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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 #238 Who You Should (and Shouldn’t) Listen to on Social Media with Pratik Patel
Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode!
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 athletes (and coaches) need to be way more critical of who they follow and listen to.
Fueled by recent rants and debates on Twitter, Pratik lays out:
- Why influencers with no athlete experience are dominating the narrative
- How to filter bad advice and identify credible voices in the sea of online noise
- The problem with “coaches” selling courses before gaining real-world experience
- Why some viral content is built purely for engagement—not athlete development
- The value of showing actual athlete progress—not just highlight reels
- How metrics, testing, and simple logic still reign supreme in real training
The conversation also digs into vertical jump progress, the realities of building an online business like OnlyStrength, and the frustration of seeing coaches with real experience get drowned out by louder (and often less qualified) voices.
This is a must-listen for athletes, coaches, and parents trying to navigate fitness content online and understand the difference between entertainment and expert education.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro and Why Pratik Returned for This Episode
2:08 – Social Media's Influence on Training Narratives
3:15 – How Algorithms Reward Misinformation
6:06 – The Value of Real-World Coaching Experience
11:57 – When Big Accounts Attack Small Creators
15:45 – Why Athletes Need Better Context in Programming
19:03 – The Jalen Hurts/Saquon Squatting Debate
23:42 – Online Gurus Selling Courses Without Real Work
28:52 – The Reality of Building a Membership Platform
31:50 – Why Data-Driven Feedback Matters for Buy-In
34:00 – Performance vs. Injury Prevention at the Pro Level
36:41 – Off-Field Behavior and Coach-Athlete Trust
38:57 – How Athletes Can Vet Social Media Advice
41:04 – What to Look for in a Credible Coach
42:21 – Explaining the Why Behind Exercises
44:45 – Don’t Copy NBA/Pro Athlete Workouts
46:30 – The Problem With “Genetic Outliers” Giving Advice
47:32 – Youth Sports, Overload, and Lack of Strength Training
48:06 – Final Thoughts on Who to Trust and What Actually Works
53:01 – Pratik’s Next Project: High-Level Education Without the Noise
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