The latest crew of Certified Underground Strength Coaches show you how they progress through a full body workout.
In the previous show you saw the burpee + broad jump combo.
Now, the crew attacks the thick bar deadlift for 3 rep sets.
What always amazes me is that people think if you have kettlebells, sandbags, sleds or tires that their program is equally effective.
Or, all we use are tires and sandbags.
Those accusations of course flow hevaily from the mouths with blazing insecurity and a lack of understanding of what we REALLY do here.
On the same token, what is MOST important are the clients / athletes who go through the program and the results they get.
I look at the results, which speak for themselves. More than 1/2 of the wrestlers who train at The Underground qualified for the state tournament, placing them in the top 16 of the state automatically. Pretty damn good numbers considering they have hundreds and hundreds of others in the same weight class. See for yourself HERE.
Noone takes shots at # 2, so for those blazing your own path, have your thick skin ready as the naysayers will cry and complain due to their jelaousy, naiveity, insecurity and overall weakness.
Blaze your own trail as only great one’s do!
Now, before we move on to our video, if you’re a cry baby, a naysayer, complainer or insecure whiner, my message to you is…..
And now, on with the show 
Kill it!
–Coach Z–
PS: The Next Underground Strength Coach Certification is Open for April 25 & 26 and we already have a sign up! Take action HERE.
PPS: The Bodyweight U resale rights are almost shutting down. Click Here and be a Go Getter. Not a Lazy Ass.
PPPS: Yes, I’m in a mood today
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Calendar, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, muscle building by on Mar 1st, 2009. 8 Comments. 
The Underground Strength Coach Certification sends peeps back home ready to kill it.
Not only do we get into the training methodology used here at The Underground Strength Gym to help deliver kick ass results, but they also learn the Underground Business Skills that I use to pump this gym with ONLY the clients I want to work with, NONE of which is payed advertising.
I believe in this:
- Being GREAT at what you do
- Doing what you Love
- Jumping Up the Ladder of Success by finding a Mentor / Coaching Program
Check out what last weekend’s Coaches said after their kick ass weekend…
By the way, the next Underground Strength Coach Certification Weekend is April 25 and 26, Click HERE to register.
There is Good News & Bad News:
The good news is that if you take action, you will be light years ahead of the majority of other fitness professionals who are sitting on the fence now, especially with the economy being in it’s current state.
The bad news is that if you continue to sit on the fence, make excuses, wait for this or that perfect time, you will be locked in a crowded room with other fitness professionals who are waiting for the perfect time.
Those who take action now will win and will be so far ahead of the rest, there will be NO competition.
2 spots are already taken for the April 25 & 26 Underground Strength Coach Certification.
Are you ready to live your dreams, or still planning to dream your life?
Kill it!
–Z–
To Do What You Love, CLICK HERE
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Calendar, Success, Videos by on Mar 1st, 2009. 1 Comment.
Onward and upward we go bruddahs….
The next part of the workout was a couplet or superset:
1 arm dumbbell push press for 3 -5 reps per set
scare crow – face pull combo using rings or blast straps (these can even be done with the climbing ropes I have hanging in the gym)
Check out the previous videos to see how the workout started and progresses.
Heavy overhead work was actually a mainstay in the programs of bodybuilders and lifters alike from the 1960′s and prior. The bench press gained popularity once the golden era of bodybuilding came into life during the 1970′s.
Our overhead work usually is in the lower rep range of 1 – 5 reps, most often 3 – 5 reps.
Check out the beasts, many of them worked up to 85 lb dumbbells and heavier.
Scarey Matt Wichlinski rocked the 150 and 130! That’s SERIOUS STRENGTH!
I’ll be connecting with Matt to do an audio interview for http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com – stay tuned!
These guys went through some serious program design strategies and methods.
It doesn’t matter so much what you do, as many of us do certain movements, but it’s HOW you put it all together!
Kill it!
–Z–
PS: This is a special AND rare offer. It’s a 30 day trial membership to The Underground for only $1. I’m hooking you up, but, do NOT take this offer if you’re not serious about strength. This is a special site devoted to being strong as hell, click HERE if you want some.
PPS: If you have a passion for training and want to skip all the mistakes and avoid wasting your hard earned time & money then the Underground Strength Coach Certification is for you. Click HERE to register for the April 25 – 26 USC Cert. They ALL sell out, don’t procrastinate!
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Calendar, Strength Building, Success, Uncategorized, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on Mar 2nd, 2009. 4 Comments.
Oh man, this was a funny, funny time.
