A Day of Underground Strength Training
Here’s a lil’ taste of my training goin’ down at The Underground Strength Gym, in good ol’ Edison, NJ!
There ya have it, some of my favorite lifts:
Squats: I’ll squat anything and anyway possible. I’ll use a box, no box, with bands, chains, sandbags, kettlebells and thick bars for zercher squats.
Deadlifts: I’ll use a regular bar, thick bar or trap bar. This is the ultimate exercise to develop serious, brute strength and a barn door back!
Bench Press: Using thick bars and all types of specialty barbells, the bench press gets a bad wrap, but it’s only a bad wrap by those who have no clue how to use and perform the bench press properly. And for the record, it doesn’t matter if your sport doesn’t require you to lay on your back and press, if you need strong, powerful pushing muscles, then you should be benching in some form or another unless you have an injury preventing you from benching!
Kettlebell Training: Kettlebells are NOT the magic bullet, BUT, they do require skill and athleticism to use them properly and effectively, and if you want to become a better athlete, they WILL help. The details required to master Kettlebell Training can separate the men from the boys.
Who is willing to focus and stay committed to learning the proper skills and technique, OR, who will quit and give up when frustration sets in as they learn the details of proper Kettlebell training?
Bodyweight Training: Pull Ups and all bodyweight pulling movements such as rope climbing and all the different grips you can use for chins and pull ups are a MUST have if you wanna be strong and develop a barn door back.
If you can’t pull your own body then you need to get stronger and lose excess body fat, plain and simple. Master your own Body. Period.
Drop a comment below with your favorite lifts.
Peace.
Lead from the Front!
–Z–
Related posts:
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Jan 25th, 2010. Comment. 
Comments on A Day of Underground Strength Training
One of my favorite things to do is throw shit around. Take a rock or thick short log for example and throw it over your head, please don’t let it come down on you. This represents the power necessary for the snatch, strengthening all your back muscles without all the technique but a lot of the intensity. Throw shot put style, twisting throws from the hip for rotational work. You could clean and press an object, then slam it into the grass or sand as aggressively as possible. Low tech high effect movements are what make boys into men.
No short cuts, just basics. Fundamentals will never fail you. I recently added Kettlebell and Sandbag training into my routine and the benefits are amazing. Performing the Turkish Get Up with KB or Sandbag is a great over all body exercise that has translated over to my core lifts. The TGU really trains an athlete functionally. Nothing fancy here, no isolation exercises. KB swings for Tabata interval or just specified periods of time are one of the best conditioners I have every done.
Going to buy a rope to add in some rope climbing, and back to the Prowler once the weather breaks.
Training my first two clients now, a rehab teenager that was in a back brace for a year, and a freshman basketball player that is the epitome of the skinny bastard.
Will take before and after pictures and use these two for my “showcase” clients. Will take some time but patience will pay off.
Thanks Zach for lighting the fire under my ass to get back to doing what I have always wanted to do…..train athletes. I am keeping my “day job” until I retire, which is soon, then I am opening up an “underground” garage gym.
Train until you die!
Overhead Pressing of all types.
=> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk4UXBBnt5E
HEY ZAC..IF THATS A RECENT VIDEO,WHEN YOU HAVE THE DEFRANCO SHIRT ON,,THATS THE BEST IVE SEEN YOU LOOK SO FAR..OTHER THAN THAT PIC ON THE ROCKS AT THE BEACH,,THAT WAS A GREAT PIC…FRAME THAT ONE FOR THE KIDS.AND GRAND KIDS..STAY STRONG IRON BROTHER..LIVE THE GLADIATOR WAY..THE ONLY WAY,STRONG!!!
Old school rage against the machines and a thick bar, you gotta love it!
A lot of this stuff is new to me. I just started deadlifting a few months ago. I can do 6 x 300lb and 1 x 355. I know this not a lot but it is a lot to me. And for what ever reason DL are fun.
