Blog Archives - CHALLENGER STRENGTH

Muscles & Management Podcast

Muscles and Management takes an in depth look at all things training and business.

Gerry DeFilippo is a gym owner from northern New Jersey with a business degree in management from Rutgers University. He started his gym/sports performance business during his last semester of business school and almost three years later he runs the day-to-day business aspects of Challenger Strength as well as heading the strength training.

This podcast will take on any and all topics in both strength training, personal fitness and business and welcome the perspective of some of the best coaches and business minds in the industry. Whether you are an aspiring gym owner, athlete or coach you will enjoy all aspects of this podcast as we dive into the "ins and outs," of the sports performance industry as well as what it takes to excel in business.

Episode #109 Meathead Monday: The Fundamentals of Good Acceleration Mechanics (ft. Fernando Tatis Jr.)

8/31/2020

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/5215270

In this episode of Muscles and Management Gerry is back with another installment of Meathead Monday with a comprehensive breakdown of Fernando Tatis. Jr.'s acceleration mechanics.

This weekend, San Diego Padres phenom Fernando Tatis Jr. took an unorthodox approach to tagging up from third base on a fly ball and the video took the internet by storm. Gerry posted a breakdown of the quality aspects of his acceleration mechanics and wanted to use this episode to further discuss.

The conversation takes you through all aspects of the sprint and what Fernando does very well in his mechanics which help him have above average-elite speed. Additionally, Gerry discusses some means you can use to build your mechanics to be able to get into some of these advantageous positions if you aren't there already.

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Episode #108 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Anthony Piroli

8/26/2020

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/5115178

*SHOW TIMESTAMPS FEATURED AT THE END*

In this episode Gerry welcomes on Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head of Strength and Conditioning Anthony Piroli. Anthony is a veteran strength and conditioning/sports performance coach with a wealth of experience in preparing athletes and improving their physical attributes.

To start, Anthony discusses the impact of COVID-19 on relations and protocol with his work with players and things that have changed as a result. He then sheds some light on his background, philosophies and path to working with the Buccaneers.

From there, the conversation turns to the keys to communication and collaboration between strength and sports staffs as well as what coaches can do when considering pace of sport for conditioning protocol.

To finish, Gerry and Anthony discuss testing athletes, preparing them for the field and more!

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Episode Timestamps:

2:24 - Weekly Nutrition Tip with Julian
10:10 - Anthony’s Experience Dealing with Covid
12:34 - Balancing Player’s Freedoms
15:35 - Getting to Know Anthony Piroli
32:30 - Anthony’s Path to the Buccaneers
35:12 - Connection & Communication Between Strength Staffs and Performance Staffs
43:30 - Considering pace of Play as a Strength Coach and Simplifying Things for Yourself
50:37 - Testing Athletes
54:45 - Preparing Athletes for the Field
1:05:39 - Anthony’s Closing Thoughts

Episode #107 Meathead Monday: The TRUE Meaning of Individualized Programming

8/24/2020

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/5114776

In this episode Gerry discusses a hot topic in strength and conditioning, individualized programming.

The idea of changing or altering aspects of a program for the needs of an individual athlete has slowly turned into a token/novel idea, sometimes geared at boosting the perceived value of training.

The conversation starts with the inspiration for the discussion and the idea of token individualization and how many have the misconception that every exercise of aspect of a program needs to be changed for each individual. Gerry explains how to look at the general aspects of athletes (age and training age) and how experience can show what things are steadfast for athletes and need not be changed. It is not variations that make a program individualized, but rather load and how we determine what loading they need.

From there, the discussion turns to assessments (actually using them) and how you should combine assessments and general knowledge about athletes and their age range to make decisions on what specific needs they have. Then, to finish up, Gerry discusses tracking loads for individual athletes and assessing progress as programming continues.

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Episode #106 Building Physical Tools to Help Hitters and EVERYTHING Hitting with Max Dutto

8/19/2020

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/5054669

*SHOW TIMESTAMPS FEATURED AT THE END*

In this episode Gerry welcomes on Philadelphia Phillies Consultant and Driveline Assistant Hitting Director, Max Dutto, to talk all things hitting. How strength coaches can help build physical tools for hitters, the mechanical and approach aspects of the game and everything in between.

To start, Max discusses basic goals of being a successful hitter as well as mental and mechanical approaches to be successful. From there, he touches on different tools that can be utilized to make adjustments (especially mechanically) that can help yield better production.

From there, Max and Gerry talk about Christian Yellich and some of the things he has done to improve in the box over the past few years and the different approaches needed to deal with the various levels of athletes.

To finish up, Max touches on how big of a role strength coaches play in the development of a hitter and things strength coaches can do to improve their movement ability in the box.