Vince Delmonte, the master of getting ripped cruised down the the dirty Jerzee and arrived around 11 PM. I took him to good ol’ Clydz for some coffee and then we hit The Underground for an hour of training and filming using my time crunched REAL Man Muscle Building methods.
Check this video….
The clean & press is one of my favorite lifts. I use it for muscle building, strength building, power development and I did these bad boys today as a matter of fact!
I’ve got more videos on this coming soon so stay tuned.
Check out this interview I did for Vince and his readers:
Vince: Tell us how you got into training?
Zach: I used to read bodybuilding magazines before I began lifting. My older brother was a real jock and was always buying the magazines, the weights, the dumbbells, the weider arm blaster…. I was impressed with being HUGE. I used to watch the original Incredible Hulk w/Lou Ferrigno.
I thought I was the Hulk, so I always wore green! I would wear swimmies in the pool because I really thought they were MY muscles! Ha Ha, I guess you can say I was addicted to the iron before I even touched it!
Vince: What were you workouts like in the teen age days and how did you get into competitive bodybuilding?
Zach: These workouts were totally off the wall as I would often train 30 days straight without rest days! I often did 1 body part a day so I could do tons of volume. I would 25 – 30 sets per muscle, NO kidding. It wasn’t odd for me to do squats for max sets for 1 hour, then leg press for max sets for an hour. Or for chest I would do the flat bench, incline bench, incline flys, pec deck flys, cable cross over and then dips, 5 sets of each. These were insane, but I had so much passion for lifting that I believed in “the more the better”.
Competitive Bodybuilding happened after high school and I finished wrestling. I competed my sophomore year in college in a natural show to stop the accusations of me doing steroids. I trained so hard and so often that people accused me of being on drugs. To me, this was passion. I loved the movie ‘Pumping Iron’ and when I saw them training for competition and battling on stage I envisioned this as me!
Vince: How did you transition into the strength and conditioning world as a coach?
Zach: In my mid 20’s I began to get the itch to compete in the combat arena again. So, I began training in jiu jitsu and shoot fighting. I was training like a bodybuilder and still getting beaten by those who skinnier and looked much weaker then me. I wound up tearing my ACL and this fired me up BIG time. I had torn my shoulder 2 years earlier while wrestling, and in high school injured my knee. It made me a bit bitter with the relation between bodybuilding and wrestling / combat sports. So I sought out the best of the best to help me teach others in wrestling and combat sports how to avoid the injuries that I experienced.
Vince: What is your training philosophy for building muscle?
Zach: Train heavy, train hard, use the basic lifts and constantly seek to break records and improve these lifts. Eat tons of clean, high quality food and get tons of rest. Back to basics!
Vince: What are the most important rules you must follow to build steel-solid muscle?
Zach: Never to stray from the basic lifts such as the squat, deadlift, bench press, military press, bent over rows, lunges, dips and pull ups. Get plenty of rest and lots of high quality food.
Vince: You work with lots of teenagers – any specific advice for teens on getting strong and big?
Zach: Don’t overtrain! Train 3 x week using an upper / lower split and focus on getting REALLY strong with the basic lifts.
Don’t just focus on the “beach muscles” – get your legs strong as hell from squats, work your back and every muscle you can’t see in the mirror intensely. These are large muscles that contribute to muscle mass and even hyping the metabolism helping you to burn fat around the clock!
Stay tuned for part II plus another kick ass video!
Questions / Comments? Post em’ below!
Kill it!
–Coach Z–
PS: I’m shutting down resale rights to http://BodyweightU.com tomorrow at 12 PM
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Q & A, Strength Building, Success, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Mar 5th, 2009. 10 Comments.
Wow, while going to drop my car for some routine service I was struck by the presence of the East Jersey State Prison, aka Rahway Prison….it’s actually not even in Rahway, it’s in a small town called Avenel, NOT a pretty area.
You’ll see my experience in prison linked below, it was some freaky shit!
Now, check out why atmosphere, killer tunes and killer training partners help you tear it up!
We actually just had a few future USC Coaches stop by the gym Friday. They already payed for the April 25 & 26 USC certification so I invited them down to get a head start on their training and coaching. Wait till you see the video, because their legs were locking up on them and they could barely walk!
Looking forward to your comments and / or questions, go ahead and post em’ below!
Kill it!
–Coach Z–
Websites & Resources mentioned in the Show:
USC Certification April 25 & 26
Joe DeFranco aka The Pro Maker
Elliot Hulse’s Gridiron Strength Program (NOT Just for Football players)
My Scarey Journey through Prison:
Filed under Announcements, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on Mar 8th, 2009. 2 Comments.
