Some believe that calisthenics alone are sufficient for developing extraordinary strength, speed and athletic prowess. George Hackenschmidt would disagree.
He said that one can only become so strong through calisthenics, and must eventually lift heavy weights to develop serious strength.
Do I agree? Yes, I do. But, I also know and believe that bodyweight movements can be extremely effective, powerful and VERY challenging. My buddy Jon Hinds performs slow motion muscle ups, 1 handed pull ups, hand stand walks down the stairs….if those aren’t challenging, then I question what truly is “challenging”.
In Hack’s book you will see that he dedicates time to calisthenics as well as free weight training. Then I come in, and add a twist of my methods and we have the VERY Powerful, ‘Russian Lion Power Course’.
Getting stuck on only ONE style or method or only one tool is a perfect journey to a dead end road where results eventually end. The body needs variety of stimuli in addition to constant progression. Free weights allow you to progress as does bodyweight, but combining the two powerful tools together gives you that much more artillery in your arsenal of strength and muscle building.
Do not get stuck or sold on there being a one and only way to doing anything. Open your mind and reap the rewards of a man who knew exactly how to develop incredible strength, muscle, stamina and power.
You know what to do now 
In strength,
Zach Even – Esh
P.S. – Your special course awaits you here: http://CombatGrappler.com/RussianLion.html
Filed under Articles by on Feb 5th, 2008. Comment. 
I remember the day clearly.
I was at a wrestling tournament with my older brother in Bergen, NJ.
My brother was pretty pissed with me since I had just lost my wrestling match to a less technical wrestler than I was, yet he was more aggressive and brute like on the mat.
My brother on the other hand, truly looked like a nerd. Very skinny, lanky and non-intimidating.
We had returned from a week long intensive wrestling camp under Olympic Gold Medalist and current Head Coach of Oklahoma, John Smith. John emphasized the power of goal setting, and my brother REALLY took it to heart.
So, my brother told me how angry he was with me, and demanded I do NOT record his wrestling match, instead, just watch and learn. He told me his goal was to beat the guy by tech fall (winning by 15 points forcing match to end) or by Pin – but more so, he would do this while being unscored upon.
Then, as my brother is warming up, pacing, getting angry, I catch a glimpse of his opponent and notice that his opponent is JACKED! he looked tough as hell and quite intimidating as well, wearing his bandana and sporting his tats. Read more on A Powerful Lesson I Learned 17 Years Ago…
Filed under Articles by on Feb 5th, 2008. Comment.
When was the last time you have witnessed a man so rugged and powerful looking?
It’s probably been ages, or, quite possibly Never!
How badly do you want to achieve the Rugged look of The Russian Lion?
Everyone wants to develop a physique that is rugged and performs like an explosive animal.
No more puffy bodybuilder look that can’t perform worth a dime, it’s time for the New You!
In Strength,
Zach Even – Esh
http://combatgrappler.com/RussianLion.html
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Videos by on Feb 5th, 2008. Comment.
Richard Sorin was dubbed the Grip King after being the first man to officially close the No. 3 Captains of Crush Gripper way back in 1991!
As part of The Russian Lion Power Course you will receive an audio interrogation where I grill Richard for a power packed 45 minutes regarding his secrets of old school strength and of course, the most effective methods of developing a might grip, you will not want to miss this audio!
Plus, I LOVE hearing stories of basement, garage and backyard workouts where men were able to develop amazing levels of strength without the fancy gadgets of today’s world.
By the way, check out the photo of Richard at age 16, Deadlifting a massive 535 lbs, weighing only 181 lbs. Is that some serious strength for a 16 year old boy training in his basement or what?!?!
If that doesn’t motivate you, check to see if you have a pulse!
In strength,
Zach Even – Esh
P.S. – Discover the REAL World strength secrets of the man they call ‘The Grip King’ by clicking HERE!
Filed under Articles by on Feb 6th, 2008. Comment.
Not long ago, my 32nd birthday came and went. A new friend of mine saw me post this on my Blog and decided that a great birthday gift for me would be a 260 lb. atlas stone.
Wow, what a gift! I have NEVER used atlas stones, and moving this behemoth stone was impossible for me at first without and technique training.
Impossible, only until I decided that “impossible” was purely a state of mind.
The other day I deadlifted the stone for 5 easy reps.
My buddy Josh Henkin reminded me that although many old timers performed their training with barbells and dumbbells for the most part, lifting with “strongman” style objects was still happening because these men often had manual labor jobs, requiring the lifting og kegs, stones, steel beams, barrels, sledge hammer work, etc.
I only performed the deadlift with the stone and my lower back and hamstrings got quite the workout. Imagine what will happen when I begin to load the stone onto a platform, carry it, shoulder it and squat it! The effect on the body and the development of rugged muscle and brute strength will be tremendous.
Many people have asked if I included strongman training into The Russian Lion Power Course, and the answer is “Yes”. You will find workouts with odd objects inside the one year blue print, where I give you the exact workouts to follow using a mixture of Hack’s methods and my personal methods.
That’s some pretty dman powerful stuff right there, I am sure you obviously know this already!
In strength,
Zach Even – Esh
P.S. – The barbell routines are based around having only a barbell, Nothing else! That’s right, purely minimalist training designed so You can gain Maximum benefit! Check it out here: http://combatgrappler.com/RussianLion.html
Filed under Articles, Zach's Workouts by on Feb 7th, 2008. 2 Comments.