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Episode Timestamps

3:30 - Julian Nutrition Tip of the Day
12:20 - Intro to Hitting. What Are the Goals?
15:22 - The Art of Hitting. Mechanics Vs Mentality
17:55 - Max’s Approach with Youth Players
23:27 - Overload & Underload
29:30 - Handle Loaded & End Loaded Bats
31:00 - Christian Yelich: Point of Contact & Launch Angle
33:28 - Out Front Vs Getting It Deeper
37:50 - Difference in Approach When Training Different Levels of the Athlete
42:45 - Mindset During an At-bat
48:59 - Dealing with Low Exit Velocity
55:32 - Mobility Issue or Strength Issue?
1:00:30 - Adjusting Programming as Players Progress
1:06:20 - Max’s Final Thoughts

Episode #105 Meathead Monday: 3 Things Strength Coaches Should NEVER Do and Mini Q&A

8/17/2020

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/5024135

In this episode Gerry begins with a discussion regarding scope of practice when it comes to strength coaches, athletic trainers and physical therapists.

There are certain things strength coaches SHOULD NOT do when it comes to their work with athletes and most of them involve things that physical therapists specialize in such as diagnosing, applying "stim," and performing manual therapy. Gerry also discusses when physical therapists and doctors should include or even defer to a strength coach.

From there, the discussion shifts to a mini Q&A covering areas such as how to build maintenance training around a sports schedule, conditioning, sprints and jumps for catchers, hypertrophy training, contrast training and MORE!

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Episode #104 Foundations of Speed Training with Graham Eaton (@grahamsprints)

8/12/2020

*SHOW TIMESTAMPS FEATURED AT THE END*

In this episode Gerry welcomes on track and field coach Graham Eaton.

Graham has an extensive background as a sprint coach and joins the show to shed some light on what he does to help his athletes be successful and get faster.

To start, Graham discusses the coaches and biggest influences on his philosophies, as well as some changes he made in his mentality in coaching sprints and what prompted them.

From there, the conversation turns to teaching a coach to effectively coach sprinting, remaining consistent/sticking to the plan and all mechanical aspects of sprinting (acceleration AND top speed)

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Episode Timestamps

3:04 - Weekly Nutrition Tip with Julian
7:30 - Background on Graham
19:22 - Graham’s Biggest Influences
26:05 - Graham’s Main Coaching Philosophies
30:20 - Biggest Changes in Graham’s Mentality
32:22 - How to Teach a Coach on Sprinting
40:20 - Getting Caught up in Constantly Switching Things for Athletes
58:35 - Static Vs Moving Starts When Sprinting
1:01:37 - Most Important Phases for Acceleration and Top Speed
1:07:05 - Arms in Sprinting
1:08:35 - Graham’s Closing Thoughts

Episode #103 Meathead Monday: Q&A (Programming Speed Days, Picking Exercises and Unstable Surface Training)

8/10/2020

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/4929452

In this episode, Gerry goes through his DMs to answer YOUR questions in all areas of sports performance, speed training, strength training and business!

To start, Gerry goes through the crazy week it has been in New Jersey and the power outages that have wreaked havoc on his life!

From there, the conversation turns to how to program volume for speed training and how many times per-week you should speed train. Then, he tackles exercise selection and some business topics such as how to get started when beginning a new venture and trying to gain traction on social media.

To finish, the episode ends with a discussion on unstable surface training such as sprinting on sand and the implications this can have on sport specificity.

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Episode #102 Rugby Strength Coach: Enhancing On-Field Performance, Education, High Performance Model and More!

8/5/2020

*SHOW TIMESTAMPS FEATURED AT THE END*

In this episode, Gerry welcomes on world renowned strength and sports performance coach Keir Wenham-Flatt (Rugby Strength Coach)!

Episode Timestamps:

2:35 - Nutrition Tip of the Day
8:50 - Keir’s first Training Program Growing Up
16:00 - What drew Keir to Rugby
20:50 - Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks
29:35 - Keir’s Thoughts on His College Education and What can Improve the College Education/Experience
39:35 - Keir’s Thoughts on High Performance Model
50:18 - Dealing with Other People Negatively Affecting Your Athlete’s Program
52:50 - Knowing What You Don’t Know & Failing
1:00:40 - The Dunning–Kruger Effect
1:08:40 - Speed Ladders
1:16:08 - Finding Balance as a Trainer

Episode #101 Meathead Monday: Optimizing Sprinting and Speed Training for Team Sport Athletes

8/3/2020

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/4823978

In this episode Gerry addresses the topic of speed for team-sport athletes and what implications the environments of sport can have in how we seek to master mechanics.

To start, Gerry talks about the importance of sprinting when it comes to improving maximal output (sprint speed in a perfect environment like training) and the impact that has on your operational (game environment) output. The higher or maximal output, our operational output will go up along with it. THIS is the biggest reason speed/sprint training is key for team-sport athletes.

From there, the conversation discusses the importance of establishing a good base of mechanics, but what athletes and strength coaches must also consider when it comes to the mechanics of sprinting in relation to the other needs and responsibilities of a team-sport athlete.

To finish up, Gerry tackles things coaches AND athletes should look for and tips on how to conduct their speed training, maximizing weekly speed work in accordance with practice and games and volume recommendations to optimize performance.

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!