Also doing pullup and switching to chinups and/or switching from close grip to wide grip all while in the air (not planting your feet to make the switch).
Love Elliot’s video. I have a skateboarding and snowboarding background so I am quite familiar with “bailing” but to see a big guy like Elliot bail from a tuff and dangerous lift and do it so well is super impressive.
Thanks for the peek into your gym Z.
As always great stuff Zach. And keep writing everyday I really look forward to your emails.
here are some of my favorites:
Deadlifts
Squats
Weighted Dips
Weighted pushups feet elevated
Clean and Press (barbell, dumbbell and kettlebell)
Kettlebell or dumbbell Snatch
Nice work Z – fave lifts…cleans, press, deads, squats (front, back, overhead) and all bodyweight stuff – so push-ups, pull-ups, work on the rings (muscle-ups, dips, rows), handstand push-ups and all that.
This is where the real warriors come to train.
Matt W we’ve got to get together sometime man we live about an hour apart.
great video, as always !
my workout today was a mix of bodyweight training end keg conditioning.
bridges followed by horizontal pull ups using thick grip rings followed by pistol squat. a short break and hit the cycle again.
a short break, then 100 push ups on a keg. the movement of the keg gives push up another dimention.
finish he workout with 5 minutes clean and press with a keg.
that all in less than 30 minutes.
I just love keg lifting mixed with bodyweight training. bridges followed by pull ups are killer for back muscles !!
My pecs and triceps are still contracted from the push ups. 3 hours after training.
great to train the underground way. Thanks Zach
Thanks for “pumping me up” to go “tear it up myself!!!
much respect zach
Deadlift or clean and press.
great post! even though i love deadlifting sometimes its even simpler to tell people to pick up heavy things. it can be barbells, sandbags, kegs, stones front or back ends of cars or even other people. alos great post about bw training. ive found out through my own experience no matter how much i can pull, if i cant pull my chin over a bar it doesnt matter!!!
PULL UPS!!! The best exercise in the world! When I started work outs this time last year, I couldn’t do a full wide grip pull up (hey, I was only 16, don’t judge), but after various variations to build me up, I managed it and now do 3×6 sets/reps. You just feel like you’re achieving something more than any bicep curl ever could!
Having only dumbbells and chin-up bar (getting barbell soon), most people would think I’m limited in exercises, but there’s nothing you can’t do with that equipment. 1 arm floor presses are brilliant for making up my lack of bench. Having only a small amount of weight plates for my dumbbells, doing Zach’s 1 armed stuff allows me to pile double the weight onto one arm. So my favourites list is as follows:
Wide grip pull ups (and other types)
1 arm rows
1 arm floor press
1 arm push press
Pushups
Deadlift (can be done with dumbbells you know!)
Squat
Reverse Lunge
Hanging leg raises
Plank
Yep, I threw in two core exercises there. Why don’t people mention these; they’re an essential part of any workout?
Zach – You’re a legend. Hopefully I’ll be a beast like you one day!
Zach,
I dig how you move from set to set , exersize to exersize. We do a lot of hybrid training at THE V-CENTER where we blend full body movements with KB’s DB’s or BB’s. Cleans N’ Presses fron the floor with KB’S, DB’s or BB’s-to high pulls – into bent rows..,Supersets, Trisets and Giant sets with MMA gloves on and then go right to the cinderblock plyometrics, doing a variety of step and jump training for footwork (with the boxing timer) drop down into block pushups and then strait to the bag for power bag sprints then turn into two partners who work your abs with 3 lbs. rubber mallets!!!!Then you can rest if you want to till the next set!!!!!
The V-MAN
The V-CENTER
Wylie Tx. 75098
Vinny 972-900-7903
One of the other DB Giant sets that we’ll do is Bench Press to Bent Rows to Shrugs to Dbl Suitcase Squats / Drop one DB for ssingle DB French (TRI) Presses then Cross Bench DB Pullovers – Then burn into Incline Sit-ups/Punching Drill with partner standing over you with Focus Mitts!!!!!
