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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!
Muscles and Management
Episode #233 Breaking Plateaus, Training Smart, and Calling Out Gimmicks with William Wayland
Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode!
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 into the overuse of unstable surface training, especially in rotational sports like golf and baseball, and why chasing “core stability” often misses the point. William explains how performance has been overtaken by gimmicks and fear-driven training methods and provides clear, practical alternatives rooted in real-world results.
They also discuss:
- Hand-supported squats and RDLs as tools to break through strength plateaus
- Training adaptations in-season vs. off-season
- The importance of context and communication when working with athletes
- Neck training and its underappreciated role in performance and injury prevention
- AI in coaching, and why great coaches offer more than spreadsheets and rep schemes
From tackling social media misinformation to offering real solutions for building resilient, high-performing athletes, this episode is a masterclass in modern coaching.
All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!
Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro to the Episode and Guest, William Wayland
3:12 – The Problem with Unstable Surface Training in Sport
7:39 – Social Media Influence and Why Gimmicks Go Viral
10:25 – Fear of Loading and the Rise of “Safe but Useless” Training
16:00 – Real Force Production vs. Balance Drills
18:42 – Breaking Strength Plateaus with Hand-Supported Variations
25:00 – In-Season vs. Off-Season Programming Adjustments
29:36 – Novelty, Monotony, and When to Change Training Stimuli
34:00 – The Role of Communication and Subjective Feedback
37:47 – Coaching in Chaos: Travel, Sleep, and Agile Programming
42:00 – AI and the Future of Strength Coaching
48:22 – Neck Training: Benefits, Myths, and Practical Programming
55:32 – When and How to Program Neck Work
58:23 – Evidence vs. Experience: Finding the Balance
1:01:18 – Final Thoughts on Craftsmanship in Coaching
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