CrossFit and Cross Training

Lots of people HATE CrossFit.

Of course, it’s f**ing HARD workouts. Period.

For my athletes I follow a system. A system of training is required to consistently get them stronger, more explosive, adding more muscle and improving their skill at the lifts as well. CrossFit is implemented into our conditioning work.

CrossFit in lifting / movement / training is similar in philosophy to why I always tell my athletes to Cross Train in other sports to make them MORE athletic in their sport of focus.

For example, I ALWAYS tell my Wrestlers and Football players to train in Judo for a few months out of the year.

I can explain WHY, but instead, I want you to see a high school wrestler who is also a Judoka. He is F**ing deadly. Watch Below…

I am BIG Time impressed with Derek Wojcik, a Judoka and wrestler from Georgia.

The Overseas athletes ALL crosstrained in various sports and various lifting / training methods. The Olympic Weightlifters from the 1970’s looked like a Hybrid of a Gymnast – Wrestler. Very lean, very muscular, extremely strong, extremely explosive and ALSO highly conditioned.

My Football players play a lot of Basketball as it improves their speed, power, agility and overall conditioning.

The athlete who never rotates new movements, methods or sports into his / her repertoire will be more likely to get overuse injuries or achieve physical / psychological burn out before the athlete who is more well rounded, exposed to more sports yet still focuses on 1 or 2 main sports.

Drop a comment, let me know your thoughts.

–Z–

PS: The Underground Strength Kit forces you to cross train using a variety of methods, tools and training modalities. Our athletes don’t always squat or bench more than the competition, but when it comes time to compete, we are dominating.

PPS: If you’re an athletic coach, strength coach, parent or an athlete looking to be part of the best strength and sport training seminar then find a way to meet me HERE. Time is running out.

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NO Limits Workouts

Check out Part II of my last workout video, 5 Rounds of Hell, The Underground Strongman Circuit.

I step it up a notch, NO limits, hitting 60 lbs on the chin ups. Round 3 starts getting tough, Round 4 was Brutal and Round 5 kicked my ass BIG time.

After 3 Rounds this workout was purely mental. It woulda been easy to call it a day, but I was dead set on completing 5 rounds.

Not all workouts look like what you see above.

Yesterday’s workout was:

Squats: 7 x 3 Reps

Deadlifts: 10 x 2 Reps

Later that night, I performed 5 Rounds of:

A) Glute Ham Raises x Max Reps

B) Weighted Back XTs x Max Reps

C) Hanging Leg Raises x Max Reps

Due to time constraints I split up my workout in 2, sometimes 2 chunks through the day.

Doin’ what I gotta do and constantly pushin’ the limits.

What about you? Are you pushing the limits, breaking records or taking it easy?

How you train and how you live tend to go hand in hand. Want results? Then go the extra inches. Every single inch counts.

Drop a comment and let us know what you’re doing with life AND lifting.

Time for me to take action.

Lead from the FRONT.

–Z–

PS: Want more workouts like the one above? Check out The BEAST Program, Click HERE.

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Underground Strongman Circuit: 5 Rounds of Hell

5 Exercises

5 Reps Each

5 Rounds

This is a Hellish workout….. 5 Rounds of Hell, check the Vid Below…

Later that night, I did 4 trips with the sled and prowler, approx. 150′ each trip. I also did plenty of hanging leg raises and band pull aparts.

If you dare give the workout a go, please let me know how it goes.

Questions or Comments, drop em’ below, you KNOW I love hearing from you guys and gals.

Lead from the Front!

–Z–

PS: The 2 Day Underground Mentorship has sold out as well as The Level 2 Mentorship.

Just around the corner is the 1 Day Mentorship so get in before the doors shut for good!

Click HERE to sign up for the 1 Day Underground Strength Coach Mentorship.

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Sandbag Complexes and Home Gym Workouts

Lots of people often ask for my recommendation on how to set up a home gym, especially when limited on space, funds and time.

Well, as you can see, I just cranked out some nasty Sandbag Complexes with The Underground Sandbag.

Being in a new home myself AND not being close to my gym I’ll be setting up a nasty corner of Underground Equipment by simply using a Russian Kettlebell and The Underground Sandbag.

In my office you’ll find a Power Wheel, Jump Stretch Band and some Grip Training Devices.

