Gerry DeFilippo

Muscles and Management

Health EN ↓ 252 episodes

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 perf...

Author

Gerry DeFilippo

Category

Health

Podcast website

challengerstrength.com

Latest episode

Aug 20, 2025

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Episodes

Episode #252 Ismael Gallo on Movement Flow, Exaggeration Myths, and Long-Term Athlete Development 20.08.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 gimmicks. Gallo brings a unique blend of experience from pro baseball and clinical rehab to the discus...

Episode #251 Travis Hash on Semi-Private Training Models, True Individualization, and Cutting Through Coaching Gimmicks 13.08.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 the logistics of scaling individualized programs in a semi-private setting to eliminating unneces...

Episode #250 Antonella Schwarz on Research-Driven Coaching, Caffeine Myths, and The Real Value of Muscle 06.08.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 the gap between academic knowledge and practical coaching to challenging long-held beliefs about...

Episode #249 Kurt Hester on Coaching Longevity, Private Sector Lessons, and the Evolution of Strength and Conditioning 30.07.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 days pioneering speed training and private sector facilities to working with top college programs...

Episode #248 Youth Athlete Development, Long-Term Training Systems, and Coaching Careers with Nick Serio 23.07.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 sport-specific skills with physical development, and the importance of parental communication. Th...

Episode #247 Reducing Injury Likelihood in Athletes: Practical Strategies and Real-World Insight 16.07.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 limits of control in high-intensity, contact sports. Gerry shares how consistent, well-rounded training builds r...

Episode #246 Baseball Performance, Hamstring Health, and Sprint Speed with Royals Director of Sports Performance Nick Shedd 09.07.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 MLB, and Nick’s approach to sprint mechanics, injury prevention, and hamstring health. Nick break...

Episode #245 Tony Shiffman on O-Line Development, College Football, and Coaching Identity 26.06.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 schemes, and how to develop young linemen effectively. Tony shares insights on how to structure dril...

Episode #244 Ross Garner on Coaching Track Athletes, Hamstring Rehab, and Sprinting Mechanics 18.06.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 biomechanics of sprinting, and effective strategies for hamstring injury rehab and prevention. R...

Episode #243 Andrew Sacks on Sports Science, Data-Driven Coaching, and Building Better Athletes 11.06.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 coaching and deep data analytics, Andrew brings a grounded perspective on what actually matters wh...

Episode #242 Zack Zillner on Building Resilient Athletes and Simplifying Performance 05.06.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 approach to training—removing fluff, prioritizing foundational work, and building systems that...

Episode #241 Arno Rheinberger on Injury Rehab, Achilles Epidemic, and the Strength-Training Disconnect 28.05.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 the complicated relationship between performance and return-to-play. They dive into the recent s...

Episode #240 Culture Consistency and Coaching Beyond the Weight Room with Brijesh Patel 21.05.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 the strength and conditioning world. Brijesh shares lessons from over 20 years in the field, including...

Episode #239 In-Season Strength, Online Coaching Myths, and Building a Sustainable Training Model with Joe Aratari 14.05.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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, business, and development. Joe shares lessons from over a decade training youth and high school athletes, inclu...

Episode #238 Who You Should (and Shouldn’t) Listen to on Social Media with Pratik Patel 07.05.2025

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 rant...

Episode #237 Strength, Speed, and Data-Driven Development at UCLA with Sean Swetnam 30.04.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 gains at one of college football’s top programs. Sean walks us through the first eight weeks of UC...

Episode #236 Reframing Strength, Conditioning, and Sport Culture with Malorie Henderlong 23.04.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 training mindsets, and creating performance systems that actually serve athletes. Malorie opens up abou...

Episode #235 Sprint Mechanics, Positional Speed Work, and High/Low Programming with Matt Gebert 16.04.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 football players, with a focus on position-specific programming, sprint mechanics, and how to effectively use...

Episode #234 Building Speed, Absorbing Force, and Contextual Coaching with Jorge Carvajal 09.04.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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. Jorge shares insights from over 30 years in the field, including experiences working with NFL athl...

Episode #233 Breaking Plateaus, Training Smart, and Calling Out Gimmicks with William Wayland 02.04.2025

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,...

Episode #232 Sprint Mechanics, Speed Trends, and Building Better Athletes with Justin Wickard 26.03.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 experience across Division I programs like TCU and Air Force, Justin shares his journey from intern to eli...

Episode #231 Speed Development, Strength Training, and the Evolution of Coaching with Brad Dixon 19.03.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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-driven and athlete-first approach, optimizing both speed and strength for long-term athletic de...

Episode #230 The Evolution of Pitching, Strength Training, and Social Media’s Impact with Ben Brewster of Tread Athletics 12.03.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 modern training methods. Ben shares insights on the advancements in pitch tracking technology, how social me...

Episode #229 Effective Protocol in Performance and Avoiding Gimmicks with Quentin Wiley of UNC Football 05.03.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 around fascia-based training, movement variability for injury prevention, and the balance between tre...

Episode #228 The Blueprint to Building a HUGE Vertical Jump with Brandon Davis 26.02.2025

Send us your questions, or thoughts on today's episode! 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 training in athletic development. Brandon shares insights on common training misconceptions, including...

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