I’ve always been a BIG fan of Grip Strength and the countless benefits that come with bone crushing hand strength and jacked up forearms.

Check out this grip strength workout where I finished my upper body workout with.

And, below that video is a throwback, Episode 71 from The Underground Strength Show.

Here is what I want YOU to do.

Drop a comment with your favorite grip exercises or grip workout.

By the time we have a good 40 or 50 comments you will have a BOAT load of grip strength, hand strength and forearm exercises / workouts for you to add to your grip strength training arsenal.

Don’t forget to pick up your copy of Grip Experts – the compilation of information inside of this manual is BadAss.

Lead from the FRONT

–Z–

Recommended Resources:

Underground Kettlebells

Underground Inner Circle

Grip Experts

Sandbag Assault Workouts

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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–

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Tire flipping isn’t for everyone.

Strongman training isn’t for everyone.

A SOLID foundation MUST be built before you can dive into strongman training.

There are several different techniques for tire flips, and as you’ll see below, we use a sumo stance, drive up at an angle and focus on power cleaning the tire using a knee lift and running THROUGH the tire.

Running through the tire, driving at a 45 degree angle and using a knee lift gets you away from the dangerous curl position.

Check out the beasts digging into some strongman training with tire flipping.

Other benefits of strongman trianing, specifically the tire flip:

- Hand Strength

- Wrist Strength

- Leg Strength

- Back Strength

- Mental Toughness

The benefits of hand, grip and wrist strength are WAY underrated with tire flipping.

Next week we will begin more strongman training and strongman medleys to prepare for our summer strongman contests.

These are super intense and VERY competitive.

How do you use strongman training in your own workout or with clients?

Looking forward to your comments!

Crush it!

–Z–

PS: My top 2 reccomended resources for implementing strongman and unconventional strength and muscle building methods are:

1) http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com

2) http://UndergroundStrengthManual.com

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I snagged a recent e bay auction with 600 lbs of vintage weights from York Barbell, Wonder Barbell, Jackson Barbell and Heathway Barbell.

Little did I know this gentleman (who’s identity can not be identified) had a BEAUTFUL Vintage York Barbell Gym in his basement.

It was also cool AND ironic to see all the York Blobs he was selling on e bay and 1 of them was won by none other than the Grip King himself, Richard Sorin.

It was ironic because I had JUST spoken with Richard by phone the previous day and we spoke about how we were die hard fanatics for vintage strength equipment and I told him about how I practically sold my soul to the devil for a 150 lb vintage globe dumbbell!

Check out Part 1 of this Vintage York Barbell Gym….

This little tour brought back some OLD memories of when I began training at my First Gym, the Metuchen YMCA, which was actually the last of it’s kind with regards to vintage gyms outfitted with all York Barbell Equipment: globe dumbbells, rounds head dumbbells, York Barbell isometric rack, dip bars, pull up stations, york barbell and curl bars, ALL York plates and it was a little hole in the wall with some strong dudes strolling around.

I vividly recall riding my bike to the YMCA and then pushing back uphill after a brutal leg workout which was tons and tons of sets and reps of EVERY exercise I could use in that gym. Squats, leg press, RDL, leg extensions, leg curls, sissy squats and back extensions.

I recall pushing my bike home and seeing a guy working on his garden and hosing the garden and I asked to drink from the hose I was so thirsty. Those were some awesome days that I truly miss!

If you have a story of your early days and the iron I wanna hear it, please post in the comments below!

Peace!

–Z–

Follow me on Twitter ==> http://TwitterZach.com

Lost Secrets of Strength Seminar with Zach & Joe DeFranco

The Ultimate Underground Community

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Training partners that are tough, dedicated and passionate are like needles in a hay stack.

I once fired a PRO Bodybuilder from being my training partner!

He was lazy, always had an excuse, everyone carried him, babied him and he was a mental basket case!

You need Gladiators for training partners, people who don’t fear the pain, the sweat and the guts to kill it.

I train alone, but here and there, a beast walks through the doors and brings extra energy to the table.

This is part two from one of those days

“Heavier, Heavier…..”

There is more to come from the footage above! Stay tuned & if you like this Blog, spread the word, I would love that!

Gotta love training partners who wanna kill it!

Tell me about your best training partner and the craziest workouts you ever had by posting your comments below…I can’t wait to read them!

Kill it!

–Coach Z–

PS: I have a funny feeling that an unannounced Grip Contest. amongst other crazy strength feats and impromptu contest will bust out the night before The Underground Powerlifting Seminar. The night before we will hold a mini Strength & Health picnic, FREE, for all who attend the seminar & members of http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com

PPS: To see my upcoming events, certifications and seminars, click HERE.

