out. However, the athletes that participate in the Crossfit Games are out of this world!! I believe that they are some of the most elite athletes in the world (even if they usually result from not making it in other sports) because they have to obtain such a high degree of mastery and strength in such a wide array of disciplines and implements. Same goes for strongman training (which is the best to watch on TV)! But, for most athletes, there is just too much going on with too little focus in order to develop a superior athlete in a particular sport. Slightly reminds me of multiplie sports for young kids, thigh adults/cross fitters are already developed in terms of dexterity and motor skills whereas children are still extremely pliable and adept at learning/mastering new skills.
Love the show! Can’t wait for it each week! My BB show is this Saturday and I’ll be sure to tweet out a pic or two for you and Smitty to see. I love to Las Vegas next week as well!! Big changes and hopefully bigger opportunities in my future.
Thank you for all that you do for all of us!
Hope to talk soon,
Alden
Luke,
I really appreciate your in-depth feedback.
Your contribution to the “restaurant” analogy was spot on as well. Thank you for that. (I just may have to ‘steal’ that as an addition to the story/analogy :))
And congrats on being the very first comment on the new site. Hopefully it’s the first of many great comments, discussions and feedback for years to come.
Thanks again brother.
-Joe D.
Joe, First let me say that I am a huge fan and I have yet to come across anything that you have said or written that I disagree with. Training has been my passion for many years now and I am constantly searching for quality content on training, nutrition, and recovery. I was very excited when you began a podcast that I can listen to while am driving. Thank you for putting out great content every week and for your hard work, I admire your work ethic and can tell by the way you speak with your guests and to the listeners that you are a man of great character, and I know that that comes across to the athletes that you train. There are a great number of strength coaches out there who’s work I respect but, there are few out there that I admire enough that I would invite over to dinner with my family if the opportunity ever presented itself. So thanks for being a man of character as well as a great strength and conditioning coach… maybe I should be thanking George D too!
The CrossFit Analogy was the best part of this show. While it is kind of trendy right now to bash CrossFit type training you give clear and objective reasons why it would not be optimal training for athletes specifically in this case football players. I have trained in CrossFit boxes and even gone to CrossFit seminars when CrossFit first started taking off and there are aspects that I have truely enjoyed during my time at CrossFit Boxes namely the atmosphere, equipment and the way that they cultivate a sense of community but, there are a number of reasons that I moved away from CrossFit style training myself and with my clients. All of the reasons you mentioned about why you don’t believe CrossFit is optimal for athletes are the reasons that “fell off the bandwagon.” When I sat back a took an objective look at the programming and the results (or lack of results really) of the last year that I was training I realized that I had not gotten any stronger or really increased any type of conditioning. I had acquired a few different skills from the gymnastics and weightlifting portions but once I became competent at those skills everything evened out with where my strength was limited. As Brent Jones says, “Strength is the glass that contains all the other athletic qualities.” and if you don’t really get stronger, you go nowhere which is precisely where I went during my year of CrossFit style training.
I learned that you need to have a goal in order to become a better athlete, or to lose fat, or gain muscle, or whatever your goal is. To use Dave Tate’s analogy of eating at a restaurant, you don’t just walk into a random building off of the street hoping that it’s a restaurant that you can order food from you need to know which restaurant your’re going to before you can order a meal! So that is why I agree with you 100% and enjoyed hearing someone with much more experience confirm my reservations about CrossFit training. There are many aspects of CrossFit that I would like to steal when I have a gym like the sense of community and the atmosphere but, the programming is not one of them. Sorry for being long winded. Thanks again.
Luke