With fresh air and the beach near by I will also by hitting more running and mountain bike riding. My runs will be on the streets, the sand and the trails of the nearby state parks which are HUGE and offer plenty of odd objects for lifting as I make my way through the trails.

I love training with free weights, but, with my lack of space I’ll be forgoing any traditional home gym equipment here and will save my powerlifting for my time at The Underground Strength Gym in Edison, NJ.

When you get a chance, try the sandbag complex I cranked in the video above.

1A) Sandbag High Pulls

1B) Sandbag Bent Over Row

1C) Sandbag Zercher Squats

1D) Sandbag Back Squats

1E) Sandbag Reverse Lunges

1F) Sandbag Good Morning

Before I attacked the sandbag complex I cranked a bunch of reps of the clean, press & squat combo.

Give it a shot yourself and get the bucket ready!

Lead from the Front!

–Z–

PS: Sandbags are available at http://UndergroundSandbag.com or by clicking HERE

PPS: Every day I wake up and get to do what I love, if you want to fast track yourself to running a gym or being a Strength Coach, then meet me HERE.

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NO Rules Training

Above, The Sandbag ManMaker.

I’m a BIG Fan of NO Rules Training. Some people think I’m too much of a Rogue when it comes to training and they feel that I SHOULD be following the science and perfectly designed, unflawed workouts….

NO such thing as an unflawed workout. Every workout has Flaws. Period.

I’m 34 now. I’ve been getting under the bar for over 21 years now. Over 2 decades of sweat, pain, grinding weights out, pumping weights out, throwing weights, you name it….I’ve been there.

I speak from experience, in the trenches, NOT from sitting on my ass and sticking my nose in journals and never lifting anything heavier then a pencil.

With my experience, you KNOW when you need to break the rules and do some crazy stuff.

If you’re a newbee, then you need to take heed and be a little more systematic with your training.

My friend and strong as hell BEAST, Jim Wendler, and myself, BOTH agree that the worst thing to happen to the world of strength is the internet because people are no longer trying to figure things out on their own, instead, they are looking for some magical program or asking us to assess their undulating periodization program with circa max cycle phases.

This doesn’t mean that a lifter who has gotten in some experience can’t break the rules either though.

Remember: ALL workouts are flawed, even the workouts designed by the scientific experts.

Breaking the rules for a newbee might consist of carrying a sandbag for as far as possible in a 15 minute time frame, that movement in itself won’t be found in the note books of a scientific program and design book, but it’s gonna work every damn muscle in your body!

If you can’t hold the bag any longer, squat it down to the ground, rest 30 seconds and to pick it back up again, perform the power clean.

What will happen is rep after rep of power cleans and squats. The carries will attack every ounce of muscle on you body. Your mind will be tested, at times you’ll wanna give up and stop, but your inner warrior will tell you to push onward and upward, keep charging.

Is it time for you to break the rules?

Lead from the Front.

–Z–

PS: Get yourself a sandbag and start breaking the rules of training today. Your will quickly develop rugged muscle and brute strength unlike the lame results of your scientifically planned program and your mental toughness will be tested to new heights.

It’s certainly NOT for everyone, only those who want to become Warriors.

Get your Underground Sandbag HERE.

http://UndergroundSandbag.com

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Dan Gable, Dedication & The Habit of Winning

Very interesting video below, and although it speaks of wrestling, you and I BOTH KNOW that what Dan Gable speaks of is applicable to anything in your life.

Watch this Video…

It’s quite amazing, that Dan Gable was about to finish his collegiate career undefeated and lost in his final match to Larry Owings, who was only a sophomore at the time and Gable was a Senior.

Owings was determined to beat Gable, it was imprinted in his mind and he dropped 2 weight classes to meet Gable!

Ironically, Owings never won another National Title, taking 2nd place his final 2 years in college.

It seems that beating Gable was MORE important then the national title, hence his runner up placing the next 2 years.

That loss is what MADE Gable into who and what he became from there after.

Not one point was scored on Gable during the Olympic games, he refused to give up 1 point!

Do you see the power of the mind, focusing like a demon and dedicating yourself to winning?

The same can be applied to your life and any goals you may have. Yet all too often I hear excuse after excuse as to why things can NOT be achieved.

The mind must be trained, just as you train the body.

The Russians called Dan Gable “The Machine”.

Are you a Machine?

How can you become a machine.

What will it take to achieve your goals, both physically and your life goals?