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Wow, on my birthday, an old friend and a BEAST, Johnny Wasiscko stopped by the gym to say Happy B Day. I asked him what’s new & he said preppin’ for strongman comps and the Arnold Grip Contest….

It was the day before the Lost Secrets of Strength Development, so, I said sh*t, let’s train and kill it w/a grip contest.

This got wild and we really got carried away breaking all the rules and doing everything that made NO sense at all! These are the best and funnest workouts!

Enjoy and post your comments below!

I’ve said it a million times before…

Strong Hands = Strong Man…. Plain and Simple!

Kill it!

–Coach Z–

PS: Want some sick, sick Grip Strength Training info? Check it out here: ==> http://GripExperts.com

PPS: Want to do what you love? Then f**k this stupid recession and get on with it. Do what you love, don’t talk about it, DO IT!

Kill it here: ==> http://zacheven-esh.com/coaching.php

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Today I was about to close up shop at the gym until an old friend strolled in to wish me a happy birthday.

Johnny and I competed against each other in the 1995 Teenage Mr. NJ!

That was a loooong time ago. We both competed in the middleweight division which means we were under 176 lbs!

Johnny showed up today weighing 250 and looking lean and mean. Me? I think I’m hovering near 220.

We spoke about his current regime of heavy squats, heavy deads, heavy military pressing, 120 lb dumbbell hammer curls and his strongman training, which he does in a garage located at a trucking company!

We did get busy with some training though…and yes, no worries, ALL on film

I need to catch some ZZZZZZZZ’s before my seminar this entire weekend with Joe DeFranco, ‘The Lost Secrets of Strength Development’.

We decided to attack the grip and work grip strength and hand strength.

It was the most fun I had training in ages!!!

Johnny told me was going to the grip challenge at The Arnold Sports Festival this year so we went at it!

Everything was as heavy as possible and still, I knew in the back of my mind about the weights lifted by the guys in the early 1900’s and they were still light years ahead of us in terms of strength, it was scarey to think this!

When it was time to close up shop, Johnny and I were still talking training in the parking lot, talking about what is happening nowadays in gyms, and what was happening in the gyms when we started, who we learned from and what was happening before we even started, which was REALLY serious shit.

The old timers had it down pat.

They knew how to build strength and rugged muscle better than the majority of gym rats today.

I have more to show and more to talk about, for now, I wanna get to bed and spend some time with my wife

Kill it!

–Coach Z–

PS: One of the best books I have ever written on old school strength training is found right HERE. It’s a freaking goldmine of amazing training information and it has shaped what I do BIG time. Check it out HERE.

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Check out the latest article on grip and hand strength training:

==> http://www.straighttothebar.com/2008/11/grip_strength_where_is_it.html

Enjoy & Kill it!

–Z–

PS: If you want to develop rugged full body strength and strong hands, check out http://GripExperts.com

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How can you deny those who taught you?

My book shelves are filled with books and videos from guys like Joe DeFranco, Alwyn Cosgrove, Ross Enamait, Diesel Crew, old school Strength & Health magazines, John Jesse, Josh Henkin, Louie Simmons, Pavel Tsatsouline, JC Santana and many, many more!

I love the ways of old school, raw, serious training….

In this vid, I’ve been inspired by John Grimek, who was born in Perth Amboy, which is less than 5 minutes away…who remember the Atlantic Fitness Club? It was a hardcore dungeon that burned to the ground, no accident if you ask me, b/c the only electric running through that gym were a few light bulbs.

The grip movement here was learned several years ago when Diesel Crew and I trained in my garage! We’ve got that footage on film, locked away in a top secret vault – will it be revealed one day? Who knows….there was garage training, playground training, stair trainin and some scarey sh*t going down w/those dudes!

Check the vid below, strong hands = strong man. Weak hands hurt everything, don’t let your weak hands get the best of you!

Post your favorite grip strength and hand strength training movements and tips in the comments below!

Kill it!

–Coach Z–

PS: I’ve got a jam packed compilation called ‘Grip Experts’ – some freaky stuff going down in that e book and it’s not just for building strong hands and grip strength, it’s for building full body strength and power. Check it HERE.

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At the Ryan Lee Boot Camp, Senior RKC Kettlebell Instructor and grip junkie, David Whitley showed his passion for old school strength.

The guy has hands and forearms that resemble bowling pins, not the kind of guy you wanna tangle with if you catch my drift.

Does it hurt that he kills 100+ lb kettlebells on a regular basis?

I assume it can only help!

Watch David in action below.

Now that you’re motivated, go kill it with some heavy kettlebells and finish up with some beastly grip work!

Kill it!

–Coach Z–

PS: These are the kettlebells I love, Click Here.

PPS: This is the course you want to have if you love grip work or simply want to discover some ass kicking grip and hand strength training tips, Click Here.

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