On a lil covert trip to the hard core Skiba’s Barbell Club in Carteret, NJ, I was lucky to grill Skiba’s long time bruddah, Ray Anderson.
This is part I of a 2 part interview so stay tuned for part II.
Feel free to leave your comments and questions below and check out the critical message I have for you under this video….
Those were some cool toys, eh mate??
I NEVER Coney Island had their own version of the “East Coast Muscle Beach”?!?!
And, Ed Jubinville used to live in my hometown of Edison, NJ! In fact, Ray told me that Ed’s original gym equipment is STILL in some dude’s basement here in Edison, and the stuff hasn’t been used or moved since!
Maybe I’ll be knocking on doors VERY soon to get in an old school workout with Ed Jubinville’s equpment, time to dust it off, he he he
In Strength,
–Z–
PS: The date for the Underground Strength Gym License is July 18 & 19. I will have info on this in a few days as soon as I am up and about from knee surgery.
PPS: On June 27th I’ll be planning a kick ass Kettlebell Training Seminar, this will go fast so stay tuned for this as well.
PPPS: You dig vintage strength? You will DIG this Big time, Check it HERE.
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Calendar, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on Jun 2nd, 2009. 4 Comments. 
Every now and again I crank a rant. Sometimes ya gotta just say it like it is.
My friend, Johnny Drama is also fired the fuck up! See what he has to say, how pissed off he is, and then see what I have to say below…..
I’ve received too many e mails from people wondering why they can’t pack on the muscle or get stronger. They have a million excuses as to why this or that doesn’t work for them.
Too many people asking for everything to be handed to them on a silver platter.
Too many shit talkers.
One dude e mailed me stating he cancelled his membership to http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com and then followed that up with 5 BIG questions. Is that rude, stupid or BOTH?
In business, I receive countless rude e mails telling me they are going to stop by my gym and see how I do things. Thanks for inviting yourself 
I never spent a dime on my business education and since I don’t know you and you’re so polite, feel free to stop by.
If some people were a bit nicer and had better manners things would have been different.
The first time I e mailed Joe DeFranco asking to stop by and do a Q & A with him I said this, “I know you’re extremely busy and I value your time. I’d be willing to pay you whatever the investment is for an hour of your time, or whatever time you have available.”
I payed him less than 2 weeks away from my wedding which was a time when I was in serious financial troubles but I KNEW that I needed a mentor and I KNEW that the investment would return 10 fold. It has returned infinitely.
I guess 5 years later everything is supposed to be free and easy. Does anybody realize that success requires work?
Feel free to shout out your own rants in the comments section. Some people really shock me with their rudeness, laziness, jealousy, trash talking, and sense of entitlement.
On with the show…
Top 10 Reasons Why You Train Like a Panzy….
1. You can’t get stronger. Fucking add weight to the bar and crank the tunes. Stop being scared of the weights.
2. You can’t gain muscle. You’re not training hard enough, period. You train like a pussy and eat like a bird, enough said.
3. You think dumbbells can’t do the job. I have a 150 lb dumbbell in my gym. If you can snatch it, clean & press it, floor press it, row it, carry it and swing it, you ARE a strong MoFo! Dumbbells work, and if they don’t work, it means you ain’t workin’ hard enough.
4. You keep looking for the “Secret Sauce”. Stop looking for the secret supplement. You won’t find results in a bottle or a jar. Earn it, SON!
5. You have NO passion for strength and muscle. If you don’t love the iron you will NEVER gain strength and muscle as fast as the next guy who loves wrapping his hands around a heavy barbell or dumbbell.
6. You’re a Fucking Quitter. Push yourself to the limit. Train hard. Stop popping zits in the mirror and checking your hair. The set ends when you have pushed past your limits.
7. You use a cell phone while training. Do you check text messages or take phone calls when training? You SUCK!
8. You don’t Deadlift. This exercise ain’t pretty. Squat down, grip it and rip it. And NO, the leg press is not a substitute!
9. You don’t Squat. Putting BIG weights on your back is no joke. Squatting heavy AND for high reps will shock your body into new growth.
10. Your stomach always hurts. If you eat like shit your stomach will always bother you. Stop eating like shit and do what needs to be done to improver your fitness. If not, you will always be nauseous. Get in shape and commit to yourself. And guess what, sometimes you just might throw up. Oh well.
That’s my rant.
I’m tired of the half assers and tired of the free loaders.
I’m tired of the quitters, the whiners and complainers.
Tired of the jealous assholes who feel entitled to everything.
It’s called WORK.
Step up, train hard, work hard and get your hands dirty.
Till the next time…
–Z–
PS: Add your rant in the comments section. I can’t wait to read your thoughts!
