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Muscles and Management
Over the last near decade, Gerry DeFilippo has trained THOUSANDS of athletes from the youth to pro level across all major team-sports.
Gerry started his gym and brand, Challenger Strength, as an ambitious 22 year old still finishing his college degree.
In the time since, he has built his facility and following into a nationally recognized performance company training thousands of athletes both in-person and online.
Gerry brings guests across all areas of sports and performance training, giving the listener inside access to his rolodex of collegiate, world renowned private and professional performance and sports coaches.
If you are looking to improve your own performance OR knowledge of performance/sports training (and learn how to shape your career), Muscles and Management is for you!
Episodes
252 episodes
Episode #252 Ismael Gallo on Movement Flow, Exaggeration Myths, and Long-Term Athlete Development
In Episode 252 of Muscles and Management, Gerry welcomes Dr. Ismael Gallo—former professional baseball player, physical therapist, and founder of Baseball Flows—for a wide-ranging conversation on athlete development through movement, not gimmic...
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Episode #251 Travis Hash on Semi-Private Training Models, True Individualization, and Cutting Through Coaching Gimmicks
In Episode 251 of Muscles and Management, Gerry welcomes Travis Hash, Director of Strength and Conditioning and owner of Absolute Sports Performance, for a deep dive into what it really takes to run an effective athlete training program. From t...
Episode #250 Antonella Schwarz on Research-Driven Coaching, Caffeine Myths, and The Real Value of Muscle
In Episode 250 of Muscles and Management, Gerry is joined by Dr. Antonella Schwarz, Assistant Professor of Exercise Science at Barry University, to break down some of the most intriguing findings in sports science research today. From bridging ...
Episode #249 Kurt Hester on Coaching Longevity, Private Sector Lessons, and the Evolution of Strength and Conditioning
In Episode 249 of Muscles and Management, Gerry welcomes veteran coach Kurt Hester, currently Head of Football Preparation at the University of Houston, for a deep dive into his decades-long career in strength and conditioning. From his early d...
Episode #248 Youth Athlete Development, Long-Term Training Systems, and Coaching Careers with Nick Serio
In this episode, Gerry welcomes Nick Serio to discuss his extensive experience in developing youth athletes and building long-term training systems. Nick dives into key principles behind performance training for young athletes, how to balance s...
Episode #247 Reducing Injury Likelihood in Athletes: Practical Strategies and Real-World Insight
In this solo episode, Gerry dives into one of the most requested topics: how to actually reduce the likelihood of injury in sports. He breaks down the difference between injury reduction vs. injury prevention, highlighting the...
Episode #246 Baseball Performance, Hamstring Health, and Sprint Speed with Royals Director of Sports Performance Nick Shedd
In Episode 246 of Muscles and Management, Gerry sits down with Nick Shedd, Director of Sports Performance for the Kansas City Royals. The two discuss the current state of baseball training, the evolving role of high-performance departments in M...
Episode #245 Tony Shiffman on O-Line Development, College Football, and Coaching Identity
In Episode 245 of Muscles and Management, Gerry chats with Tony Shiffman, offensive line coach at Wofford College and co-founder of the #HogFBChat. They dive into Tony’s coaching journey, O-line fundamentals, building identity in offensive sche...
Episode #244 Ross Garner on Coaching Track Athletes, Hamstring Rehab, and Sprinting Mechanics
In Episode 244 of Muscles and Management, Gerry sits down with Ross Garner, a performance coach and sprint specialist with experience working with elite track athletes and football players. The two dig into the details of developing speed, the ...
Episode #243 Andrew Sacks on Sports Science, Data-Driven Coaching, and Building Better Athletes
In this episode Muscles and Management, Gerry sits down with Andrew Sacks, founder of Prime Sports Performance, to dive into the world of sports science and its application in real training environments. With experience across private sector co...
Episode #242 Zack Zillner on Building Resilient Athletes and Simplifying Performance
In Episode 242 of Muscles and Management, Gerry chats with Zack Zillner, Head Performance Coach for Texas Women's Basketball and former coach with the University of Kansas, University of Illinois, and the Chicago Bulls. Zack brings a no-BS appr...
