5.26.06

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Click here to Ask Joe about training. If you send a question, it may appear on the website. Please do not submit a question if you do not want the question published. Only your first name will be used for privacy reasons.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Summer Internship Opportunity!

Due to the overwhelming amount of athletes that we have training with us this summer, we will be hiring an intern at DeFranco’s Training Center for the 1^st time ever. We have already gotten résumé’s from students all over the world, but I wanted to make a public announcement to all the readers of this website. Basically, I’m doing a world-wide search and looking for a future stud in the strength & conditioning field! If you are interested, send a resume or just a 1 page description of why you are the man/women for the job to joe-d@defrancostraining.com with the words “summer intern” in the subject line. Exercise Science students are preferred, but it is NOT mandatory. (We would rather have a student with a kick-ass personality & a willingness to learn, compared to a research geek with no personality or real-world training experience.) Also, include your athletic & training background in your info. If our intern does a great job and impresses us with his/her knowledge, work ethic and the ability to learn our business, there is potential for a job offer at the end of the summer.  

Some intern responsibilities will be as follows: Answering phones & explaining our training system, scheduling appointments, cleaning facility, TRAINING with our athletes to learn our system first-hand, helping video tape our kick-ass DVD that we will be producing this summer, taking pictures for website updates, observing & assisting our training sessions…and picking up my green tea at Starbucks every now & then (haha, you gotta start somewhere!).

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be in an incredible environment and learn what it takes to run one of the best training facilities in the business. You will also have the opportunity to observe the training of many professional & high-level college athletes. Simply put, this is your opportunity to get a $100,000 education for FREE over the summer!

NOTE: This is NOT a paid internship. We feel that the knowledge & experience that you will gain from your stay at DeFranco’s is invaluable towards your career in strength & conditioning. You will also be required to find your own transportation to and from the gym.

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Syracuse Strength Spectacular!

 

This is the seminar that you’ve been waiting for! You DON’T want to miss this one! This just may be the best group of speakers ever assembled under one roof!

On June 24^th & 25^th, myself, Dave Tate, Jim Wendler, James Smith, Buddy Morris, Michael Hope & Eric Cressey will all join forces and put on a 2-day seminar that is guaranteed to take your training knowledge to another level!

For the 1^st time ever, I will be revealing how I peak my athletes for the NFL Combine and their NFL workouts. If you’re “in the trenches” training athletes everyday like I am, or you plan on being “in the trenches” someday, you will quickly learn that what you read on the internet or in a text book doesn’t always work in the REAL WORLD! With most athletes, we only have a couple of weeks to prepare them for a big tryout or a professional workout. In my opinion, this is one of the most overlooked topics in the training community. Most books and articles focus on a 52-week training calendar & “perfect world” scenarios. My presentation will reveal how to “think on your feet” and get “quick-fix” results when you’re racing against the clock!

To learn more about the other speakers and this spectacular event, goto: http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=121&pid=1513

*Call 315-422-2912 to register!
Registration costs $225 and space is limited so call now!!!

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A "Must-Have" In Your Training Library!

 

I don’t endorse many products, but every now and then something comes along that I feel everyone must have. Magnificent Mobility by Eric Cressey & Mike Robertson is one of those products. I say this because no matter what training philosophy you believe in and regardless of the sports that you play, you MUST warm-up properly! This video goes over every exercise that you need to know in order to stay healthy & perform your best. Eric & Mike explain the “why’s” & “how’s” of each exercise as well. This is very important to me because I like to know that there is a REASON & PURPOSE for everything that I do. I even learned some new exercises that I added to my own daily routine.

If this dvd is good enough for me, it’s good enough for you…MAKE IT A PART OF YOUR TRAINING LIBRARY TODAY!

To order this DVD, click on the link below: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=393702

 

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Q: Joe D – I’ve been playing hockey almost year-round for about 9 years. I only have about 2 months off the ice each year.  During this time I always have knee pain but I don’t know what to do.  Its not that bad that it limits my training, but it hurts enough to warrant this email. Any suggestions??

Also I see that you do a lot of work for forearms. Is this something I should incorporate into my training? I’ve heard conflicting reviews with regards to forearm training and hockey players.

Thank you for your time and your site kicks ass!!

Sam

 A: Sam, First of all, knee pain is extremely common in hockey players. Obviously, if the pain is chronic, I recommend that you see a doctor and get an MRI.

But for the general purposes of this column, I can tell you that most of the high-level hockey players that I work with have some kind of knee pain and there are things you can do to help. Many times, a hockey player’s knee pain is due to the repetitive, “lateral” motion of skating. The skating motion over-develops the vastus lateralis (lateral muscle of the quadriceps); this creates an imbalance with the vastus medialis (teardrop-shaped muscle on the inside of your knee). Knowing this, hockey players should focus on strengthening the vastus medialis & hamstrings during the off-season (as well as in-season). Developing these muscles helps to create balance surrounding the knee joint which reduces sheering forces and pain.

As a side note, the worst thing a hockey player can do in the off-season is try and mimic the motion of skating in the weight room! Popular hockey exercises such as the slide board can CONTRIBUTE to your knee pain if your pain is due to this imbalance!

This is why I feel our lower body strength template is tailor-made for hockey players. 99% of the time we start our workout with a box squat variation to develop the hamstrings and posterior chain. Then, we perform a unilateral, quad-dominant exercise that strengthens the VMO (vastus medialis); our favorite unilateral choices are single leg “speed-skater” squats, barbell reverse lunges, step-ups & backward sled drags. After our unilateral movement, we then finish with more posterior chain work and either abs and/or forearms.