The date will soon be set, the battle field is ready and you might be 1 out of the few who are lucky enough to become part of the First ever, Underground Strength Coach Certification program. Space will be VERY limited.
A 2 day intensive course based on my powerful methods to help you take away immediate tools that can be easily implemented and deliver powerful results.
This will be for Coaches or simply those who want to experience my style of training and program design with every detail covered.
There will be an application process as well to ensure we have no half assers.
The date will be announced shortly, so stay tuned, and of course, it will be tkaing place in Edison, NJ at The Underground Strength Gymnasium.
Applications will be used to screen out the weak and accept those who are dead serious about making a difference in their own training and the training of others.
This is going to be the most ass kicking weekend of strength secrets you have ever experienced!
It’s about time!
Dedicated to your success,
Zach Even – Esh
Filed under Announcements, Calendar by on Feb 7th, 2008. 6 Comments.
Last night’s workout was a brutal one. By the title of the link, you can see for yourself it was challenging to say the least.
I used a specially designed thick bar for my zercher squats, working up to 325 lbs for 3 reps. In between a few sets I cranked out the essential glute ham raise. Most people do not realize that your hamstrings, glutes and lower back help provide you with strength in your squatting / deadlifting movements, and they also are responsible for speed in running drills!
I followed the zercher squats up with atlas stone lapping, which is a deadlift brought into the lap. These were done for 3 x 3 reps using a 260 lb atlas stone.
Next came my jumps:
squat jumps x 10 immediately followed by lunge jumps x 10 for 2 rounds.
I hit some more glute hame raises and then worked my grip hard with plenty of captains of crush grippers and some ab work as well. Although the workout was geared towards lower body, the zercher squats and stone lifts brought in plenty of upper body work.
As George Hacknschmidt said, “Real strength is All Around strength.”
Stay tuned for more behind the scenes workouts with me, No Rules Style!
–Zach–
Filed under Zach's Workouts by on Feb 9th, 2008. Comment.
Want an inside look at what happens at The USC Gym when our athletes go through the ringer?
Most of the time, I only post these at the members only forum at Underground Strength Coach.
So here’s a little treat for you
After our warm up, we hit the following:
1A) Zercher Squats 5 x 3 – 5 reps
1B) 1 Arm DB Rows 5 x 6 – 8 reps
2A) log bar or swiss bar push press 4 x 5 reps
2B) 1 arm Kettlebell clean 4 x 5 reps
3A) dips 3 x max
3B) pull ups 3 x max
Finish with grip and abdominal training.
Our log and swiss bars allow for a parallel grip while pressing, which is more comfortable for our athletes when pressing, as well as more of a natural movement.
Note the coupling of movements to improve work capacity. Being in shape is critical, “in shape” is all around physical preparedness and it will carry over to all endeavors. This group is not going through any SPP (Specialized Physical Preparedness) as none of these athletes are approaching their sport.
If you’re looking to develop gut busting strength then give the above workout a shot. If you want all the insider secrets o what we do then check out my Ultimate Resource at http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com
Time to get back to work!
Stay tuned for a critical announcement in 2 weeks time, you won’t want to miss this one!
In strength,
Zach Even – Esh
P.S. – Don’t let others get the edge over you, take control and put yourself on top by becoming a member of The Underground today!
Filed under Articles, Zach's Workouts by on Feb 10th, 2008. Comment.
What can you do using a barbell and 2 milk crates?
The Answer: A LOT!
And, you can get strong as all hell!
Trust me, I’ve been there…it’s how I trained in my Dad’s garage for a few months 6 years ago and I piled on strength and muscle faster than ever before.
It’s the template I included in The Russian Lion Power Course. It’s also very similar to the way George Hackenschmidt trained when he was training for wrestling and as a Circus Strongman.
You see, I know many people are reverting back to Underground training in their homes…backyards, basements and garages. There is nothing fancy needed when you want to get stronger.
Dave Tate told me that when he trained at Louie’s first Westside Barbell Club, there was very little room, which meant very little variety, yet those were the days they got the strongest.
For leg day they knew it was box squats, glute ham raises and reverse hypers, no room for variety, yet that gym had many of the strongest squatters in the world! You can use the milk crates as your training blocks. You can floor press from them, zercher squat and deadlift from them and much, much more.
There are No excuses when you want to get strong. You just gotta do it.
In strength,
Zach
P.S. - Our most powerful resources for developing animal like strength are listed below:
- The Russian Lion Power Course
- The Ultimate Underground Strength Kit
Filed under Articles by on Feb 10th, 2008. Comment.
There are a few covets I follow
when training myself and especially
when training others.
Follow these and they will
dramatically help your
gain more muscle and strength.
These are super simple
yet often overlooked.
1. Train by “feel” – if you feel
strong then take advantage
and go hard and heavy. If you feel
weak, then back off and go
lighter, roll out and stretch extra
after the session, and reduce
overall volume of workout.
2. Use a variety of training tools.
Kettlebells, barbells, dumbbells,
bodyweight, etc. Do not become the
person who uses only one method
or only one tool. You’ll have
tons of weak points, accumulate
overuse injuries and will
have many “holes” in your game.
Being a purist will work against
you in the iron game unless you
specifically compete in your
specialization. Even then, variety
is always helpful.
3. Eat as much “natural” food
as possible. Read more on Strength Secrets You Need to Know…
Filed under Articles by on Feb 11th, 2008. 3 Comments.
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