Team Franco Podcast
by Joe Franco
Natural Bodybuilding Coach | OCB Contest PrepFounder – Team Franco Bodybuilding30+ Years Experience | Show Promoter & JudgeHelping athletes prep, improve, and sustain bodybuilding long-termCoaching Services found here: https://linktr.ee/teamfrancobbing
Episodes
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🎯 Six months out from your first or next contest. What should you be focusing on?
It’s getting a little more real, but there’s still a lot of opportunity ahead. Whether you started preparing a year out or you’re getting things going now, take advantage of that time! In Part 2 of this series, I’m covering: 💪 Keeping your training productive 📉 Finding an appropriate pace of…
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🎙️ 12 Months From Your Next Contest: Build Your Foundation
🎯 Thinking about competing a year from now? There’s plenty you can accomplish before the demands of contest prep increase. It’s exciting to picture yourself on stage. Give that goal some direction by focusing on what you can do today. In the first episode of this three-part series, I’m covering:...
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BODYBUILDING IS PART OF YOUR LIFE—NOT YOUR WHOLE LIFE
💪 You can succeed without being consumed. Ever scroll through social media and wonder if you’re taking bodybuilding seriously enough? You’re training consistently, putting effort into your workouts, and taking care of your nutrition—but you also have a family, a career, and interests outside the...
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Before the Likes (❤️👍) 3 Bodybuilding Fundamentals Worth Revisiting
In this episode of the 🎙️ Team Franco Bodybuilding Podcast, I revisit three things that helped then—and still matter now: 💪 Keep doing the ordinary work. ⏳ Give your approach a fair chance, with or without a coach. 🎯 Remember why you started.
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What Are You Doing With Your Off-Season?
The off-season is still a season. 💪 It’s easy to get excited when there’s a show date on the calendar. But what are you doing with the months between shows?
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What does it really take to build a championship physique?
It isn’t a secret workout, a magical diet, or constantly searching for the next new approach. It’s training hard. Remaining consistent with your nutrition. Having a productive off-season. Practicing your posing. Managing your recovery and mindset. Giving yourself enough time—and being willing to...
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Can AI replace a contest prep coach? 🤖💪
AI can calculate macros, analyze data, build workouts, answer questions, and give you more fitness information in seconds than we ever had access to before. And I think that’s a great thing. I use AI myself. But information isn’t coaching. A good coach learns you—how your body responds, when to...
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How often should you really train a muscle? 💪
For decades, bodybuilding has gone from Arnold-style high volume and frequency… to Dorian Yates and brutally hard, lower-volume training… to bro splits, PPL, and everything in between. In this episode, I break down how my own training philosophy has evolved after 30+ years in natural bodybuilding...
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🎙️ YOUR COACH WORKS FOR YOU — PART 2
A good coach shouldn't just tell you what to do. They should teach you enough that you eventually understand WHY you're doing it. In Part 2, I take the conversation beyond macros, training, check-ins and show day. We get into the bigger questions: 💪 What happens after the show? 🎯 Will your…
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🎙️ YOUR COACH WORKS FOR YOU — PART 1 Episode: #339
f you’re hiring a contest prep coach, you should know exactly what you’re getting. How often can you communicate? Who is actually coaching you? Macros, meal plans—or both? How often are adjustments made, and why? Is your training built around YOU, or is it a copy-and-paste program? And when show...
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🎙️ HOW LONG SHOULD A CONTEST PREP BE? | 5-YEAR REBOOT
Five years ago, I recorded a podcast answering one of the most common questions I get from competitors: How long should I prep for a show? It went on to become one of my most-listened-to episodes—and five years later, the topic is just as relevant. So I’m bringing it back.
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The Basics Still Win! Episode: #338
The basics still win. Too many people spend their energy obsessing over the final 10% while completely overlooking the 90% that actually drives progress.
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🚫 Stop chasing diets. Start chasing consistency. Episode: #337
🎙️ In this episode, we discuss: ✅ Why every diet seems to work ✅ Old school vs. new school nutrition ✅ Why copying influencers is a mistake ✅ Why consistency gives coaches the answers ✅ The danger of chasing fast results ✅ Why simple nutrition almost always wins
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The Fitness Industry Has Lost Its Mind! – TFB UNFILTERED #4 🔥
No sugarcoating. No clickbait. No "10 secret hacks." Just 30+ years of coaching experience and an honest conversation about what I believe has gone wrong in today's fitness industry. In this episode, I dive into: ✅ Diet myths that refuse to die ✅ Training myths that keep people spinning their...
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🎙️ TFB Unfiltered Ep.3 - What I Look at Before I Change Someone's Diet
Before I change a client's nutrition plan, I'm asking a lot more questions... ✔️ Have they truly been consistent? ✔️ What do their progress pictures show? ✔️ How are their strength and energy? ✔️ Are they recovering well? ✔️ Do they need to push harder... or actually eat more? Coaching isn't…
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🎙️ TFB Unfiltered Ep. 2 — What's Really Holding You Back?
How many times have you told yourself... 👉 "I'll compete next year." 👉 "I just need the perfect time." 👉 "Life is too busy right now." Here's the truth... 💥 There is no perfect time. 💥 Success doesn't come from waiting—it comes from committing.
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🎙️ TFB Unfiltered Ep. 1 — Another Prep Won’t Fix You!