The above picture shows Atlanta Thrashers defenseman, Mark Popovic,
performing backward sled drags in our legendary back parking lot!

Mark was a 2^nd round draft pick out of high school and knows the importance
of a properly-designed off-season hockey program. (That’s why he travels from Canada to train with us!) Our lower body strength template has drastically helped cut down on Mark’s knee pain over the years.

Now onto your question regarding forearm/grip training for hockey players…there are NO conflicting reviews on forearm training as far as I’m concerned! ALL hockey players should strengthen their hands and their grip!

First of all, strong hands/wrists & forearms can help with the speed of your slap shot.

Second of all, as most of us know, fighting is a (great) part of hockey. After having lengthy conversations with guys like Mark Popovic & other high-level players, they informed me that one of the most important aspects of winning a hockey fight is your ability to GRAB your opponent and hold onto him with one hand as you’re trying to knock his teeth out with your other hand! This takes incredible isometric grip strength! Also, if your “punching” hand/wrist and forearm is strong, you will do more damage to your opponent when you land a punch…and you will reduce your risk of breaking a finger or wrist.

The above picture is of Evan “Chip” Mladenoff performing heavy forearm work with our thick wrist roller. Chip plays junior hockey for the New Jersey Hitmen.

 

DISCLAIMER TO ALL PARENTS OF YOUNG HOCKET PLAYERS:

Don’t invest in braces for your child if they are going to play hockey!

Joe D.

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Q: This isn't really a question as it is a comment and thanks.  I recently bought your video on how to beat the Combine tests. I am in high school and the fastest time that I ever ran was a 4.9 40 yard dash. After purchasing & practicing the techniques in your video, I ran a 4.62 and 4.60 forty yard dash at a junior combine.  My broad jump was also increased by 9 inches, my shuttle went down 2 tenths of a second, my 3-cone drill got faster and my bench went up.  I was 41st overall out of 1267 juniors in Maryland and I definitely owe credit to you and your video.  I am going to another elite combine because of my performance in the last one.  I am working hard as ever to try and be scouted to play in college and if I do end up getting a scholarship you will definitely be a reason for it. Again, thank you and I really enjoy reading everything that your site has to offer.  

Thank you,
Nick P. (17 yrs old. 6'1 195 lbs)

A: Nick, Emails like yours make all the endless hours of research & late nights worth it.

Congratulations and I’m glad that we were able to help you out. But, remember that YOU were the one who did the work, took the necessary steps to educate yourself and then perform under pressure at the Combine!

Congratulations and best of luck in the future!

If anyone else is interested in dominating a Combine, click on the DVD link below:

 

Joe D.

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Q: Mr. DeFranco,

Your site is the best on the web and your advise on training athletes is much appreciated. Yet one of my favorite things on your q&a is when people ask you off-topic questions. There haven’t been any in a while so I figure I would ask one-what are your favorite tv shows? What does the “pro maker” watch when hes not researching training? 

Bill the beast

A: Bill the beast, Thanks for this question. It’s been an extremely busy couple of days and it’s time for me to shut my brain off. I needed a mindless question like this.

Although I don’t watch too much TV, when I do turn on the TV, these are the few shows that I watch:

• Sopranos (HBO) – Although I feel this season sucks, I still feel obligated to watch every episode. After all, I’m an Italian guy from New Jersey and the show is basically filmed in my backyard. Unfortunately, they took a great series that was filled with mobsters & politically incorrect Italian humor and turned it into something completely different. This year’s shows have been filled with dream sequences that you need a PhD in psychology to understand and gay make-out sessions that make me uncomfortable. I watch this show to see people get whacked and watch fat guys eat mozzarella & prosciutto sangwiches! I want the old Sopranos back!

• Entourage (HBO) – I friggin’ love this show…Mindless humor about 3 guys who make a living out of hanging out with their celebrity friend and living a “rock-star” lifestyle. Basically, they party, they try to pick up chicks, and they argue. The show is pure genius. I can’t wait for the new season this June!

• Ultimate Fighter Reality Show (Spike TV) – These guys are a different breed! I also feel that mixed martial artists are the most under-rated ATHLETES in the world! I say this because I think people still think of them as crazy dudes that just like to fight. Don’t get me wrong, they ARE crazy dudes that like to fight, but they are also WORLD-CLASS athletes. The combination of endurance, strength, explosiveness, mental toughness and technique that these guys possess is unreal. I also find it fascinating how they talk about the “art” of pounding someone’s face in like we talk about hitting a baseball! (There’s also something very humbling about knowing that no matter how big and strong I get, there are 170 lb. dudes out there that can knock my teeth down my throat.)

• Blow Out (Bravo) – Ok, here’s the one that’s going to get me into trouble, but I have to be honest…I watch this show. I have no idea why, but I watch this show. (I just sat here for 10 minutes talking myself out of admitting this to the world, but I’ve always prided myself on being an honest, straight-forward guy so I’m admitting it.) In my defense, there are many things on this show that parallel my life & business, even though I don’t have a hair on my body and this entire show revolves around hair. But, watching this guy go through the stress of opening a new salon and starting a product line was very similar to opening a gym and starting a supplement company. That’s the kind of stuff that sucked me into this show in the beginning and then, unfortunately, I just never stopped watching. Say what you want, but this guy was a high school drop-out and now he’s a multi-millionaire so maybe there is something to be learned from him.

To all of the loyal subscribers of this website…
I apologize, but I had to come out of the closet on this one. 

Just tryin’ to keep it real,

Joe D.

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