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BigTime training; BigTime transportation! They look good in our parking lot, don’t they?!
As usual, the summer has been insane and the months have flown by! I apologize for not updating the site more regularly this summer, but it was for good reason. Besides training athletes, we have a ton of exciting things that we have been working on…
The much-anticipated – and much delayed - documentary is really close to going on sale at www.StrongMovie.com! (I will make a big announcement when you will be able to pre-order the DVD. Again, I apologize for all the delays…but good things come to those who wait! Thanks for your patience.)
We are also about to start releasing a series of kick-ass E-books! The 1st E-book in the series will be our Combine Preparation E-book! This E-book will reveal the exact 12-week lifting & running program that this years Combine class performed and it will be a great compliment to our Combine DVD!
Besides the release of our 1st E-book, we are in the process of planning another seminar at our facility! We are looking at a couple weekends in November for this seminar, but nothing is final yet. The seminar will also have a unique “twist” to it…stay tuned for details!
Finally, my “ASK JOE” column is about to change into a blog format! What this means is that – instead of updating my website every 2-3 weeks – we will soon be updating it on a daily basis! This has been long over-do, but it will be worth the wait! I will continue to answer questions that you guys write into the site; but we will also be providing weekly/daily training tips, up-to-date info on what our athletes are up to, and basically anything that pops into our heads! You are definitely going to want to “stop by” defrancostraining.com each and every day to ensure you don’t miss anything!
As you can see, it’s been another productive summer and we’re excited for the future! Speaking of things that went down this summer, our good friend and colleague, Zach Even-Esh, recently stopped by our gym to train and film his “Underground Strength Show”. Check out the two episodes of the “Underground Strength Show” below!
This first video reveals the first-ever “virtual tour” of my gym. Funny stuff! Enjoy.
Below you will see an impromptu interview that I did for Zach before he left the gym.
I didn’t want to let the summer end without sharing this story about an extremely dedicated athlete. If this athlete doesn’t motivate you to get off your ass and start training, you should probably check yourself into a morgue!
As most of you know, our gym has developed an International following. This is something that makes me extremely proud. It is a really cool feeling to know that there are people out there that have enough respect for me and my team to travel to a foreign country just to spend a couple days or weeks with us. This summer was no exception. On July 4th, 19-year-old David Plum Olsen made the trip from Denmark to New Jersey for the sole purpose of training with us for a month. David arrived at the gym on Monday, July 7th for his first workout; unfortunately he got his schedule confused and he showed up at the wrong time. The only group we had training was a group of NFL guys that had already started their session. I knew there was only one thing to do…I had to welcome David to DeFranco’s by THROWING HIM TO THE WOLVES!! I wanted to see what this kid was made of! Imagine being a 19-year-old kid in a foreign country…you show up at the wrong time for your first workout…and these are the five guys you have to train with…
EJ Barthel (left) – 2007 DeFranco’s Strongest Man Vinny Ciurciu (right) – Minnesota Vikings linebacker
Anthony Cotrone – Jacksonville Jaguars fullback
Mackenzy Bernadeau – Carolina Panthers guard
Lance Ball –St. Louis Rams running back
As if that crew isn’t intimidating enough; they had already started their max-effort upper body workout and some BIG weights were flying around…throw in the fact that it was 90+ degrees in the gym and you have yourself a recipe for a rough first day! To David’s credit, he kept his mouth shut and just did what he was told. Although he obviously couldn’t lift the same weight as the other guys, he was keeping up with the pace of the workout. That is, until he disappeared…
The Jersey humidity ended up getting the best of our foreign friend!
Midway through the workout, David went outside and lost his lunch. When he came back inside, I asked him if he was OK. He responded by saying, “There is something wrong with the air here. It’s difficult for me to breath.” I actually felt really bad for him because he did get thrown in with a very tough group and it was extremely humid that day. Much to David’s credit, he ended up completing the entire workout without missing one set or rep! At the end of the workout, David spoke for a second time; he said, “What time tomorrow?” After I told him the time, he walked out the back garage door and disappeared. This went on for David’s first two weeks with us; he would always show up 5 minutes early for his session; he would then train his ass off without saying one word; then - when the workout was over - he would ask what time the next workout was and then he would leave.
David was a true “student” of our program. His exercise technique was extremely impressive on all the lifts.
Because our gym is extremely hectic during the summer, I never took the time to ask David how he was getting to and from the gym. So the next day when David arrived, I asked him how he was getting here each day. David informed me that he was walking! I assumed he was walking from the train station (which is almost 2 miles away). But it turned out David was walking from his hotel! The hotel that David was staying at is exactly 6.4 miles from my gym!!! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! This kid NEVER asked for a ride and he never complained to anyone.
Training ‘aint easy when you’re also walking 13 miles a day!
I later found out that David walked to the gym on July 4th & 5th, only to turn right back around and walk back to his hotel when he realized we were closed during that weekend! David told us that in Denmark everything is within walking distance so he assumed he would be able to walk to and from the gym each day. Even after he discovered that the gym wasn’t exactly within walking distance from his hotel, David didn’t want to “bother” anyone and ask them for a ride -- so he just kept walking each day.
Imagine walking 6.4 miles in the heat; then concluding your leg workout with prowler suicides; and then walking 6.4 miles back home!
After hearing that David had been walking to and from the gym each day, our International Athlete “Ambassador”, Mike “Asshole” Guadango, starting driving David to and from the gym.
I’m not sure what’s worse…walking 13 miles a day, or having to sit in the car and listen to this Asshole??
Come to think of it, after David started hanging around with “The Asshole”, he started acting a little crazy…
Yes, David preferred “eating” his Muscle Milk instead of drinking it
ANYWAY... after only 4 short weeks of intense training, “Denmark Dave” transformed into a new man! He was excited to go home and test his new-found strength and conditioning on the field. (By the way, David plays American “Ironman” Football in Denmark. Basically, it’s the same exact rules as our football, but there are only 11 guys on each team so no one EVER comes off the field! David plays offensive tackle & defensive end.)
I always love to hear how athletes feel our program translates to their on-field performance. And we were all really looking forward to hearing from David once he got back to Denmark. Last week, David sent me the following email…
Hello Joe,
Today I had my first game since my return to Denmark and it was SICK!!
I have NEVER been able to perform 100% throughout the game and I have NEVER felt as confident and mentally superior as I did in this game today. I felt invincible to say at least. As you know I play both offence and defense and still I did not at ANY time feel any fatigue whatsoever and I did not run out of breath once! I dominated the game as a lineman. Now I can't wait until my prowler arrives.
Thank you for everything.
I'll get back next year to NJ in order to improve my combine tests.
David
Getting emails like this is what makes my "job" worth it! I think we can all learn something from people like David; if you want something bad enough, go make it happen! Too many people make excuses and blame others for their lack of results in the gym or their lack of success. To quote Lou Holtz, "Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity.
After knowing David for only 4 short weeks, I know that he will be successful in athletics- and in life - regardless of the career he chooses.
Congrats David. We look forward to having you back to our facility soon!
Part of the family… (Can you tell which guy is Denmark Dave, LOL!?)
