Marching To The Beat Of A Different Drummer

Josh Bunch represents a new breed of fitness professional. This 28 year old athlete/bodybuilder uses radically different methods to obtain extraordinary results for his army of clients. Despite young Mr. Bunch’s unorthodox approach, he conspicuously stays rooted in one tried-and-proven Old School approach: Parrillo nutrition strategies and the studious use of Parrillo Performance Products.

“I have used Parrillo products for the past eight years and I am convinced they are the finest nutritional supplements available anywhere. I have been to the Parrillo headquarters and have seen the Parrillo

production facility; all you have to do is tour the production area to understand John’s commitment to product excellence.” Josh also has the highest regard for the man. “John Parrillo is the epitome of a no BS expert. He has gotten so many results for so many people that his demeanor is that of a man that knows exactly who he is and what he is doing. John is to the point and never sugar-coats the facts surrounding nutrition or training. His attitude is basically, ‘Here is what works, here is how to use what works – use it or don’t use it, that is entirely up to you.’ Parrillo is not the kind of guy that is going to dilute or water down what works in order to make a sale.”

The same could be said for Josh Bunch. His Practice CrossFit fitness facility is stark, plain and as efficient and effective as an Indy 500 racecar. This is a barebones facility designed for one purpose: physical improvement. Located in Troy, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton, Josh’s iconic gym doesn’t have a single resistance exercise machine…none…nor does he have a single cardio device in the entire facility. When was the last time you entered a fitness facility with no machines or devices? Can you imagine how difficult it would be to entice a new client to join such a facility? Fitness practitioners in this day and age come to expect high-tech cardio machines complete with built in TVs and resistance devices that cost more than a used car. In an understatement of epic proportion Josh noted, “My approach towards renovating clients is radically different from the methods and modes offered by the classical commercial fitness facility. Our resistance training approach is based on the use of barbells and dumbbells and bodyweight exercises.” This is the polar opposite of the standard approach used by machine-dominant fitness facilities that lure clients to join by telling new members how quick and easy they can change their pathetic physiques: use softball methods and isolative machines and presto – instant change, quick and easy! “Free weights and bodyweight exercises are demonstrably superior to machines for stimulating muscle growth and creating strength and improved athletic ability.” In Josh’s facility members perform esoteric exercises such as overhead squats, “muscle-ups,” Olympic snatches, rope climbs and depth jumps. And no one is left to wander around without purpose. “All our clients receive the time and attention they deserve.”

Another interesting fact about Josh’s PCF clientele is the membership in this ultra hardcore facility is 80% female. Asked what he attributed that astounding statistic to, Josh was matter-of-fact: “We treat women as we would men. Most fitness facilities coddle women and patronize them. We expect the same from our women clients as we would from our male clients. We have found that women respond to our expectations. When a new client tours our facility they see women doing things that they’ve never seen done before. In my experience, when a new client sees what it is we do and how we do it, they are either immediately drawn to our philosophy or they leave.” Josh has a core clientele of a dozen women, led by IFBB professional Fitness competitor (and Parrillo Performance Press cover person) Chastity Slone. Chastity described why she became associated with Josh and his unique approach, “After spending seven years competing in the NPC (National Physique Committee) and the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding) I was ready for a new challenge.  I needed something to give me a renewed love for pushing my body to its limits and beyond; I wanted ultimately to inspire my clients to dream bigger goals, goals that seemed beyond them; I wanted to challenge them, to push physically and psychologically to new levels of growth.” With intelligent women of Chastity’s caliber training at the Troy facility, is it any wonder so many women are attracted to this sparse yet effective approach? Josh added, “When newcomers see the physiques and the abilities of our top women they are attracted or put off. There is no in between.”

Josh went on to explain why he loves his chosen avocation. “I do what I love. I train individuals to improve their performance and sculpt their physiques. It would be foolish to say that physical performance is only physical.  Since fitness is 80% mental, I believe I make people better at the way they think about and approach life.  This attitude makes me take my chosen profession very seriously. If you don’t take training and nutrition seriously then you would be better off working with someone else.” Josh amplifies the mental and physical aspects of fitness with his Parrillo-influenced attitude towards nutrition and supplementation. “Nutrition is a passion of mine.  I work with clients that have different goals: some want to improve performance, some seek to lose weight and get ready for bikini season – regardless the goal, the key to nutritional success starts with setting the right goals: we eat the right foods in the right amounts at the right times and each and every day we recommit to ‘The Plan.’ We stick to that plan. My nutritional expertise is based on eight years of real-world experience. The effectiveness of this approach is evidenced through the performance and appearance of the athletes that train at PCF.  Meal planning is a huge part of being a member at PCF. While this might be seen as a no-brainer, in order to reach fitness goals, in order to achieve goals completely and in the fastest possible way, nutrition is the foundation on which all our subsequent efforts are built.”

