Review of the Super Strength DVD By Mike Westerdal of CriticalBench.com
The Super Strength Training Workouts DVD was developed by fitness expert Joe DeFranco-one of the most successful and highly respected trainers in the field. He has logged more than 15,000 hours coaching athletes from every discipline. His training techniques make athletes bigger, stronger, faster, leaner and more flexible and are so effective that more than 30 of his clients have been drafted into the NFL. What really sets Super Strength apart from other training DVDs is that Joe's strength building system is based on the Russian Conjugate Method.
The Russian Conjugate Method (Conjugated Periodization)-perfected by the Soviets during the 1980s-is credited with developing some of the world's most powerful athletes including Olympic Gold Medal winners and world record holders. Conjugated Periodization takes several different training abilities, couples them together and trains them all year long. This is in sharp contrast to the much more popular Linear Periodization wherein the different training abilities are trained in blocks and separated throughout the year. Here, as you progress from one training phase to the next, the previous phase is neglected and you end up losing some of what you gained.
Conjugated Periodization has at its foundation three essential pathways to developing all-around strength: Max Effort, Dynamic Effort and Repeated Effort. So by following the methods in DeFranco's Super Strength Training DVD the "neglect" inherent in linear training isn't an issue because you'll be training all aspects of strength all year long. The Super Strength DVD begins with an introduction from Joe that helps you to really understand why Conjugated Periodization is a superior training methodology. This is followed by a thorough discussion and detailed demonstrations of upper and lower body warm-up routines.
The next section moves into in-depth presentations of Conjugated Periodization and the three pathways to strength. Joe really explains these concepts well in a clear, easy-to-grasp manner that is a breath of fresh air because some instructional DVDs are so complex that they're tough to follow.
In this section Joe explains why unlike linear periodization, the combination of these three pathways provides for continuous improvement-including the weak links-all year long. He discusses why Max Effort is so effective in building strength-because it requires the combined effort of different muscles in order to perform a movement and requires you to keep increasing the weight until you've reached your one-rep max. With Dynamic Effort, the goal is to lift 50 - 75% of your max load capability as fast as possible, improving both explosive force and force development. The focus of the last pathway-Repeated Effort-requires you to lift a non-max load to failure, which helps stimulate the growth of new muscle fiber.
Lower Body Unilateral exercises are the focus of the next section. These movements largely focus on full range of motion, single-leg exercises. Joe gives an excellent presentation about how and why the quads-the focus of Lower Body Unilateral movements-are important in helping athletes to develop all around balance, coordination, dynamic flexibility and strength.
Movements for beginners, intermediate and advanced athletes are presented.
This section is followed by a discussion and presentation of Lower Body Posterior Chain exercises-which includes the lower back, the glutes and the hamstrings. The Posterior Chain is the source of power, or the athlete's "engine," but because these are not "show" muscles-that is to say you don't readily see them in the mirror-a lot of athletes neglect this area and unwittingly suffer for it. Joe presents a nice variety of exercises to choose from that can and should be incorporated into your routine.
The last section of the DVD is focused on "uncommon" exercises for training muscles that are usually overlooked by most routines. Again, like the Posterior Chain, these are support muscles that aren't readily visible to the untrained eye but they are still no less important to developing the overall athlete. This section is completely awesome and can really help you to fine-tune your body and if you're a competitor, it could give you an edge over the competition.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Super Strength Training DVD and would highly recommend it to anyone seriously interested in getting really fit.
Everything about it is top-notch. The demonstrations show you exactly how to properly perform the movements and how each exercise/component integrates into the overall training program. And no matter how much you think you know, I have no doubt that can learn some new techniques and really benefit from Joe's wisdom, experience and success.
....the strength training system that Joe DeFranco and his staff uses to create some of the strongest & most explosive athletes in the world!
Joe DeFranco’s strength training system is based on the Russian Conjugate Method. Conjugated periodization means that multiple abilities are coupled together and trained simultaneously throughout the year. This is much different than the more popular Western method of periodization in which different abilities are trained separately throughout the year.
