Mike Ranfone is the founder and president of Ranfone Training Systems located in Hamden, Connecticut, and for the past decade he’s dedicated himself to improving athletes as a performance coach and manual therapist.

Mike is one of those guys that I’ve heard about for years, but had never actually crossed paths with, so I was very excited to get him on the show.

In this episode, Mike and I talk about his philosophy that health precedes performance, the battles he faces when training both high school and college athletes, and why he brings world class speakers into his gym to teach.

Here's a brief overview of what we covered on this week's episode:

* How Mike got started in the world of physical preparation, along with his rapid ascent to the top.

* The big rocks and key tenets of his philosophy.

* How is it different working with high school and college age athletes versus the pros?

* The biggest struggles he faces when training his young athletes.

* Mike's advice for coaches who want to work with high school and collegiate level athletes.

* Having worked in both the public and private sector, Mike reflects on the pros and cons of each.

* Why he, year in and year out, brings in the best coaches in the world to speak at his gym.

* The BIG Question.

* The lightning round, where we discuss the best Wu-Tang solo album, the book(s) he's reading right now, an over/under on how many pairs of camo cargo shorts he owns, and more!