Interview with Coach Joe Hashey of Synergy Athletics

Recently I was given the privilege to interview Joe Hashey, a great strength and conditioning coach and owner of Synergy Athletics. Joe has produced some great results in his athletes and its an honor to have been given the chance to talk with him.

Can you give us a little background info about yourself?

First Chris, thanks for interviewing me.  I teach high school Economics, own a gym, and run Synergy-Athletics.com in my “spare time.”  As for strength training I am have my CSCS through the NSCA and enjoy getting in as many gyms as possible to always continue learning.

How/why did you get involved in training and fitness?

I was injured while playing college football, and I wanted to learn more about proper training techniques to become healthier.  It just took off from there!

Has there been anyone in particular who has had a strong influence on your training style?

100′s if not 1000′s of people.  I strongly believe that under the bar training is just as important as book learning.  Just last week I was out in Ohio for 3 days and trained at 6 different facilities.  I took something from everyone I met.

Can you give us some insight into your training method? What does a typical training week look like?

My training method is called the “Bull Strength Method.”  It involves compound movements, parts of other proven programs, and multiple planes of motion to create real world strength.  A typical week is periodized using the concurrent method.

For those people out there who may not be familiar with it, can you give us a brief definition of the concurrent method?

People often confuse concurrent periodization and conjugate periodization.  Concurrent means just that – training multiple facets of strength concurrently (at the same time) instead of in blocks like linear periodization.  It works much better for athletes that have competition phases at multiple times throughout the year (such as playing two sport seasons).

You recently published your Bull Strength Conditioning manual. One of the most common questions people have in regard to conditioning is how to integrate it with strength training without compromising results in one or the other. What do you feel is a good way to do this?

The most common questions involve “how long will it take” and “can this program be completed in a commercial gym?”  Of course the time invested depends largely on the persons goals (and this is all laid out in the Bull Strength Conditioning Manual).  Big results can be seen in as little as 10-12 minutes 2-3 times a week of HIGH INTENSITY training.

Oh, and of course it can be completed in any style weight room and even includes body weight variations for home training.

What do you feel is the most important factor when structuring conditioning work?

The most important factor to understand is that more isn’t always better.  Conditioning is PART of a WHOLE program.  Many people go all out for a day or two, then quit.  Unfortunately, they will never see results.  Incremental changes can lead to big results!

You work a lot with younger athletes and have a record of helping them see great results. Do you have any advice for the masses, especially the younger crowd out there, for reaching their goals?

Absolutely.  Take those bodybuilding programs that you learned in the magazines, and throw them right in the garbage.  They are only a glimpse at a professional competitors program and everyone thinks that’s how they should work out.  There is no GPP, and people that can’t do a push up are bench pressing.

Start with GPP, build up your base, THEN get into a program to reach your goals.

Thanks again Joe for taking the time to do this. If anyone out there wants to learn more about Joe Hashey and his training head on over to Synergy Athletics and have a look around.

Joe is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach and owner of Synergy Athletics. He specializes in getting the most out athletes, and has some impressive training videos.  Go visit Joe’s site – www.synergy-athletics.com – and sign up for the FREE newsletter.  All subscribers get a free bonus training video of Joe training at his place and with the Diesel Crew.  It is really a must watch!