About John

John Welbourn is CEO of Power Athlete and host of Power Athlete Radio. He is a 9 year starter and veteran of the NFL. John was drafted with the 97th pick in 1999 NFL Draft and went on to be a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999-2003, appearing in 3 NFC Championship games, and for starter for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2004-2007. In 2008, he played with the New England Patriots until an injury ended his season early with him retiring in 2009. Over the course of his career, John has started over 100 games and has 10 play-off appearances. He was a four year lettermen while playing football at the University of California at Berkeley. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Rhetoric in 1998. John has worked with the MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympic athletes and Military. He travels the world lecturing on performance and nutrition and records his podcast, Power Athlete Radio, every week with over 800 episodes spanning 13 years. You can catch up with John as his personal blog, Talk To Me Johnnie, on social media @johnwelbourn or at Power Athlete Radio.

When to Introduce Strength Training to Kids

Good Morning, I have an 11 year old son who plays tackle football, as well as other sports. In looking at all of your training programs, I notice that "Bedrock" seems to imply that high school freshman is the starting point. I am curious if you have a thought/philosophy on the appropriateness of having someone that young begin a program, or if simply playing and playing sports at that age is enough. Thanks, [...]

By |2016-11-30T09:36:00-06:00November 30th, 2016|Talk to Me Johnnie|3 Comments

Strength-less in Seattle

Hello John, My office gym doesn't have a barbell. I have put in a request for new material but it has not been fulfilled. From my researching on the Internet, I know BB Squat is king, but in the meantime, can you help me with a temporary alternative? I have access to a single 70-pound dumbbell and a leg press. I don't care much for the leg press, but if I have to, [...]

By |2016-11-28T12:27:29-06:00November 28th, 2016|Talk to Me Johnnie, Training|0 Comments

Bedrock

I have been using the CrossFit Football template for my high school football team for almost a year now. I saw that you were no longer posting your workouts and began looking elsewhere. I was talking with a friend of mine about it and he informed me that you were emailing the CrossFit Football workouts to people who asked for them. If this were true I would love to continue the CrossFit Football [...]

By |2016-11-10T15:59:58-06:00November 10th, 2016|Talk to Me Johnnie|0 Comments

What Numbers Don’t Tell

John, I will be attendi­ng and doing spring football workouts at UIW in San Antonio, Texas. I am a 22-year-old freshman with no guaranteed spot on the team as I am a hoping to walk on, but I have faith. I would like to play wide receiver or will at least try to be. My father was a talented running back in high school but got involved with the wrong crowd and went [...]

By |2016-10-26T12:43:54-05:00October 26th, 2016|Power Athlete, Talk to Me Johnnie|2 Comments

Which Program to Follow

John, I am currently looking at a few of your Power Athlete programs on Train Heroic. I have been looking at Jacked Street, Grindstone and Field Strong and was hoping to get your input on which program would be best for me. I am a police officer in Columbus, Ohio and work a very busy inner city precinct. At least once a week I am chasing someone through yards and over fences and [...]

By |2016-10-12T18:23:12-05:00October 18th, 2016|Talk to Me Johnnie|13 Comments

Nasty

Dear Mr. Welbourn, I lack what you referred to in PA Radio 174 as a "mean streak". I'm not prone to violence and am soft spoken. In your years of experience, did you encounter football players who didn't typically have a mean streak, but found a way to channel aggression for sport? If so, what was their solution? If not, what would you recommend for someone like me try to "find" a mean [...]

By |2016-10-13T18:56:33-05:00October 16th, 2016|Talk to Me Johnnie|3 Comments

Low Testosterone, Cortisol & CrossFit

Johnnie, I need some advice; an athlete of mine was recently told that his low testosterone readings at his general health check-up could be a result of his “metcons”. The argument was that his “metcons” are raising his cortisol levels and lowering his testosterone levels.  Would putting this athlete on the amateur program coupled with shorter “metcons” (in the 7-12 min range) be an appropriate course of action or suggestion? Thanks! Katie S. [...]

By |2016-10-13T18:43:45-05:00October 13th, 2016|Talk to Me Johnnie|3 Comments

Johnnie WOD

At my CrossFit Level 1 in Santa Cruz in 2008, I remember hearing Dave Castro and Nicole Carroll drop “WOD” into their cornucopia of buzzwords alongside “constantly varied”, “functional movements”, and “high intensity”. Like a gentle breeze, it passed over my head with nary a second thought. [chimpy_form forms="1"]   Then I heard it a few more times throughout the day, like when they mentioned how Brian Chontosh “WOD’d” three times, amidst awe-laden [...]

By |2017-01-18T05:58:37-06:00October 11th, 2016|Johnnie WOD, Talk to Me Johnnie|8 Comments

What CrossFit Football Taught Me

"CrossFit Football was a completely separate, different animal. Here was a CrossFit branded training program with a periodized strength template coupled with short, heavy, hard, and fast conditioning workouts mixed with sprints and change of direction...People fucking ate it up."

By |2016-10-02T14:58:10-05:00October 1st, 2016|Talk to Me Johnnie|162 Comments
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