“There are basic unifying procedures at Practice CrossFit that everyone adheres to. “We all use various types and styles of squatting; that would definitely be one common denominator. Everything we do is based on using a barbell, dumbbells or body movements such as pull-ups, pushups, dips, muscle-ups or chins – we love functional exercise that uses a person’s bodyweight to create resistance. Anything you can think of that uses a barbell or dumbbell or a person’s bodyweight we likely do. No machines, no big blue Swiss balls, none of that goofy stuff.” Josh has men and women doing Olympic lifts. “We teach all our clients fast and explosive ballistic movements; think about this: an Olympic snatch moves maximum poundage the furthest distance in the quickest possible way. So why not use this fabulous exercise?” Why not indeed; the warehouse-style facility has an atmosphere that is, as Josh relates, “Completely conducive for hard and intense work. People don’t join PCF because we have a nice locker room or a lounge with a TV. People join PCF because we get results.” Despite tough economic times in Ohio, his PCF facility has added members at the rate of 14% per month every month since it opened. “The response has been gratifying and is due to word-of-mouth and the results for our members.” The classical fitness facility model generates memberships based on the salesmanship abilities of the owner and staff. Once a new member joins, they are on their own – unless they dip into their pocket and contract the services of a $100 per hour personal trainer. “We have a tremendous sense of camaraderie at PCF. The finest form of commercial advertising is a client that has dramatically improved.”

Being a picky and discriminating individual, Josh has kissed a lot of supplemental frogs before he came upon the Princely Parrillo supplements. “My nutritional strategy is 99% Parrillo with a few variations. I have my clients avoid grains – no oatmeal, no beans, no legumes and little if any processed foods. Some of the ratios I ask clients to adhere to (protein/carb/fats) are slightly different than those that John recommends. Obviously we use John’s potent products exclusively. I am most particularly a fan of CapTri^®. I love CapTri^® and use it myself. I recommend CapTri^® to my clients that want to take their physical aspirations to the next level.” When a new client signs up, Josh provides them a 30 Day Nutritional Game Plan. “I provide new members with a list of ‘approved foods.’ The list is divided into sections categorized by nutrient type: at every meal I want the individual to select from a protein source, a vegetable source and a fat source. I want them to pick one food source from each category and eat five meals a day for thirty days. I encourage them to eat until satiated. No starvation or portion restrictions as long as they are eating approved foods from the Master List.” After thirty days the client sees tremendous results. “Most clients have no athletic aspirations and those individuals can stay with our basic eating plan forever. We have advanced versions of our basic diet plan for those clients that are competitive athletes or competitive bodybuilders. We have more sophisticated diet plans sculpted and customized to the specifics of their sport or discipline.” Here is a detailed look at how Josh deals with his own training and eating.

Josh Bunch is enthused, engaged and excited about the future of PCF. “My partners are Ryan Vest, Justin Coby and Chastity Slone and we would love to open additional fitness facilities in different regions around the country in the coming years. We have a successful business model here in Troy and feel that we could replicate PCF in other areas. Chastity and I travel around the country giving seminars on the various aspects of nutrition, health, fitness and athletic performance. The enthusiastic reception we have gotten leads us to the logical conclusion that the template we’ve established here in Troy could be successfully recreated elsewhere.” What Josh, Chastity, Ryan and Justin are discovering is that real results still count. To apply an ancient and appropriate analogy: “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.” The effective methods used at PCF are causing the world to beat a path to Josh Bunch’s door.

Josh will perform a second workout later in the day: he might perform box jumps seeing how many he can perform in a minute or perhaps how many dumbbell presses he can perform in a minute or how many lunges he can perform in a minute: he will repeat these one minute timed exercises for six rounds. Each session is interlaced with Parrillo-style Fascial Stretching, usually done with a partner.

Josh Bunch’s  Unorthodox Training Methodology

Day 1

Strength: Clean 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1

Dynamic: Power Snatch 8×2@50% 1rm

Volume: Bent Over Rows 3-5 sets to failure

Day 2

Deadlifts, seven reps with 315 pounds; Bench Press, 9 reps with 185; Pull-ups, 12 reps

Perform four rounds of these three exercise done as fast as possible

Day 3 Rest

Day 4

Strength: Back Squat 5, 5, 5, 3, 3

Dynamic: Press 8×2@50% 1rm

Volume: Supine Rows 3-5 sets to failure

Day 5

One movement performed to exhaustion: 30 Clean and jerks with 135 pounds for time

Or 100-pullups for time or weighted pull-ups usually 5 singles

Day 6

Strength: Bench 5, 5, 5, 3, 3

Dynamic: None

Volume: Drop sets on bench press or incline press super-setted with dips

Or 3-4 sets to failure in the push-up

Day 7 Rest

Daily Meal Schedule

Daily Meal Schedule

Meal 1

4 ounces of turkey, 4 whole eggs, 1 cup spinach, 12 almonds

Meal 2

8 ounces chicken, 200 grams of green beans, 1 avocado

Meal 3

2 Parrillo Protein Bars™, 12 Almonds

Meal 4

4 egg whites, 4 whole eggs, 1 cup spaghetti squash, 12 almonds

Post Work Out

3 scoops of Parrillo Optimized Whey™  with raw milk

Meal 5

8 ounces of white fish, 200 grams green beans, 1 avocado

Meal 6

8 ounces of white fish, 2 cups broccoli, 12 almonds

Supplements:

taken with every meal…

Parrillo Liver Amino™, 5; CapTri^®, two tablespoons

Before & after training

Parrillo Muscle Amino Formula™, six capsules