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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 #148 Effectively Implementing and Leading Athletes BEYOND Programming with Pratik Patel

4/14/2021

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/8330892

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In this episode, Gerry welcomes on Pratik Patel. Pratik has spent multiple years with high level college and professional organizations and also has a background in nutrition AND training.

To begin, Pratik talks a little about job security with companies or organizations vs. what you can expect in a private sector type environment. He then discusses his experience with his last job with the New York Football Giants and the type of work it took to effectively communicate with all areas of the sports performance model for an NFL organization.

From there, the conversation turns to areas such as the differences between being a good programmer vs. actually leading and implementing a program. The conversation then finishes with player buy-in, how you can ensure you bring something unique and valuable to the table as an S&C professional and much, much more.

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

Episode Timestamps

4:00 - Power of the Internet & Changes from Covid
8:00 - Security of a Job with a Company vs Private Sector
20:40 - Things Other than Money That Are Important
27:00 - Programming Ability Doesn’t Equal Leading a Program
35:00 - Communicating with Other Coaches and People in the Program
39:00 - Getting Credit/Getting Blame
46:00 - Navigating Making Changes to What Athletes Are Used to Doing
52:00 - Getting Players to Buy-in
57:10 - What Do You Do That’s Different?
1:01:10 - Pratik’s Final Thoughts

Episode #147 Optimizing Training in Team Settings with Daniel Guzman

4/7/2021

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/7663807

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Los Angeles Football Club head of sports performance, Daniel Guzman, stops by on the show to talk his path in the field, influences for young coaches and optimizing the training of athletes in team settings.

How large teams can impact what we do as strength coaches and some things he has learned in his career to effectively train large groups of athletes and connect with them.

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

Episode Timestamps

4:30 - Daniel’s Beginnings
10:55 - Improving Speed and Debunking Myths
20:09 - Mentors for Daniel
24:30 - Foundational Pieces for Daniel in the Beginning
30:00 - How to Adjust as Things Change
43:15 - Don’t Be Afraid to Learn from the Athlete
48:50 - Balance of Letting Athletes Be Themselves and Making Sure They Succeed
1:02:20 - Training a Lot of Athletes at Once
1:08:00 - Final Thoughts

Episode #146 Everything You Can Do to Get Faster That Doesn't Involve Sprinting with Brendan Thompson and Mike Whiteman

3/31/2021

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/7660288

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If you want to get faster, get your athletes faster or just enjoy quality sprint training, this episode is for you.

Mike Whiteman and Brendan Thompson are two of the best coaches in sports performance today and they take us on a full journey on everything speed training that doesn’t DIRECTLY relate to sprinting.

We know the importance of sprinting, but what ELSE can we do to improve speed? Acceleration and loaded sprinting, extensive plyometrics and improving ground contacts and the entire spectrum of skill development.

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

Episode Timestamps

4:40 - What Is New with Brendan and Mike
9:00 - Working with Large Groups in the Covid-era
10:45 - How Brendan and Mike Started Together
21:28 - Working with Athletes That Are Already Well-versed in Programming
29:20 - Athletes and Sprinting
36:40 - Speedwork at Full Speed
46:30 - Ground Contact & Extensive Plyometrics
59:30 - Genetic Gifts Vs Hard Work
1:05:00 - Acceleration, Bullet Belt, & Improving Athletes First 10 Yards
1:16:30 - Closing Thoughts

Episode #145 Kevin Poppe: Stop Bitching… How to Add Value to What Strength and Conditioning Coaches Provide and Elevate Our Field

3/24/2021

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/8064859

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In this episode, Gerry welcomes Kevin Poppe back on the show for another straight to the point conversation about all things strength and conditioning, particularly how we can actively aim to elevate our role, compensation and perception in the field of athletics.

Episode Timestamps

4:20 - Kevin’s New Normal
8:00 - Finding Ways to Get Guys Motivated
16:45 - Getting Paid More & Adding Value
21:50 - Gerry’s Disagreement with Cody Hughes
27:00 - Increasing Your Role with a Team
33:10 - Difficulties of Gradually Giving Input as a Young Coach
38:35 - Culture of the Industry
48:25 - How to Warrant Your Worth
50:00 - Understanding Sports and Their Movement Needs
1:05:00 - Closing Thoughts

Episode #144 Why Training May Be a Better Word Than Rehab with Kelly Starrett

3/17/2021

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/8064625

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Kelly Starrett has been featured on 60 Minutes, the Joe Rogan Experience and is a best selling author. He joins Gerry on this episode of Muscles and Management to talk about the balance between training and rehabilitation and why quality training may be a better mindset then rehabilitation.

Additionally, Kelly gives tips about making your way into this field and how you can be a good coach AND make money.

From awesome and unique perspectives on training and more, this episode has it ALL!

