Is there truly an ART or a Science to getting strong as hell? Hmmmmm…… Ask Louie Simmons and he will say yes, Jim Wendler will also drop his genius with his 5/3/1 program, allowing him to keep getting stronger….and STRONGER.

But, when in doubt, just lift heavy shit with PROPER technique.

You can do high sets and low reps such as 12 x 2 reps OR…. try Hellish set – rep paramaters like 5 x 10 on movements such as the Barbell Clean & Jerk, Deadlifts, Kettlebell Snatch, etc.

Coach Reeve was always training against the clock when he was a competitive wrestler and a college wrestling coach, and, he still does it today with the Football players of Wake Forest.

Not only does this style of training build serious strength and dense muscle, but also develop immense conditioning and mental toughness, something too many people lack nowadays!

Try This: 2 reps on the minute, every minute for 10 minutes of (Choose Any One Exercise) the log clean & press, tire flip, sandbag shoulder, stone shouldering, deadlift, barbell clean & press….

I’ve done this with athletes using heavy weights if they need to gain weight and fighters, wrestlers and combat athlete who need strength endurance / power endurance.

And by the way, if you’re resting 3 – 5 minutes between sets because your last scientific handbook told you to do so you’re missing the boat.

In the REAL world, when the hell do you get to do 2 reps and rest? Learn to push heavy weights with minimal rest and as I mentioned before, using proper technique.

I’ve seen some dangerous form being used in local gyms and even by popular web sites on the internet. It sends the wrong message, and you can’t create a powerful message unless You Lead From the Front.

Time for me to get some rest, the alarm is set for 6:30 AM tomorrow morning. It’s training time. That means heavy weights followed by prowler conditioning.

Check out some footage below.

You may also have noticed less video footage from me. I will get back to the videos, so don;t you worry, BUT, I am zoning out when I train and hate to mess around with a video camera when I am focused on getting STRONGER, FASTER, LEANER & MEANER!

That’s me hitting some thick bar deadlifting and the Prowler Pushing with 9 plates is one of our Freshman Football Beasts, we call him “The Hit Man”.

Peace!

Lead from the Front.

–Z–

PS: For all you Strength & Muscle Building Fanatics, check the 30 Day Underground Trial HERE.

PPS: For those of you who wanna start doing what you love, check out our upcoming Underground Mentorship Courses:

1 Day Mentorship

2 Day Mentorship

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Enjoy the audio interrogation with Coach Ripp.

Yes, a little static in the first 2 minutes but then it goes away. Have mercy on me as my office is out of a military back pack since moving and I don’t have a land line

The information is Golden. What else would you expect from Coach Ripp?

It is men Like Ripp, Dave Tate, Louie Simmons and Coach Reeve who have helped me mold my own methods into what they have become today.

Click HERE to Listen

Drop a comment or question below.

For more on Coach Rippetoe, visit http://StartingStrength.com

Happy New Year!

–Z–

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I am NOT an Olympic Lifter so don’t cry over my shitty power clean technique.

The mere fact that you are about to be ripping weights off the ground and throwing it overhead counts BIG time.

Check this Vid, Kids….

After you warm up, get a light weight on the bar, for me, I stayed at 135 lbs.

Perform the following reps: 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 8, 5, 3, 2

Rest periods were 1 minute maximum, on the lower rep sets I rested 30 seconds.

This workout busted me up REAL Nice

Back in the day, the test of a Man’s Strength was how much weight he was able to rip off the ground and lock out overhead. Today, the question is always “How much can you Bench?”

BOTH are great movements, but if I’m looking for all around strength and power you can NOT beat ripping objects off the ground and pressing them overhead.

You can even try an ALL OVERHEAD workout, where you hit 5 – 10 reps of a clean and press with countless objects: stones, sandbags, 1 kettlebell, double kettlebells, barbell, swiss bar, log bar, dumbbell, 2 dumbbells, anvil, etc.

Coach Ethan Reeve had a similar workout as he trained for wrestling through college and become a 2 time all American. You can hear all about his past and present methods that have influenced me as well as how other greats have influenced me.

Click HERE to see what I mean.

Peace!

