As a college strength and football coach from 1998 to 2013, elitefts™ was my beacon in a sea of deluded and opinionated banter between the uneducated and the inexperienced. Long before internet warriors argued about raw versus geared lifting and everyone became seemingly forced to take a stance on what they felt about CrossFit, there were endless debates between the H.I.T. Jedis, the Functional Crowd, and, well...us. James "The Thinker" Smith originally labeled coaches the "Darkside." This included anyone who embraced what Dave Tate and Louie had created from Zatsiorskly, Verkoshansky, and Siff. The darkside name didn't stick, but out of that group surfaced some of the most influential coaches in the industry. Before anyone with a blog, eBook, or a YouTube channel could call his or herself an expert, coaches built their legacy through training with and learning from the best coaches they could find. Joe DeFranco is one of these coaches.

To say Joe DeFranco has had a tremendous influence on me (and my athletes) would be an understatement. I have followed Joe and his training for almost my entire career. Joe DeFranco was one of the first coaches to utilize conjugated periodization concepts and implement them into a sports performance training methodology. He knew that the best way to get athlete's faster and more explosive was to first get them stronger. When he took a chance and started training athletes out of his garage, he proved it. Joe has established himself as one of the most sought after trainers in the world. Although his client list has grown in terms of numbers and salaries, his foundational principles have stayed put. Being innovative and cutting-edge while still standing firm in your beliefs is a characteristic that only the best coaches have — and DeFranco has it. Listen to him talk about training and you'll understand why.

Topics Covered in this Podcast

  1. How Joe became a pioneer by implementing maximal strength in sports performance
  2. Strength builds the foundation for all athletic activity
  3. How Joe adjusts his basic templates per sport, season, and training age
  4. From high school freshman to All-Pro: Brian Cushing's training evolution
  5. Preparing athletes for the NFL Combine
  6. The challenge of training WWE Wrestlers
  7. How Joe extended Triple H's career with his training
  8. The benefits of the box squat for athletes
  9. Special strength exercises for speed development
  10. The use of prowlers and sleds in training

Joe DeFranco's Top-12 Equipment List