Man, if there is 1 thing engrained into my DNA, it must be that I LOVE to train hard & heavy.
But, lately, I’ve been straying away from the heavy barbell, rocking the dumbbells, kettlebells and bodyweight a lot more.
I’m feeling healthier, and still strong as a mofo.
It doesn’t make me feel good when my back is so f**ked up that it hurts to change diapers.
As I grow, I evolve.
Does this mean I will never touch a barbell again? Hells NO!
I still use them, but I am finding “other” ways.
Check out the video below…
The complex above is one I sometimes hit, and often times heavier, like 225 – 275.
Lately, the dumbbells and kettlebells have been getting abused by me
Till the next time, Kill it!
–Z–
PS: Until Friday, Midnight, I am offering some hard core, bad ass videos as a bonus to http://REALManMuscle.com – a strength training system I evolved into as life became busier and busier as a father, husband and biz owner. You will Love these Bonus Videos and all the hard hitting content inside the training manuals.
Check it out & get your Bonus Videos.
Kill it!
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Strength Building, Success, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Mar 11th, 2009. 16 Comments.
Check out Part II of my interrogation with Vince DelMonte below..
Vince: What do you mean when you say stuff like, “I’ll help you slap on rugged muscle…”
Zach - Rugged muscles comes from the old school movements that so many people miss out on, especially in these fancy gyms. Look at the bodybuilders from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. They had that rugged, chiseled look that came from an intense focus on the basic lifts with heavy loads. Today’s bodybuilders are puffy and bloated.
Vince:: If I could only train 3-4 x a week for 15 minutes, what would the workout look like?
Zach: Start with a good warm up and then get going with a heavy “core” lift, which simply means a serious compound lift such as the deadlift or the dumbbell clean and press. After a few hard sets in the 3 – 8 rep range, crank out some supersets that are push / pull movements for the upper body or for quads / hamstrings.
So for upper body we could start with the 1 arm dumbbell clean and press, followed by supersets of mixed grip pull ups and weighted push ups non stop for the next 7 – 8 minutes.
Vince: You’re all about getting STRONG STRONG STRONG. Why is this so important? What if I hate lifting heavy weights?
Zach- being strong is a critical way to adding muscle. If you want to add muscle, your muscles must be forced OUT of their comfort zone. You can’t add muscle just with pump weights. If you hate lifting heavy you will not develop that look of a Gladiator, that look of raw power.
In addition, the mental edge it will give you knowing that you are stronger and tougher than the next guy is a BIG plus.
Vince: Quick glimpse of your personal life if you don’t mind – why were you inspired to make Real Man Muscle Building/
Zach: I work a full time job, run a gym and run my internet business. I’m also a husband and a father of two. I MUST represent for my family and children that being a man means being strong, fit, healthy and hard working. I don’t feel “right” if I was the typical weak, soft and flabby Dad. That is embarrassing, plain and simple!
Vince: How your workouts COMPLETELY different than all the other options out there?
Zach: I have removed all the fancy, scientific mumbo jumbo and taken the complications out of these workouts. There are WAY too many overly scientific workout programs that do little to nothing for getting results.
Vince: Who would you disqualify from using your workouts immediately?
Zach: Anyone who doesn’t want to work hard.
Vince: Share some final insights on your philosophy on nutrition and supplements?
Zach: I’m not a big fan of supplements. A great multi vitamin, some extra vitamind C throughout the day and some calcium at night before bed. The rest must come from high quality nutrition. I suggest laying low on milk, breads and dairy. Focus on quality protein from meats and fish and maybe a daily meal replacement shake. 1 salad a day, fruits and veggies scattered throughout the entire day and tons of water.
It looks great on paper, but most people don’t keep their house stocked with enough quality foods, or, they don’t cook in quantity which leads to irrational choices for eating.
Eat 5 meals per day:
1) breakfast
2) lunch
3) mid afternoon meal
4) dinner
5) late evening meal
For more muscle building info for the busy man, using dumbbells and bodyweight (I’m tlaking HEAVY sh*t, nothing light) then check out http://REALManMuscle.com
The extra videos are being removed tomorrow night, midnight, EST.
Time to step it up and kill it!
–Z–
Busy Man Muscle Building + Hard Core Videos HERE
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Q & A, Strength Building, Success, muscle building by on Mar 12th, 2009. Comment.
Oh man, now this was a flash back into time.