Episode #241 Arno Rheinberger on Injury Rehab, Achilles Epidemic, and the Strength-Training Disconnect
In Episode 241 of Muscles and Management, Gerry sits down with Arno Rheinberger—former NFL and Division 1 athletic trainer with stops at the New York Giants, Rutgers, Minnesota, and more—for a raw, in-depth conversation on injuries, rehab, and ...
Episode #240 Culture Consistency and Coaching Beyond the Weight Room with Brijesh Patel
In this episode of Muscles and Management, Gerry sits down with Brijesh Patel—longtime Director of Athletic Performance at Quinnipiac University—for a masterclass in building culture, earning athlete buy-in, and leading with purpose in...
Episode #239 In-Season Strength, Online Coaching Myths, and Building a Sustainable Training Model with Joe Aratari
In this episode of Muscles and Management, Gerry welcomes back Joe Aratari for a raw conversation on the realities of in-season training, youth sport culture, and what too many coaches get wrong when it comes to online content, busines...
Episode #238 Who You Should (and Shouldn’t) Listen to on Social Media with Pratik Patel
In this episode of Muscles and Management, Gerry welcomes back Pratik Patel—former NFL and Division I performance coach—for a raw and unfiltered conversation about the current state of social media, training misinformation, and why ath...
Episode #237 Strength, Speed, and Data-Driven Development at UCLA with Sean Swetnam
In this episode of Muscles and Management, Gerry welcomes Sean Swetnam, Assistant Director of Football Performance at UCLA, to break down how elite-level training, data integration, and interdisciplinary collaboration are fueling performance ga...
Episode #236 Reframing Strength, Conditioning, and Sport Culture with Malorie Henderlong
In this episode of Muscles and Management, Gerry sits down with Malorie Henderlong, Assistant Director of Sports Performance at Auburn University, to discuss her journey through college strength and conditioning, breaking down outdated...
Episode #235 Sprint Mechanics, Positional Speed Work, and High/Low Programming with Matt Gebert
In this episode of Muscles and Management, Gerry is joined by Matt Gebert, newly appointed strength and conditioning coach for Auburn Football, previously at Arizona. Matt brings a deep dive into real-world speed development for footba...
Episode #234 Building Speed, Absorbing Force, and Contextual Coaching with Jorge Carvajal
In this episode of Muscles and Management, Gerry welcomes speed and performance specialist Jorge Carvajal for a deep dive into building real-world speed, athlete resilience, and cutting through the noise in the world of performance training.
Episode #233 Breaking Plateaus, Training Smart, and Calling Out Gimmicks with William Wayland
In this episode of Muscles and Management, Gerry sits down with elite strength coach and performance consultant William Wayland to dig deep into what truly drives long-term athlete development—and what doesn’t.They waste no time diving i...
Episode #232 Sprint Mechanics, Speed Trends, and Building Better Athletes with Justin Wickard
In this episode of Muscles and Management, Gerry sits down with Justin Wickard—track and field coach, speed expert, and founder of Tier One Athlete—to break down what it really takes to get athletes faster.With nearly two decades of exp...
Episode #231 Speed Development, Strength Training, and the Evolution of Coaching with Brad Dixon
In this episode of Muscles and Management, Gerry welcomes Brad Dixon, head football coach, track coach, and advocate for the Feed the Cats training philosophy. Brad shares his journey from traditional, old-school coaching methods to a more data...
Episode #230 The Evolution of Pitching, Strength Training, and Social Media’s Impact with Ben Brewster of Tread Athletics
In this episode of Muscles and Management, Gerry welcomes back Ben Brewster, founder of Tread Athletics, to discuss the evolving landscape of pitching development, strength training, and how technology and social media are shaping mode...
Episode #229 Effective Protocol in Performance and Avoiding Gimmicks with Quentin Wiley of UNC Football
In this episode, Gerry welcomes Quentin Wiley, a Doctor of Physical Therapy and strength coach at the University of North Carolina, to discuss the intersection of rehab and performance training. Quentin shares insights on the growing hype aroun...
Episode #228 The Blueprint to Building a HUGE Vertical Jump with Brandon Davis
In this episode, Gerry welcomes Brandon Davis, a strength and conditioning coach, to discuss vertical jump training and performance strategies. They dive into the importance of altitude drops, resisted sprints, and the role of eccentric trainin...