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Success, Uncategorized, muscle building by on Jun 3rd, 2009. 71 Comments.
I recently returned from an awesome weekend up in North NJ where I tore up the stage with business and training info. This is a DEEP blog post so please take the time to read through and of course, get your chance to WIN some serious shizza.
I spent many hours with my homeboy, Chris McCombs and his wife, and had the chance to hang with Gary Vaynerchuk again and talk a lil biz. Great times were spent in NYC and thanks to my classy driving everyone stayed alive even as I drove the wrong way down a one way street.
Chris, his wife Sarah and Marcell the camera man remained WAY TOO CALM with my driving skills and it was possibly thanks to their layed back, SoCal attitude. Jason Ferruggia would have called me a “Jersey Fuck”. Nice
While on stage, I had flashbacks of Alwyn Cosgrove coaching me through the creation of my business, WHILE he was undergoing treatment for cancer. He kept telling me to “take the jump”, “Go Big Time” and he pushed me to the edge and through new boundaries.
I had memories of my Grandfather telling me how he outworked both my Dad and my Uncle AFTER working the night shift while building his house and the temps reached 100 + degrees in Israel.
When I shared my “tough times” with the crowd in my gut and in my heart I KNEW 2 THINGS:
1) Nothing is tougher than my Grandfather losing his entire family to the Holocaust, being in 3 different military units in 3 different countries, working the night shift and then coming home and building a house (this house was beyond beautiful with fruit trees surrounding the entire house and exotic birds flying around while exotic lizards scale the walls and trees).
2) Alwyn Cosgrove beat cancer Twice AND still ran a super successful gym AND bought a new fucking house while going through chemo treatment!
My “tough times” were trivial compared to these 2 men.
These 2 men especially spurred my drive to succeed in addition to my family. I KNOW I must represent for my wife and kids and if times get tough I simply need to think for a mere second of any of the above.
Things get put in perspective right away when I think of Cosgrove, my family and my Grandfather.
So, Sunday evening I returned home and Monday morning I underwent knee surgery.
I wasn’t nervous one bit. I almost didn’t feel the right to be nervous.
It’s Thursday and I am feeling beyond grateful from all my past experiences and all the feedback I have been getting lately.
Is the feedback always good? Heck no, but no worries, I focus on the Good, and you should to.
Lots of people were telling me how much they love the blog and love The Underground web site. Stories of how it has helped them in their own training, their business, their motivation, inspiration and education.
It reminded me of Cosgrove and I talking about the Pay it Forward principle. If you don’t know it, watch this video I have for you…
I want to give away a 2 year membership to http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com with an ethical bribe.
I also want to give away a 1 year membership to http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com
I am here because of those who have helped me. It has NOT been an individual journey.
On June 20th I am holding my annual ‘Lift Strong’ strongman contest fundraiser which I hold every year at my gym. I will do this until my very last breath on earth, and, when I am no longer here, my son Ethan will carry on the tradition, as will his children, as will theirs….
But I want to make this BIGGER….
So, if you e mail me your receipt of purchase of http://LIFTStrong.com you will get a 2 year membership to http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com (Valued at $254)
I also want to choose 5 people to win a 1 year membership if they post the person / people who have changed and influenced their life most. I want you to REALLY dig and share your feelings. Don’t hold anything back!
The 5 most inspirational stories will get a 1 year membership FREE.
My Ethical Bribe: Anyone who invests the 20 something bucks in LIFT Strong gets 2 years membership.
Just recently at The Underground, I added a 22 minute bodyweight seminar video, a 7 minute “How To” video on how to build your own training pit and another 7 minute video on how to make your own sandbag and how to train with it.
It’s time to Pay it Forward.
Post below and / or get your copy of LIFT Strong.
Forward your receipts to UndergroundStrengthCoach@gmail.com
Pay it Forward,
–Z–
PS: Chris McCombs spoke about the “Giving Hand” and how he started his business like this. It’s time we give back, it’s time we pay it forward, it’s time we make a difference.
Share your story below….
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Success by on Jun 4th, 2009. 20 Comments.
You’re about to watch video footage of a early 1970′s Polish Olympic Weighlifting Team – and these guys are World Champions, not just the average gym rat, yet note how much emphasis their Coach places on their ability to master their body to improve their Olympic Lifts.
Check this killa, short video out ….
1) PULL Ups RULE! I ALWAYS placed emphasis on pull ups – and I used every single variation I could possibly think of. Pull ups jack up your back, biceps, shoulders and forearms.
Having a strong back improves your bench, improves your 40 yd dash time PLUS, a rugged, thickly muscled back looks downright awesome, don’t you agree?