I found this video below on my You Tube Page (you can subscribe by clicking HERE & then clicking the “subscribe” button)
This video was filmed in my backyard, the local playground and the tire yard I used to trian at!
I would train there myself, as well as take my athletes to all these locations.
The workouts were sick, using all these odd objects, all because I didn’t have money.
To me, this was not some FAD, I was flat broke, I couldn’t afford a good barbell or a fancy set up.
So instead, we traveled to tire yards for tire flipping, I even rigged up a front end tractor tire for sled drags and sled type movements of all kinds!
The tree logs were from an Old cherry tree that had to be cut down in my back yard because it was hanging over the roof and damaging the house. My wife’s cousin cut the tree down and left me two logs, a 4 and 5′ length and they were heavy as shit!
Man did my athletes get strong as hell and packed on muscle faster than anything else they ever did.
I was combining this training with a pair of 53 and 70 lb Kettlebells back then.
Let me tell you, these workouts added thick muscle and real world strength to me and my athletes at break neck speed.
I guess being broke at the time was a blessing in disguise. if I had money I woulda had a leg press machine, rowing machines and the like in my garage.
Check the video below….
Make no mistake about it though. You can use bodybuilding in combination with this style of training.
I do it and so do my athletes.
It’s some sick shit.
What about you?
Do you combine bodybuilding and strongman together?
If so, comment below.
Let’s crank this shit to 30 + comments!
Kill it!
–Z–
Reccomended Resources:
PS: If you dig this Blog, Pls tell your friends about us! BIG Thanks in advance!
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Mar 14th, 2009. 5 Comments.
Episode # 120 Baby…
If you ever read the old Strength & Health magazines or Arnold’s ORIGINAL Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding you would have seen HEAVY lifting going on, calisthenics / gymnastics movements, lots of jumping, rope climbs and speed in all movements.
Hence, you’re about to witness a lil’ taste of what goes down in my gym and DeFranco’s.
Check it and post your comments…
Wanna see footage of what we would do after a workout like this?
Let’s get 20 + comments and I’ll be back with more baby!
Kill it!
–Coach Z–
Resources Mentioned in This Show:
The Underground Strength Coach Certification / April 25 & 26
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on Mar 15th, 2009. 10 Comments.
Wow, I was just perusing through my book shelf and stumbled across two books: one from 1888 (Yes, 1888, NOT a typo) and 1 from 1947.
1 Book on Gymnastics and the other on using sandbags, medicine balls, logs and homemade fitness equipment and obstacles.
Amazing stuff! Well, the pics are amazing, the language is foreign and unfortunately I can not read them 
This “stuff” has been around for centuries.
In some countries, stone lifting is part of their culture.
And, during certain times in the USA, a long time ago, Physical Culture was more popular and fitness was held in high esteem.
Today, too many idiots think they created something or were the first to come across.
With books dating back to the 1800′s, I bet they were not even the first to come up with these training tools and fitness systems.
Older doesn’t necessarily mean better either. Better means Better.
Check out this old video of some sandbag training footage from back when I was filming my very first videos for http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com and some footage snuck its ways onto You Tube.
Check out an e mail from Ray Johnson, who just completed his Underground Strength Cert and see what he says about training with sandbags and kettlebells:
“Whats up JERSEY IRON? I’ve read your training methodology for countless hours and I don’t see a flaw in it. I spent the last few weeks training hard with these principles of sandbags, endless multi-grip pull-ups, dead-lifts, tire flipping and your painful kettlebell workouts. I gained 4 pounds and play with a 96 pound sandbag like its my bitch. I’m going to send you the photo of us at the UNDERGROUND and I was hoping you would sign it and send it back. You always addressed your great mentors like Alwyn Cosgrove and I would like to address mine. I want to put you next to Pavel in my gym. Thanks for the IRON.
Sincerely,
Ray”
Ray is dubbed ‘The Captain of Crush” – this guy was tearing shit up at The USC Cert no doubt!
If you read his statement, you’ll notice he is using a variety of tools: barbells, sandbags, kettlebells, bodyweight, etc.
Put em’ all together the right way and you have a powerful combination.
Kill it!
–Coach Z–
PS: Want OLD School? You gotta check out the videos I’ve been adding to my Underground Members Only Area - 1 is from Europe filmed back in the early 70′s with shocking footage!
If you’ve never been there, Click HERE for a 7 Day Trial – you’ll have access to me 24-7, hundreds of videos, hundreds of articles, a members only monthly teleseminar and a BIG discount on my USC Certification.
Click HERE for your 7 Day Trial.
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Mar 17th, 2009. 3 Comments.
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