Drop a comment and share your thoughts, questions, success stories and stumbling blocks.

Let’s ALL come together and share how to kick ass!

–Z–

Recommended Resources:

Va. Beach, Va. Underground Strength Coach Mentorship – Click HERE

NJ Underground Strength Coach Mentorship – Click HERE

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Ass Kickers, Inc.

Man, it’s AWESOME to see those putting to use what they’ve learned during Underground Strength Coach Mentorship Courses.

Check out my boys from The UK, Zoran Dubaic and Sean Keefe. They sent me their opening highlight video and some good words and I am BIG time honored.

I LOVE seeing people following their passion and achieving their dreams!

They just opened their gym a few weeks ago, check the video below….

Pretty damn awesome, if ya ask me :)

And here is some footage of Sean, Zoran and the rest of the crew that attended an Underground Strength Coach Mentorship.

“Zach Even-Esh is one of the most inspirational people we have ever had the pleasure of meeting. His encouragement, support, enthusiasm and passion for helping others has been instrumental in helping us achieve our ultimate goal of owning and running our very own warehouse gym.

We traveled all the way from Manchester, England to complete Zach’s Underground mentorship and it is the BEST thing we ever did! Thanks again, Zach, for helping us realize our dreams”.

~ Zoran Dubaic and Sean Keefe ~

Directors of Strength and Performance Ltd.

http://strengthandperformance.co.uk

Who else is gonna go after their dreams?

Drop a comment with your thoughts and / or questions.

Lead from the Front!

–Z–

PS: We still have some room at the upcoming Underground Mentorships below.

But, this will be the last 1 Day Mentorship I plan on doing. Lots of peeps request them yet very few that request step up and sign up. I hate talkers, I wanna work with doers!

1 Day Mentorship – Click HERE for Details

2 Day Mentorship – Click HERE for Details

PPS: Talk about Action Takers!!!

We just had a gym in Texas sign 10 of their Coaches up for a private, tailor made Underground Mentorship. Now that’s what I call a bunch of SERIOUS Ass Kickers Who Wanna WIN!

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Train Like a Mad Man

I had a goal of Trap Bar Deadlifting 225 lbs for 50 reps.

It was easy, mainly because I didn’t allow myself the option to fail.

I did fail, however, in my ability to count.

I watched the video and realized I did 49, NOT 50!

I’m a knucklehead, enjoy the Madness Below….

Drop a comment with your thoughts!

Lead from the Front!

–Z–

PS: Just had a dude sign up for the 1 Day Underground Mentorship coming on March 20th!

Now that is Dedication, traveling to another country for a day of training & business! I will let attendees know about our meet up the night before which oughtta be off the hook, crazy as well!

No Excuses Bad Asses can Sign Up HERE

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Full Body FREAK Strength Workout, Part II

Let’s finish off the Full Body FREAK Strength Workout with some bodyweight circuit training using chains, shall we?

Check it out below:

Three Rounds of chins, dips and squats.

I used 20 lb chains and increased by one chain each set, 20, 40 and 60 lbs total.

Finished the night off with ab work and glute ham raises….. lots of glute ham raises!

Drop a comment with your thoughts or questions BEASTS!

Peace!

Lead from the Front!

–Z–

PS: Chains are non rust and freaking awesome, get em’ from http://EliteFTS.com

PPS: Live Events are rockin’ and fillin’ up FASTER than ever before. Who wants to experience a life changing event? Check em out by clicking HERE.

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Full Body FREAK Strength Workout, Part I

I cranked the tunes.

Warmed up…. calisthenics, bands, soft tissue work, glute ham raises, ab work….

Lined up the tools….. sandbag, dumbbell, atlas stone, anvil….

Then, it was time for WAR.

But, this is only the Beginning.

Part I, Enjoy.

Sometimes, you need a workout that includes an ass kicking.

All full body lifting.

I cranked a few rounds, but, you can also set a time limit, say 20 minutes, and keep cranking for 20 minutes and see what you got.

In Part II, I pick up the pace. Stay tuned.

Lead from the Front!

Peace!

–Z–

PS: The Live Events are filling up FAST.

Level 1 Mentorship in Va. Beach is coming soon. Attendees all get hooked up with constant support through private web sites, mastermind areas and ass kicking training and business information.

Bring your A Game!

Level 1 on March 20, Click HERE

Level 1 on April 9 – 10, Click HERE

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