Nowadays, I encounter varsity athletes, bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts, countless of which can not perform 5 strict pull ups.
This is pathetic.
A program of strength and muscle building requires a foundaton to be built, and pull ups, push ups and squats with bodyweight are a MUST have.
When I would travel to Israel there were no gyms in the area until I was 18.
Before then, my workouts consisted of an every other day pull up regime, 15 – 20 sets total.
I walked to the local playground and began with 10 sets of overhand chins, the last 10 sets had various grips and hand placements.
I still eat pull ups for breakfast, and at 220 lbs bodyweight I can easily do 20 + reps.
2) Mr. Gonzales Kicked My Ass AND he Can Kick Your Ass To! Back in undergrad it was required for Physical Education students to take a full semester of Gymnastics, 2 x week. Our instructor, Mr. Gonzales was a bad MoFo.
Read more on Top 3 Reasons Bodyweight Training Kicks Ass…
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Jun 7th, 2009. 22 Comments.
When I started doing pull ups back in high school I could only do 2 or 3 in a row.
But, I read ALL of Arnold’s books and I remember him tlaking about goal setting, and one of those goal setting stories related to his pull up goals, in which he would do pull ups until he could no longer hold onto the bar.
Sounded like a GREAT idea, so I went to the gym freshman year in high school, I was 14 years old, asked my Dad to pick me up in 3 hours. I LOVED the gym and would stay ALL day if i could.
I did set after set of pull ups that day. Eventually 3 pull ups in a row became 2, and then 2 pull ups in a row became 1.
After 2 hours my hands were shot, my lats were fried and I couldn’t even pull myself up anymore.
For 3 or 4 days my lats were so freaking sore it hurt simply having my arms hanging at my sides. The soreness went into my arm pits and man was I aching, but man did I LOVE IT
Today, at 220 lbs I can easily crank out 20 + pull ups and very close to 30 pull ups.
Check out this video of me and 2 of my earliest clients cranking the playground pull ups…
If you can’t crank pull ups you better start practicing.
I do various forms of pull ups 5 days a week. It is this regular practice that allows me to crush the pull ups and jack up my back, shoulders, biceps, forearms and grip.
Thoughts or comments on the video? Post them below!
Let me know what other bodyweight videos you want to see and stay tuned for tomorrow because I seriously have my favorite video coming that I know you WILL love!
Peace!
–Z–
PS: In a few days I’ll be releasing my Lost Art of Bodyweight Kit. Stay tuned because you will have the chance to win a FREE copy
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on Jun 11th, 2009. 12 Comments.
This takes me back to my roots because I have been using this with my athletes since day 1.
I used it in the Wrestling clubs, on the Football fields and with my clients in unknown parts of the Dirty Jerzee at thugged out playgrounds.
Check this Video for developing awesome upper body strength, healthy shoulders and solid abs:
Let me know your thoughts on that video, and even better, get a partner and crank them out yourself and then let me know your thoughts!
Stay tuned, I have more bodyweight videos coming your way and next week I’ll unleash The Bodyweight University training program.
Peace!
–Z–
PS: Leave a comment below
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Jun 12th, 2009. 27 Comments.
The handstand push up is without a doubt, one of the most powerful upper body exercises you can do for adding strength & muscle to your shoulders and entire upper body.
In addition to the benefits of adding strength and muscle mass, the handstand push up will make your shoulders feel 100 x healthier than ever before.
Your abs will become tighter & stronger from performing handstand push ups, your triceps will become stronger and more muscular and as you’re about to see in the 2nd video below, the handstand push up will also improve your strength in all of your upper body resistance exercises.
Check out the first video on how to correctly perform a handstand push up:
There is a progression to building up to the handstand push up as well.
Most can not just jump into the handstand push up and begin cranking out reps.
But first, watch this 2nd video of “Curls” smashing the strongman Log Clean & Press at the 2008 DeFranco’s Strongman Challenge, where Curls tooks 1st place in the college division.
Curls attributed his prowess in the log clean & press to his daily practice of the handstand push up.
The Progression We Use: When Curls first started practicing the handstand push up he was scared to be upside down and could not perform 1 rep.
So we began with handstand holds for time against the wall.
Slowly, we progressed to mini reps, where only a partial range of motion was used.
After a few mini reps, we would hold the lock out position for time.
Soon after, we progressed to 1 full rep and then holds for time.
Then it was 2 reps and holds for time.
Remember, strength is a skill, practice it often if you want to improve.
The previous video on hand walking will improve your handstand push up strength.
Give it a go and check out Bodyweight University – where you’ll discover how to get strong as hell using only your bodyweight.
