Jason Ferruggia

I thought about just putting my workout off until tomorrow. That would have been the smart thing to do.

Growing up I was always the skinniest, weakest kid in school.

If you’ve been around this industry long enough, you surely heard more lies told and myths espoused than you could ever remember.

They say you can tell a lot about a person by the company he keeps. If you associate with positive, motivated, driven people it can only rub off on you and make you more successful in anything you do.

I was born with a rebellious streak. It’s been with me just about every day of my 32-year existence. When I wake up every day, I know that I’ll probably do or say something that will probably be nothing more than an act of rebellion in some form or another against something that I see as wrong or unjust. I

I’ve never met “Big Bad Dave Tate.” I have never even met Dave “Fuckin” Tate. Supposedly, he is some terrifying lunatic who would throw you through a wall for squatting less than 800 pounds in his presence or suck the brains from your skull if you looked at him wrong. At least that’s what I have read on the internet.

Last night I closed the doors to my strength and conditioning facility for the last time. After over ten years in the same town and the same building, it was time for me to move on to new challenges.

Despite the busiest summer I ever had both professionally and socially, my training has been better than ever lately.

I decided to write this article a few months ago but never got around to it until recently. It wasn’t until last weekend, when I scrolled through Dave Tate’s hip hop training mix on his iPod, that I realized this article was a necessity. Too many people are listening to, and worse yet, training to bad hip hop.

As a strength and conditioning coach it is my job to stay on top of the latest findings and keep myself updated on the most advanced training methods out there.

It was Friday, February 18th; I finished work early and stopped home to pack a bag for the weekend.

It was a cold October afternoon in 2003. My back was sore and I could hardly straighten my elbow. I iced down and took some ibuprofen; still I felt no better.

Unfortunately the unmaking of an athlete begins long before college.

I sometimes wonder if there are any prerequisites at all to getting a job as college strength and conditioning coach.