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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Just had to show my favorite Wrestling video!

Guys, this video has always amped me up, and with wrestling season in full swing here in the dirty jerzee (and everywhere else in the USA) it is only fitting you see what a wrestler can do when he has brute strength, lightning fast power and amazing skill….

I don’t know about you, but I feel like kicking someone’s ass now! ha ha

I just hope I don’t run into my own wrestlers for saying that, ha ha!

Today, we had a lot of our college wrecking crew training at http://UndergroundStrengthGym.com – but we also had 1 of my 7th grade wrestlers killing it. His Dad said, “Damn Zach, they’re all Bigger than you!”

He’s right! That’s the goal – I want ALL my athletes to be way stronger than me. Not that I am some super human beast, but, if you know young athletes, most of them are weaker than the Sunday Newspaper – I have seen these dudes transform from weak as hell to strong as hell – it’s a GREAT feeling to see this stuff!

Here’s a lil’ sneak peek of today’s in season wrestling workout. I post ALL of the workouts our athletes do at http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com

1) Zercher Squat w/thick cambered bar: 5 x 2 reps

2A) double Kettlebell Push Press 4 x 3 reps

2B) mixed grip pull ups 4 x max reps

3A) glute ham raise 3 x 10

3B) weighted 45 degree back extensions 3 x 10

4) grip & abs 3 x each

Give the workout a shot and let me know how you like it. If you’re not an in season athlete, feel free to bump the zercher squat and kettlebell reps up to 5 per set.

Post your comments on the video below!

Kill it!

–Coach Z–

PS: Coming Soon! We have an Underground Strength Show of one of our wrestling beasts and man it is some killer shizza! Just wait and see!

PPS: Wanna know how our wrestlers train and why they kill it BIG time?

Their secret weapon is found at http://UndergroundStrengthKit.com

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Blast from the Past: Coach Ethan Reeve Interrogation

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!

1) Coach Reeve, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to us. You have been a highly successful wrestler, wrestling coach and a ground breaking strength coach. With what you see regarding the physical strengths / weaknesses of your incoming college freshman, how would you train a high school athlete (focusing more on wrestlers & football players) to better prepare them for D 1 sports?

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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Finally Here!

Finally Here!

My training system, at http://UndergroundStrengthManual.com now has a loaded affiliate area, so if you have a blog, web site, facebook page and / or an e mail list, you’ll want to take a dedicated look at http://www.undergroundstrengthmanual.com/affiliate/

I’ll be adding a crap ton more articles as well, to make it that much easier for you to communicate with your readers and provide them with great info and of course, you’ll make money doing so :)

More to come!

Kill it!

–Coach Z–

PS: Check it out, it’s easy and ready to use: ==> http://www.undergroundstrengthmanual.com/affiliate/

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E Bay Freak-isode – The old garage, overstock and memories

Take a trip through the original Underground Strength Gym, see what’s inside the Box and take your pick….

if you WIN the bid :)

watch the video below and then click the link below the video to go to my e bay auction!

 

Click HERE to get in on this insane e bay freak-isode auction!

Till the next time,

Kill it!

–Coach Z–

PS - Should I do something crazy like auction off a slot into the Underground Strength Coach Certification for 11/1 and 11/2?

Not sure why, but the camera turns me into a crazy mofo, crazier than expected! ha ha

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