19. Chad Wesley Smith, Founder of Juggernaut Training Systems

Strength and Conditioning Coach and Founder of Juggernaut Training Systems joins today’s show. A former elite powerlifter and 2x collegiate shot put national champion, Chad has been competing and coaching at the upper echelon of sport for over 10 years. Chad has posted Top 10 all time powerlifting totals in both wraps (2325#) and sleeves (2226#) and gained notoriety as an elite powerlifting athlete and strongman. Chad is also one of the most highly regarded strength and performance coaches in the industry today working with everyone from MMA world champions, NFL standouts, Powerlifting world champions and beyond. His online platform, Juggernaut Training Systems, has become one of the largest and most highly regarded multi-media training and education platforms in the industry. In today’s show, Chad discusses his foray into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and why old school UFC was as close to real life to the movie Blood Sport as we’ll ever get. Despite being so well known within the powerlifting community, Chad clarifies that he is a sports and performance coach first and foremost and even counts the recent #1 NFL Draft Pick Joe Burrow among his clientele. Running his business now completely online, he talks about the exciting opportunity to scale his coaching with athletes everywhere and why his innovative AI programming is a huge leap forward for elite to beginner athletes looking for personalized programming at a fraction of the price. Chad shares his approach to peaking and tapering and the indicators he tracks to make sure his athletes are optimizing their performance for competition. He explains why deloading is a necessity and how to do it properly. The need for programming to be individualized. What is overloading and why it has to be a part of any good program to help athletes adapt. He outlines the 7 principles of strength training and the questions athletes should ask themselves when assessing a potential coach. Follow Chad: Instagram: @chadwesleysmith Website & Programming: https://www.jtsstrength.com/?v=7516fd43adaa YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CWSmith52 Mentioned In the Show: Free YouTube eBook: https://www.jtsstrength.com/jts-youtube-hits-250k-free-ebook/?v=7516fd43adaa   Follow The Professional Athlete Podcast with Ken Gunter:   Instagram: @the_professionalathlete Website: https://kengunter.com/ YouTube: Ken Gunter https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRhgjkoSiJXAbS_MIasvvzQ/ Produced By: Justin Gunter, Ken Gunter Music By: Justin Gunter, Ken Gunter