Too many competitors believe another contest prep will solve everything. Bad placing? Prep again. Terrible rebound? Prep again. Metabolism feels slow? Prep again. But here’s the truth: another prep won’t fix it. In this episode of TFB Unfiltered, Joe Franco breaks down why rushing back into…
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Bodybuilding is not a season. It’s a lifestyle. Episode: #336
If you train hard, respect your nutrition, and continuously work to improve your physique and mindset—you’re living the lifestyle.
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It's Not How You Start, It's How You Finish! Episode: #325 Episode
The real growth happens when the process gets hard, when the timeline takes longer than expected, and when you have to decide whether you're committed to the goal or just excited about the idea of it.
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The Popular Exercises That Have Better Alternatives. Episode #324
Just because an exercise is popular doesn't mean it's the best choice for your physique goals.
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Winning a Pro Card vs. Winning Your Journey. Episode #323
In bodybuilding, the stage rewards comparison. But real success? That goes far beyond trophies, placings, or social media highlights.
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Top 5 Factors to Get the Most Out of Your Workouts (From Beginner to Advanced). Episode #322
At the end of the day, training really isn’t as complicated as people make it out to be. The basics still work!
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Top 5 Diet Factors That Actually Matter for Real Results. Episode #321
✔️ Why consistency beats perfection ✔️ The importance of dieting tempo ✔️ Why most fancy diets fail ✔️ Handling plateaus without panicking ✔️ Building a diet around your actual lifestyle
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Bodybuilding Really Isn’t Complicated — It’s Up to the Individual. Episode: #320
The physiques that stand out are usually built through years of consistency, patience, discipline, and mastering the basics — not chasing shortcuts or trends.
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More Shows, Same Physique: The Truth About Competing Too Often (2026) Episode: #319
Competing more doesn’t always mean progressing more.
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Prep Doesn’t Build You… It Reveals You (Mindset Edition). Episode: #318
Contest prep doesn’t change you… it exposes you. And then it amplifies you.
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Trust the Process, Not the Noise! Episode: #317
Why overthinking your prep is holding you back.
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Earn It in the Dark. Episode: Episode #316
What It Really Takes to Build a Physique When Nobody’s Watching
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Prep Doesn’t Build the Physique — It Reveals It. Episode: #315
The real transformation? That happens long before the countdown ever begin.
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Keep It Quiet: The Power of Private Prep. Episode: #314
Why doing your prep in silence might be your biggest advantage.
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The Grass Isn’t Greener! Episode: #313
The Hidden Cost of Diet Hopping, Program Switching, and Lack of Patience
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The 3 Phases of Contest Prep You will Experience! Episode: #312
Excited at First… Tested in the Middle… Locked In at the End
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My Most Certain Do’s and Don’ts for Fitness and Physique Athletes! Episode #311
My most certain factors to do and avoid to reach your fitness goals.
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You Want a Successful Contest Prep? Let’s First Understand Why You’re Doing It! Episode: #310
Top 5 reasons of why people compete.
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You Can’t “Red-Line” during your entire Contest Prep. Episode: #309
Pushing too hard too long wil lead to burnout.
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The 15-Foot Rule: Stop Sweating the Small Stuff on Stage (and Off). Episode: #308
Productive Focus vs. Destructive Obsession
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Stop Looking for the Easy Way During Your Fitness Journey. Episode: #307
Embrace the Grind Before Life Passes You By!
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My Top 5 Old-School Training Beliefs I’ve Changed Over the Years. Episode: 306
(What Experience, Coaching, and Results Taught Me)
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Mind Your Own Prep! Why Judging Others Has Nothing to Do With Winning. Episode: 305
A Coach’s Insight on Competing, Focus, and Respect
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Top 5 RED FLAGS Of Online “Coaches” Episode: 304
A breakdown of the most important factors what to look for in a coach or avoid!
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How I Run My Leg Days in a PPL Split — and Why It Works for Everyone. Episode #303
Great for beginners to advance lifters
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Top 5 Habits Successful People Share (Gym or Not). Episode: #302
The basics give you the most success over time both in and out of the gym.
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Can Food Just be Food? Your Outlook Matters... Episode: #301
A Change in Perspective That Could Benefit You.
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Stop Doing These Things (in and out of the gym) If You Want Real Progress in 2026. Episode #300
A Guide to greater growth.
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What Physique Division is Best for you? Episode #299
A guide to help you decide.
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Why the P-P-L (push, pull, legs) training split is great for all levels and you should be following it. Episode #298
Covering my personal version.
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You must be competitive to perform your best—but stay humble while you chase it. Episode #297
Capture both to be a Champion!
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How Important is Support During Contest Prep? Episode #296
Sometimes the most challenging aspect of prep isn't diet or training, but rather the influence of those around you.
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Bodybuilding for Dummies. Part 3: You vs You! Episode #295
Covering the bottom line basics that you can follow and have the results you desire
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Bodybuilding for Dummies. Part 2: The Diet! Episode #294
Covering the bottom line basics that you can follow and have the results you desire
About this show
Natural Bodybuilding Coach | OCB Contest PrepFounder – Team Franco Bodybuilding30+ Years Experience | Show Promoter & JudgeHelping athletes prep, improve, and sustain bodybuilding long-termCoaching Services found here: https://linktr.ee/teamfrancobbing
Hosted by
Joe Franco