I came up learning from the Golden Era Greats of Bodybuilding and the late, great John Kemper, the owner of Diamond Gym.
These men were strong, jacked and ripped. They lifted heavy and often did supersets, even with the big compound movements.
Even if they trained on machines, you would see guys loading up the machines and then rigging up the machine to add more 45s to the stack of weights.
When I followed their routines of aggressive and heavy training using mostly free weights, my performance in sports also improved. I became more explosive, my strength actually FELT as if I was imposing my will on my opponent when wrestling and my confidence soared to new heights.
I wish I would have followed these methods, which we often call "old school strength" or simply the workouts from The Golden Era, the 60s and 70s.
As I often say, those guys not only LOOKED strong, they WERE STRONG.
My mistakes came from the fabricated articles I read inside Muscle & Fitness as well as FLEX Magazine.
When I followed the pretty boy bodybuilding workouts of pumping with light weights, too many machines and "squeezing the muscle", my injuries were regular and common during wrestling and my mental toughness was nowhere to be found.
When I began going back to the training methods I learned from the Golden Era coupled with influences of The World's Strongest Man of the early 80s (which used to air on TV) I FELT the difference, both physically and psychologically.
With all the information available today, here and again when I pop into a globo gym, I still see the same common mistakes:
- Using light weights
- Using too many machines
- Resting too long between sets
- Lack of Intensity & Focus
When you train, you need to attack your training. None of this endless chatter between sets and half repping your squats.
None of this regurgitating words you read from an article that have nothing to do with what you need or where you currently are in your training.
Get in there and attack. DESTROY the gym.
When I look back, I feel that somehow, someway, my mistakes were all meant to be. My mistakes and injuries inspired me to have a purpose of teaching others to avoid those mistakes.
I look back to the changes of when I would train with programs that I tweaked from Arnold's books.
When doing the overhead press, I began cleaning the weight from the floor. My back, traps and shoulders blew up from that!
I began doing barbell rows with 315 + lbs and my entire upper body blew up from that! The thickness of my muscles and the muscle maturity I had long heard of, I now began to achieve.
There is no 2 ways about it. To get Strong you gotta lift heavy.
Time to hit the gym.
Drop your comments and questions below & I'll answer.
Live The Code: Honesty, Integrity, Commitment, Work Ethic
--Z--
Over 12 Bonuses For Underground Strength Academy Members & BIG Discounts On Underground Strength Coach LIVE Events
Hi Z,
What are the pros and cons of only training with sandbags?
Nick, what do U think, my man?
Here is my current workout: mwf
Sandbag only
Bearhug squats, good mornings, overhead press, rows, and floor press. I’m leaner than ever & feel in great shape. I just wonder if you consider sandbags inferior to barbells.
If it works for you and you like it, then you have the best training system, and there is no need for you to look any further.
Benefits of sandbags over the barbels would be better training for grip and core. These are the top two I can think of, but there are probably more. There are also some downsides to sandbag training, but if it works for you, just stick with it, and you will do much better than a majority of people 😉
“there’s no limits – except in yr head, ..”
Exactly!
Here’s a quick story:
Last week I was fortunate enough to help out doing some work around our local school. There was an old farmer as well. He was maybe 65-70. He was thin, thin shoulders, 40, having kids and everything that comes with it, is no excuse for NOT being in shape! You can be strong ALL yr life – just have to put in the work. Once you stop working, you start dying.
Over & Out
Somehow part of the comment got annihilated. I’ll try again:
Here’s a quick story:
Last week I was fortunate enough to help out doing some work around our local school. There was an old farmer as well. He was maybe 65-70. He was thin, thin shoulders, below 5% bodyfat and generally not strong looking. The only thing were his forearms. They were as thick as someones upper arms and he had an incredible tight, strong grip!
Once we started working it showed that he was by far the strongest man around yet most of us were 20-40yrs younger. His workload was just amazing. The veins on his forearms popped out and I swear they were almost fingerthick. A true beast.
It showed me once again that being 40, having kids and everything that comes with it, is no excuse for NOT being in shape! You can be strong ALL yr life – you just have to put in the work. Once you stop working, you start dying.
Over & Out
Yep, the excuses we make are all on our own shoulders, I’ve done it myself and always realize it’s a bunch of BS
We can be stronger, fitter, faster… if we CHOOSE.
stop working, stop learning…. you’re dying.
agreed
always climb!
My Grandfather was a working man, strong till the very last day!
Not just breaking tradition for the individual looking to become healthy and strong, but with athletic programs in general. When I start to talk to people about how I train myself and others they look at me like I am talking a different language. “No you do a set then rest for two or three minutes. My child’s training session at school takes 2 hours. How can you get a better workout in 30 minutes?” It goes on and on. I tell them to give me a week, and they will never look back.
Still pounding it, but the parents around here are stuck into routine. That even bringing their child to something different scares them.
I have started training out front of my building by the road. I might cause an accident, but what the hell I am marketing!
DW
agreed, give peeps a week on the house at your place, I also can’t stand this BS of required lifting 5 x week for 2 hrs?
Get a clue – that shyt is 80% wasting time and socializing
Coaches gotta drop the egos
Hi,Zach. Quick question for ya. I live in a small apartment with hardly any room.can’t afford my gym membership this year and wanna train alone. I wanna buy a barbell and was just curious if any barbell will do?? I wanna lift heavy an use this bar for a long time. Some guys on the web talk in about inferior bars an its got me confused.any help greatly appreciated. Keep up the awesome pace bro,I find your news letter and blog the best around an think you a great spokesperson for real men.cheers buddy’
Yo bro, for sure, get yourself a strong, solid barbell
My first ever bar was 99$ from CostCo, CAP Barbell and it was falling apart on the ends
This bar: http://store.sorinex.com/Sorinex-WOD-Bar-p/p01275.htm
or The Rogue Bar
Get a great barbell, the plates n’ stuff can be used
All you need for now is a barbell and some rings or get outside somewhere for your bodyweight work
thanks alot for the speedy reply zach,cant wait to get started.love to see any posts on only barbell training in the future.i got a keg and filled my punchbag with sand.gonna fill a ruck sack with sand for pusups and hopefully i can put some strength on with this gear.thanks again.