–Z–

Jack Up Your I Pod and Get Yourself JACKED UP!!

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Been VERY inspired to share my thoughts on this lately.

It’s been one thing after another, watch this video and I’ll explain further….

I don’t have much more to say than that.

Drop a comment if you have anything to add or share, looking forward!

Peace!

–Z–

PS: The BEAST Program is live. Once again, NOT reserved for the normal. Click HERE for Details.

Unleash The BEAST!!

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Years ago, I was lucky enough to come across a College Strength & Conditioning Coach who I related to very much.

His psychological and physical ways of training made sense to me BIG time, perhaps because we were both wrestlers.

But, this guy, was PURE Gladiator!

No 2 ways about it, he was a Bad MoFo.

His own training began in elementary school where he would go out and run 5 miles on his own, without a Coach telling him to do so.

In middle school he wanted to wrestle, so the high school wrestling coach told him
he had to wait till high school.

But, what to do until high school he asked?

His Coach told him to do push ups.

How many push ups?

No one ever told him how many, so he decided 500 a day would be the number!

He scattered the push ups throughout his day.

He would use the OLD webbing grip tools to work his hand strength.

I haven’t seen those in a WHILE!

He even did 500 push ups the morning he won the high school state championships.

The Russians had their olympic athletes play full blown soccer games the night before their Gold Medal Volleyball match.

I can go on and on with stories of his man.

But, let me tell you, every time I get the rare opportunity to connect with him, I shut my mouth and listen.

His methods and stories always give me heavy dity ammunition to use for my own training and my athletes.

Listen to him talk, along with the other greats that will inspire you, educate you and open up your mind to an entirely new world of training in The Underground Strength System.

==> http://UndergroundStrengthManual.com

–Z–

PS: His name?

Coach Ethan Reve

==> http://UndergroundStrengthManual.com

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I filmed this episode a few hours after speaking with my mentor, Coach Ethan Reeve. I missed his annual strength symosium and we were chatting about how we are always trying new things, but, no matter what tools we have or don’t have, we still find ways to make our athletes stronger and faster.

He brought up the story of Milton Hershey and Walt Disney, how they failed so many times before they became successful….

Once again, Coach Reeve inspires….

In this episode of The Underground Strength Show, you’ll see two men who have created something the entire world knows about, yet both of them endured very hard times, bankruptcy, failure in business creation, lack of support from family & friends….

You name it, they ate shit many times….

Or, maybe they didn’t…

Maybe it wasn’t shit, maybe this was all part of the journey, and these two men understood that if they gave up and let adveristy rule their world that their dreams would remain just that, dreams.

Instead, they chose to take their visions and dreams and turn them into reality….

What about you?

Will you give up if you are bankrupt?

Will you allow friends and family to bring you down?

Will you lie down when adversity stares you dead square in the eyes?

Only YOU know the answer, BUT…..

Feel free to post your answers in the comments below.

I want ALL OF YOU to share, grow and learn not just from this video, but from all the answers below.

I have a funny feeling that many of you will help lift others, as I know that many times those closest to you don’t even want you to succeed.

I want to see you kick ass, BUT, you MUST be more motivated than I am.

Kill it!

–Coach Z–

PS: A few spots left in the upcoming Underground Strength Coach Certification Course. Take advantage of the 6 pay offer I give at http://zacheven-esh.com/license.php

PPS: Don’t wanna get certified? Still wanna kick ass? The Speed & Strength Empire is the way to go, PLUS, you’ll get a jam packed bonus audio interview with me in this kit, AND….if you order before midnight February 6th, you will get a 1 hr phone consult with me ($250 Value), all you gotta do is e mail me your receipt!

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Wow, look what I dug up! Years ago, I had the opportunity to e mail Coach Ethan Reeve, one of my mentors, and he dished out some insanely powerful training information. Here it is, once again, for your reading pleasure.

Grab some hot cocoa, relax and enjoy!