Episode Timestamps

5:00 - Growing in Your Industry
12:00 - Who Do You Want to Attract?
18:10 - Making Money Outside of the Gym
27:40 - You Need to Be Obsessed
34:50 - Nic Gill and the All Blacks
39:15 - Training… or Rehab?
53:00 - Dynamic Correspondence & Gimmick Exercises
56:30 - Failed Therapy & Injury Recovery
1:10:00 - “Lot’s of Roads Lead to Rome”
1:17:00 - Final Thoughts

Episode #143 Everything You Need to Know About Creatine with Wendi Irlbeck

3/10/2021

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/8061009

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In this episode, Gerry welcomes Registered Dietitian Wendi Irlbeck to the show to discuss EVERYTHING you need to know about creatine.

Wendi starts the conversation with a bit of her background in the field and then gets into some tips for the average person and how they can navigate social media and some of the poor information that is put out.

Speaking of poor information, Wendi then gets into creatine and all of the misconceptions and misinformation about it. From "it bloats you," to "it is a steroid," Wendi and Gerry laugh about the ridiculous thoughts that circle the supplement and why they are simply not true.

From there, the conversation turns to the when, what and why of creatine and all you need to know about how it works, when you should take it and who it can benefit (everyone).

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

Episode Timestamps

4:49 - Wendi’s Background
6:30 - Broad Tips from Wendi
11:45 - Registered Dietitians & Guidelines
16:05 - Bad Info on Twitter
21:30 - Intro to Creatine
33:40 - Timing for Creatine
43:00 - Working with Youth
52:38 - Gerry’s Weightloss Journey
57:50 - Closing Thoughts

Episode #142 Joint Specific Training and Differing Demands of Each Leg for Rotational Athletes with Rob Hill and Steffan Jones

3/3/2021

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/8060991

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In this episode Gerry welcomes Rob Hill and Steffan Jones back on the show for another introspective episode aimed at building rotational athletes and throwers.

To start the conversation, Gerry has Rob and Steffan discuss anything that has changed for them in terms of their training philosophies over the past year while also shedding some light on things that interest them going into the future.

From there, things shift over to isolating particular ranges of motion that relate to the mechanics of pitching and throwing and how strength coaches and pitching coaches can collaborate to target needed areas in the delivery of a pitcher to improve performance.

To finish up, Rob and Steffan discuss the differing demands of the legs in pitching and how we might be seeing a shift in our thought process because of this when it comes to training advanced pitchers.

All that and more with two of the best throwing coaches in the world today!

Episode Timestamps

0:20 - Check-in with Gerry
7:20 - A Shift in Baseball & Its Similarities to Cricket
13:40 - Changes in Rob & Steffan’s Training
22:00 - In-Season Vs Out
32:30 - Technique Vs Force
42:00 - Conflicting Info in the Industry
51:20 - Learning New Things
55:50 - Isometrics

Episode #141 Jason Ochart: Creating Hitting Training Environments That Actually Prepare Hitters for Competition

2/24/2021

Episode #140 Dean Jackson: Everything to Know About Transferability and Specificity of Strength Training for Pitchers

2/17/2021

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/7463818

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On this episode Gerry welcomes pitcher AND pitching strength coach Dean Jackson to the show!

Dean has a very interesting background as he is still pursuing his own playing dreams of professional baseball as a pitcher while also doing some excellent work as a coach for various amateur and pro arms alike. Dean blends a terrific understanding of pitching and pitching mechanics along with a great grasp for strength and conditioning concepts which truly makes this a unique listen for pitchers, pitching coaches AND strength coaches.

After divulging a bit about his own background growing up and how that impacted him in terms of his knowledge in training, Dean gets into tips and advice for not only youth pitchers and athletes, but then discusses the specificities of strength training for advanced pitchers. This includes some of the characteristics he looks for when it comes to the movements specific to pitching and how that can shape subsequent strength training.

From there, the conversation turns to specificity and Gerry and Dean give their takes on what training transferability really means and how we can make sure we are giving our athletes what they need to succeed as pitchers and athletes.

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

Episode Timestamps

Episode #139 Programming: Individualization, Specification, Planning and Timing to Build Better Athletes with Zach Dechant

2/10/2021

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/238054/7524187

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In this episode Gerry welcomes Zach Dechant back on the show! After an amazing first episode last year, Zach returns to talk everything regarding programming.

To start, Gerry and Zach talk about some benefits of lower sprint volume for athletes and preserving the nervous system throughout a training week, while also maintaining a balance of still providing stimulus.

From there, the conversation turns to individualization and changing loading vs. variations, programming for youth athletes and the real meaning of sport specificity.

For athletes and coaches alike, this is a must listen to understand the intricacies of program development to best serve athletic development.

Episode Timestamps

4:00 - What Is New with Zach
5:35 - Less Is More
12:30 - Holistic Approach
20:30 - Changing the Mindset of Coaches and Organizations
26:50 - Rotation
34:00 - Old Logic - Poles
44:25 - Loads for Different Athletes
49:30 - Youth Programing
57:33 - Preparing Athletes for Their Sport & Misconceptions
1:09:00 - Closing Thoughts