Hey Hughie,
I’m also training at home and have practically no room. Here’s what I got:
-most important: good pullupstation with various grips. Hang rings to it for ring pushups, rollouts, dips, etc.
-heavy kettlebell: doesnt take much room, excellent conditioning workout.
-sandbag: awkward training, griptraining, conditioning & strength.
-barbell: good to have, but not necessary in the beginning. Got mine outside.
-stones: outside I have various stones for odd object lifting.
If you combine these basic instruments with bodyweight training you can do your training just anywhere (except the barbell).
Cheers
thanks very much mate,gonna do my best now with what i have.
Zach!!!! kick arse post brother!!
I have to agree with breaking the rules man. The dogmatic approach to a lot of the traditional methods is one thing that continues to cloud the strength industry for sure. I believe you have to push the boundaries but also respect the science of how to get big and strong the only way you can do this is by learning and implementing DOING is what makes you a better coach and athlete and seeking out and sucking in all the info you can from guys who are killing it both from now and from the golden age. No one has a trademark on getting strong and now more than ever there is the highest quality of information around that’s easily accessible from anywhere in the world!! I was in northern Iraq bro the first time I bought one of your programs in the middle of nowhere with just an internet connection and copied it from my laptop screen by hand then got after it with anything i could find to lift!!No excuses Zach keep smashing it bro!!!!
Guy!!! You are awesome and I miss you, brotha!!!! Are you still active duty?
You’re a BEAST, my brotha, respect to you!!
#UndergroundStrengthCoach
How’s this for breaking the rules on training?? People WILL be mad. I know this. In my last post—I stated I squat every Saturday (was squatting 2-3 times a week for 3 years, up until 2 months ago). I am DONE squatting! Never again. and I absolutely firmly believe I will be stronger than I ever was by NOT squatting. Just looking back, I can clearly see I was 10x stronger before I started squatting. Deadlifted 640lbs and could barely squat past 225. Flipped 350lb tractor tire for 60 reps in 10 minutes. Carried 150lbish worth of rusted chains for 1 1/2 miles and hen dragged it out for another 1 1/2. Plus much More. My focus on squatting has killed my progress on the stuff that i’m truly strong at.
What do you think I am going to do? I’m going back to my tried and true ways of building power in the way I know how. Pressing, Pulling, and Carries all the way. Overhead pressng, Bench pressing, deadlifts cleans, snatches and all sorts of carries. That’s it. Everybody says you NEED to squat. That is what traditional training states. Nobody wants to say “Ohh I do not squat” because they KNOW the mainstream will practically belittle them. Hardcore lifters are almost afraid to NOT squat, because training would be meaningless without it?? I call Bullshit! Here’s some food for thought—WSM Phil Feister won he 2006 WSM competition and had the absolute worst performance in the squat, but kicked ass in everything else…..and won. The squat is not the end all be all. I’m going to prove it with a passion! They call me the Tugboat for a reason—because I can Pull and Carry BIG numbers. Since I started squatting 2 years ago, I’m just known as Dustin. Screw that! End of RANT!
Ok! That is scary because I am a huge fan of Phil Phister, and you just dropped a WSM reference. Note too that he couldn’t bench over 350# at that time either!
Good Luck in your mission-Thor’s Stone (norse reference to our name). Train what makes you happy. I am not a big squat fan either and would rather deadlift, and do everything you listed up top. Freaky! It must be a name thing!?
Dustin W-
Haha! Believe me, man—we have a lottt more in common than we think! Over the years, I seen you drop comments—-and many of those times, I can’t believe how damn similar we are. Even down to our favorite bodyweight superset–push ups to chin-ups. I, too, am a HUGE fan of WSM (did not know Phil only benched 350 at the time! Damn! But thanks for proving another point), and it’s been my life-long dream to one day open up a gym.
Thor’s Stone?? Badass! It HAS to be a name thing! Haha! You know– Goerner, one of the all time great strongman stated the three tests to gauge a man’s strength were: How much weight can you lift off the ground, How much weight can you press overhead, and how much weight you could carry. Simply put, Dustin, you nailed it with one comment—You should train what makes you happy. The squat makes some folks happy—let them have it. Me, I’m sticking with pulling and carrying, and I know I’ll get damn strog at them. Some people marvel 500lb squatters. I say, take a look at the dude who’s walking around with 500lbs on his back effortlessly. Last year–WSM–the announcers (Phil, Bill, and More) annunced that the Yoke walk was probably the toughest event of all, besides the notorious Atlas stone events.
Plus—DW—you’re a genius beyond most parents see! Flipping a tire and dragging is a sled is far MORE productive for training football/wrestling athletes than back-squats will ever be. It puts the person in the same ‘stance’, due to the face they’re front-loaded sports! The body is always exploding forward in an angle.
Zach—-just when I was expectin’ HATE, I get support. That’s awesome, man! Just awesome. Thanks guys.
DM and DW
Damn, BIG lifts
Shit, if you O Lift you are likely squatting when catching big weights
You are a BEAST of a man
A BEAST!
Another great article, Zach, thanks!
Been breaking the rules big time this month while I am doing Jedd Johnson’s
August of Arms program.
I usually do not train every day if the week, but I wanted to take on a new challenge for my uocoming 67th birthday (GOD willing) next week.
It’s kicking my butt, but it’s good for me .