Coach Reeve: Yes, I wrestled at the University of Tennessee from 1973-77. Although I was not an NCAA Champion I was a 4-time Southeastern Conference Champion and a 2-time NCAA All-American. Fortunately, I was privileged to have been an assistant wrestling coach under some great coaches at the University of Tennessee (Gray Simons), Oklahoma State University (Tommy Chesbro), Ohio University (Harry Houska) and Clemson University (Eddie Griffin). Eventually I landed the Head Wrestling coach position at the University of Tennessee @ Chattanooga where I coached from 1984-1990. We had five Southern Conference Championship teams in six years. I loved coaching wrestling and still miss it. However, I really enjoy training all sorts of sport athletes. The main thing I enjoyed about coaching wrestling was the training in the wrestling room. That is why it was such an easy transition to strength coaching because I just love training athletes and helping them become champions. Hard, smart work is the answer to success!

Basically, we are at the mercy of the athletes that are given to us by our sport coaches in recruiting. Our job, as strength coaches, is to “maximize” the athletic potential of each and every athlete we work with. We trust our sport coaches to identify the athletes they feel can help our university have success in that particular sport. Sport coaches, like NFL scouts, will look at film and visit the players and see how they perform at practice and in competition. An athlete can have great results in the “combine” but not perform well in competition. If the athletes do not succeed in their sport under competitive situations then they will be overlooked in the recruiting process no matter how well they test in the strength room or combine. What coaches need are athletes that perform well in competition. We do not emphasize numbers in testing in the strength room or speed and agility tests. We look for adequate strength, power, speed and athleticism. If the athletes given to us do not meet our standards then it is our job to get them to those minimum standards. It is the athlete’s choice to go beyond those standards and succeed at a higher level on the field of competition.

Read the rest of this entry »

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I never invented anything.

People were lifting heavy shit ages ago.

I admit my psychological issues in the wide open here….I can’t afford therapy, so crazy I will remain.

Maybe you need to get crazy to get results.

I’m not talking results in the gym, I’m talking results in life.

It’s not over yet, trust me kids, I got more crazy shiz where that came from….

Crazy Marketing = http://killitmarketing.com

Crazy training = http://UndergroundStrengthManual.com

More craziness coming soon

Kill it!

–Coach Z–

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Keeping the same theme: Killing it w/heavy basics…

Here we go….

What did you think of those exercises and my insane commentary?

Post comments below!

Kill it!

–Coach Z–

PS: The interview with Coach Ethan Reeve can be found at http://UndergroundStrengthManual.com – the best interrogation I ever had the pleasure of doing. You will LOVE it!

PPS: Monday, 11/24, 7 AM, EST: The Gladiator Strength Seminar will be released right here, on the blog. The bonuses are killer! Just wait and see!

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My Breakfast before the Storm:

4 whole eggs

4 egg shites

2 bananas

2 clementines

1 cup of coffee

I tend to alternate coffee and green tea through several week cycles. This is what my body is telling me and I go with it. I stray away from dairy products as much as possible except the eggs. I used to do the ol’ bodybuilder breakfast of 8 egg whites and one yolk, but after 7 or 8 years of the same thing, I decided to add more yolks to my breakfast and I feel stronger. And this did NOT have any adverse impact on cholesterol levels. 

Throughout the day I’ll have several meals which are higher protein, lower carbs and I’ll also get one salad in somewhere during the day, as well as several pieces of fruit and TONS of water.

After breakfast I’ll be heading off to The Underground for a training session, a full body workout, much like what I prescribe in my Underground Strength Kit for my wrestlers.

The style of training I utilize with my combative athletes focuses on developing high levels of work capacity. Being strong is not good enough. Strength endurance, Power endurance and very high levels of stamina is what we develop through our workouts

What will you be doing on this fine Sunday?

In strength,

Zach

P.S. – Get an inside look as to how we train our athletes as well as countless workouts for you to begin following asap HERE. You’ll also receive informative and no holds barred strength secrets from the following heavy hitters:

Jim “Smitty” Smith from Diesel Crew

Joe DeFranco

Jim Wendler

Coach Ethan Reeve

I listen to these audios over and over again myself. As always, this information will not suit those who sit on their ass all day and talk shit on internet forums. It’s for those who are ready to train like Gladiators.

Get started HERE if you are NOT one of those keyboard, pencil neck, internet tough guys.

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