That’s V-STYLE BABY!!!
Vincenzo Pappano
THE V-CENTER
Wylie Tx. 75098
Vinny 972-900-7903
Zach,
Good stuff
I would give my top five to the following
Pull-ups / Push-ups can’t have 1 without the other
Squats
Overhead Walks
Clean
Alt DB OverHead Press
Keep it Rockin
Blaine
Zach,
Love the simple lifts! My favorite exercise also happens to be my nemesis; PULL-UPS!. When I started training I used to hate doing pull-ups, simply because I couldn’t do them and, no bullsh*t, I quit – I came to regret that decision later though.
In my first year of University ball playing D-Line I needed those big thick lat muscles for my rip move and I just didn’t have it! So I jump back up to the bar and started to rip out set after set of pull-ups; sh*t even at practice I would grab the field goal post and rip off a few pull-ups while other teammates were taking water! By the end of the season my rip move was mad powerful!
Long story short; pull-ups are it and, like David above, even if you can’t do one PERSIST cause pull-ups make your back BADASS
AGE QUOD AGIS “What you do;do well” – Christopher
Zach,
Great post! You have everything covered.
I wanted to add sledge hammer training as a change up for conditioning work in addition to sprint and prowler work. I love the feeling of loading that sledge hammer and smashing the tire.
Keep the videos coming.
Just finish 200 snatch(24kg kb)/ skipping workout.Then a friend gave me a fitness megazine with a kb circut.What a joke! The kb was yellow,and they were doing curls and butterfly on a banch.
Zach you are a true champ and one of a kind.
Kewl Stuff Zach and Underground Brothers!Hey I also like the Bentover Dumbell Rows too, a great overal back thickener.
On my quest to having an “unchoakable” neck, lately I have been using Neck Curls perfmormed lying down on bench with neck hanging over edge and with 35 lbs plate on forehead (with a folded Cloth between plate and head) and simply curl neck up and forward touching my chin my chest. 1-2 sets x 17 reps on this one. I combine this with the Total Neck and Trap manuals circuit. It’s good stuff!
Zach Thanks for the daily blogs man! You don’t know how much I appreciate them. They’re very uplifting! There are many times when I am at my “job” (Yes,I am working towards getting and Underground type Biz established too) all bummed out cause it’s not where I currently want to be. Then on my break check out my emails and there’s Zach there in my face telling me to “Lead from the front!”. Thanks bro!
Hey Zach
thats definitely motivating. I’ve been encorporating a lot of odd object lifting into my training. Kegs, stones, tree stumps, water balls, cement blocks (like they use in parking lots. I even have waterbed tubes filled with water and lead shot, they are only 60-65lbs but they feel like 140lbs. I do the basics and carries with these odd objects and couple them with bodyweight exercises, fat bar training (I won’t even rack a dumbell without a fatgrip), tons of grip work, mace ball and boxing/kickboxing. Keep up the awesome work Zach…
Nice post, add any type of walks and sleds , I will be set.
Holy crap! I was kinda impressed watching you bang out all those pullups, then when you got off the bar I noticed you were using the fat gripz… damn! That’s tough!
Holy crap if you did grip work after that, you’re insane
the thick bar DL was whoaaa for me :p
P.S. Hey hey I know that guy-he’s the dude playing the dude, pretending to be another dude…from the pics from the books yes yes the Chuck Norris, navy seal, special ops dude…am I close? :p
Ahahahaha! Oh God, sorry for another post but I just saw Elliot’s youtube link…oh dude you know to me you’re funny when I just see you, but that stunt made me laugh to tears…I know it was dangerous but I can’t help it
You gotta have your own stand up show!
GOOD STUFF BROTHER AS ALWAYS…..SHAKE OFF TE WORLD AND POWER THROUGH
Damn Zach I thought you were stronger in the bench. But good stuff anyways.