Comments, Questions, Additional Tips? Let it be heard by posting below. We hit 26 comments last time. Can we hit 40 + comments this time? Let’s do it!
In Strength,
–Z–
PS: Feel free to share this blog post with the links below. You can send it to facebook, twitter, digg or any of your favorite social media sites. Show a bruddah some love and I’ll be back with more tomorrow.
PPS: Let’s try and break 40 comments this time. I’ll be answering your questions in the comments section but also would love to hear your bodyweight training tips.
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on Jun 15th, 2009. 36 Comments.
Jump training is one of the best and easiest ways to develop explosive power.
Jumps also hype the nervous system and a great ‘Kick Start” prior to engaging in HEAVY lifting, as you’re about to see below
If you want someone to be explosive, make no mistake about it, being weak and performing jump training won’t help much.
Like the athletes in my video above, they started off with the basics to get strong.
This meant a TON of bodyweight training. In fact, even with them squatting 475 and 495 lbs, guess what I give them for homework when they do not train at the gym?
That’s right, MORE bodyweight training.
They perform squats, push ups, pull ups, lunges, jumping rope and they also play a lot of Basketball – what’s more explosive than Basketball?
They sprint, jump, sprint and jump some more.
The 2 jumps we used prior to squatting heavy were kneeling jumps and the veritcal jump.
Now you can see how we use bodyweight training not only to improve strength and general physical preparation, but also to hype up the nervous system and get these beasts primed and ready to LIFT BIG!
I wanna hear your experiences, thoughts and comments with jump training and bodyweight training in the comments below.
Come on, let’s crank 40 + comments this time!
Peace!
–Z–
PS: Bodyweight University is coming along AWESOME. The final package will rock and I’ll be hooking you guys up with a special sale for the first few days! Showin’ the Love bruddahs!
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Jun 16th, 2009. 25 Comments.
The Doors to Bodyweight University have opened and they are HOT off the press, see for yourself HERE.
You’re going to see some footage I have posted here before AND some footage I have NEVER posted or shared with others.
Check out this Video with some SICK, SICK bodyweight training footage:
Let me know your thoughts and comments below, and, if you’ve cranked a bodyweight workout lately, post what you did and share with others. I’m psyched to see some kick ass workouts and comments.
Bring it!
–Z–
PS: I won’t be holding the price of BWU this low for much longer, so take action and make it happen HERE.
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Jun 18th, 2009. 7 Comments.
Wow, I’ve been getting a lot of questions regarding bodyweight training since all the bodyweight videos have been released.
Check out the last few videos and add your answers or comments by posting a comment below.
QUESTION: Zach, can someone get endless strength gains from Bodyweight Training?
ANSWER: Awesome question!
I use Bodyweight training to supplement how I personally train & how I train with my athletes – Bodyweight training is a HUGE part of what we do, but, NOT the ONLY part.
Then again, have YOU maximized your potential in bodyweight training if you can not perform the below bodyweight movements:
1) pistols x 10 ea. leg
2) 1 arm push ups x 10 ea. arm
3) 1 hand pull up x 1 rep ea. arm
4) muscle up on bar / rings x 5 in a row
5) 100 consecutive push ups
6) 10 handstand push ups
7) handstand walking
20′ rope climb without leg assistance
9) parallel bar dips x 50 reps
10) 20 pull ups (overhand or underhand grip)
The above list of exercises are the toughest movements for bodyweight training.
Remember, strength is a skill and it must be practiced regularly, and bodyweight training gives you the power to practice anywhere, anytime and with no equipment.
So until you are able to perform the above list of 10 bodyweight exercises I honestly believe you are NOT strong enough in bodyweight training.
Can I perform the list above? Not all of them, so this tells me I need to get stronger in those movements and that comes through more practice in bodyweight training and reduction of body weight.
Obviously, being heavier will not make the performance of those 10 bodyweight exercises easier, but, this is NOT an excuse as I have shown you many videos of myself and my own clients performing many of these feats.
So if you’ve been thinking you’re strong enough with bodyweight exercises and the only exercises you’ve been doing with your own bodyweight training are push ups, pull ups and dips…..well, it looks like you have your work cut out for you.
You better get busy because we ALL need to get stronger.
You CAN maximize your physical potential by making bodyweight training an integral part of your workouts.
I highly reccomend you do so.
In Strength,
–Z–
Recommended Resources for those who want to become Bodyweight Animals. How BAD do you WANT it? Wanting and Doing are two different things.
Take Action…..
Bodyweight Bodybuilding Secrets
Filed under Articles, Q & A, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building, old school strength by on Jun 19th, 2009. 27 Comments.
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