The “Flanneled Freak” came to be during our November 2018 quarterly testing as one of our most COMMITTED, CONSISTENT, & HARD WORKING athletes (Jake Whitworth) wore a flannel jacket the whole week and set huge PR’s in all his tests (while wearing the flannel jacket). Now, me being from rural Hunterdon County, growing up working outside, hunting, and doing all that blue collar type stuff.. I ate it up!

(Jake Whitworth the original “Flanneled Freak” setting a 100 lb PR in the box squat in November 2018)

Bernardo’s Training is not a fancy health club. It is a warehouse. Its loud, it has no air conditioning, its sometimes has been known to smell (bad), the equipment is good but not new and shiny. When somebody walks in they know right away that BT is a place to work. I like to say that we have built our reputation as the hard training, blue collar gym… just straight up outworking and and just straight up being tougher than the competition. Many people have walked in and said: “I feel like I’m in a Rocky movie.”

I am constantly preaching about being committed to training consistently, and putting in that hard-ass-work.

On top of that, we have a culture where athletes support each other on and off the field, mat or court. They push each other during training sessions, get each other pumped up for big lifts, spot each other, help to explain things, and pick up each other up when somebody needs a pick up.

At BT, we don’t just “coach” our athletes. We try to educate and guide them. We want them to LEARN how to train. We want to educate them on the what, how, and why of training. The most successful athletes take full responsibility for their own success or failure. We don’t train in a large group where everybody is just mindlessly following the person in front of them rather we train amongst each other seeking to find our own individual weaknesses to attack them and turn them into strengths.

The Flanneled Freak Award will go to a member that embodies all of the above and below as we feel these are really what all the great athletes that have come here in the past that have built our reputation have had in common. Coaches will decide based on the following:

-Commitment

-Consistency

-Work Ethic

-Attendance

-Performance in gym

-Performance on the field, mat, court, track. Are they kicking ass?

-Responsibility

-Culture: Are they adding to our culture?

-Coachability

We may give one out every month, every other month, every 6 months, once a year or once a week… Just depends on how we feel as a staff about the above markers and who is kicking ass.

Stay tuned!