Yesterday, I saw this video and it REALLY motivated me to RUN.

You see, in high school, back when I weighed 160 or 170 lbs or less, I ran on the regular. In season wrestling runs were 4 – 5 miles every other day regardless of the freezing temps or snow. I hauled ass….. It wasn’t a slow, easy jog…. it was an all out WAR, running hard through the cold night while Metallica blared through my head phones in my Sony Walkman, circa 91′, 92′ and 93′.

After getting heavier, bigger and bigger, running became painful…. it became something I hated, and that hate for running REALLY affected me emotionally. I was very upset with myself for having this relationship with running.

Today, this video changed me. I felt calm while running. My breath was relaxed. As I ran, I envisioned the Navy SEAL in the video below, reminded myself that the body can handle 20 X more than I have been setting limits on.

Yesterday, I ran beach side with my wife while my son rode his bike. I felt good running, which almost felt weird. I was running without getting tired as I used to. I started to feel that love for the run again.

Tomorrow, my truck will be getting a new stereo, navigation and DVD player for the kids. I plan to run to every place I need to get to without the truck. I am excited.

I miss running. I will keep you posted on this journey, as I evolve, I hope you evolve as well.

Check this video out, of a Navy SEAL….

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m letting go of the “performance thing”…. things like “don’t do anything except sprints or you’ll be slow…..”

I’m gonna run for what it does for the mind. Plain and simple.

Today’s Underground Strength Challenge:

1) Run 1.5 miles

2) Kettlebell Snatches x 5 minutes x max reps (perform equal reps on each arm)

Please take a moment & Drop your comments on: running, this running video with Navy SEAL David Goggins, running for mental toughness and of course, drop a comment with ANY results regarding this challenge (weights, reps, time, etc.)

Hope to see you at The Underground Strength Conference!

Sign Up HERE Before the Price Goes Up

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Undergrounder Strength Nation…. Let’s DO this!

I hope you had a powerful day yesterday…..

I had MANY obstacles to overcome yesterday as the past few days have been tough and the stress was mounting.

Was it easy? NO

Did I get it done?

YES….

Mission Accomplished.

I had to focus on what I wanted and where I wanted to go, what I wanted to MAKE happen and ultimately what my best outcome looked like and felt like.

VERY Important: Keep focusing & putting Your Attentions On Your Intentions

The mind is what made all the pieces come together.

What is My Commitment To YOU?

I will continue to commit to training you in the various ways of empowering your mind because the mind is what motors everything you do, fast or slow, it’s up to your mind.

Yesterday, 2 of my athletes ran from their house to the gym. This is not odd for either of them as both are highly committed
athletes, one is only  a 7th grader while the other is an 8th grader.

Click here to view the embedded video.

BOTH of them were on their “off” days, where they can come in and train anyway they want to train. Coach Reeve calls these “Champion Workouts” – where you do the work when no one tells you to do it, ALL through your own motivation and inner drive.

Both of these boys run between 1.5 – 2.5 miles. The younger athlete, a wrestler, ran both here and back, no car ride home.

The older, a Football player & Wrestler got to work on the jump rope immediately.

The gym was crowded so he took the rope to the street, without shoes, barefoot…..

After he was done “warming up” he practiced the many bodyweight exercises we favor:

- push up variations

- hand stand holds

- pull up variations

- rope climbs

From there, he jumped in on a workout with one of our wrestlers, which, at the time was 3 rounds of farmer walks carrying 130 lb military cans filled with sand coupled with tire flips for speed….

Yes, he did this barefoot…..

Why am I sharing this story?

Because you must train your body to get uncomfortable, even if it means little by little.

It’s amazing how fast the body will adapt.

Strengthen your feet and ankles, get rid of the shoes but keep it SAFE.

Hate Running? Change WHERE you run…. today I’ll be running on the beach, next time in the park, next time in the trails.

Do you suck at a certain exercises, perhaps the squat? Then start  squatting during your warm up at least 3 x week with some added weight.

Rule of thumb: “If It’s Weak, Attack It.”

Stronger Than Yesterday.

Thank you for being a part of Underground Strength Nation.

Let’s DO this!

–Z–

PS: One of our speakers, Elliott “The Incredible” Hulse will be presenting on something very unique and powerful.

He calls it his ’4 Layers of Strength’. He shared some of his info with me and I know that learning from Elliott with his life changing lessons will be worth the small investment of The Underground Strength Conference.

You’ll notice discounts are available to Inner Circle Members along with a special link for you to gain discounted access to The Inner Circle

I’m doing ALL I can to make this event as affordable as possible but hurry because price increases SOON.

Check the details Of The Underground Strength Conference HERE

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Here’s your Underground Strength Challenge for April 17, 2012

It’s ALL about the basics in this one, post your comments, weights used, etc in the comments section.

** Increase weight on each Set of trap bar deadlifts & squats **

1A) Trap DL 5 x 5

1B) ANY Back Squat 5 x 5

2) 100 Push Ups AFAP

Click here to view the embedded video.

Post your weights / comments / times below.

Looking forward to seeing how you did.

Live The Code

–Z–

Sign Up For The First Ever Underground Strength Conference

Space Is Limited. Click HERE

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Here are 10 Exercises that you simply can’t go wrong with (minus if you have any injuries, physical limitations, excuses, etc).

Check em’ out and decide how you can put them to use into your current training regime. You’ll also a unique video from one of my workouts this week….

1. Squats

2. Deadlifts

Click here to view the embedded video.

3. Barbell Snatches

4. Jumps

Click here to view the embedded video.

5. Pull Ups

6. Push Ups

7. Rope Climbs

Click here to view the embedded video.

8. Hanging Leg Raises

9. Hand Walking

10. ANY Ground to Overhead

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dan John once said that if all you did was clean and press you could become awesome. As I practice the snatch I see exactly what he means. His message is of commitment. Are you committed?

11. Farmer Walks (Carry ANY Object)

Underground Strength Conference 2012 is Now Open – Click HERE

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Last night was a rough workout for me…. as many of you know if you’ve been here for a while, my workouts don’t focus on solely the physical development of strength aspect but largely on the mental toughness aspect and pushing myself to greater heights.

Last night started with about 10 sets of snatches. My body felt like it was on “empty” from the get go. Once I finished my snatches, I told one of my coaches that it’s time for me to crank a “mental toughness” workout. Once I finished that first set of deadlifts I felt as if ALL my energy was sucked out.

Those are the times where you must push through…..

Overall, I was unsatisfied with this performance, the workout should have been completed in half the time, all sets and reps unbroken. BUT….. This is LIFE.

What if you have to go for a day without eating and at the end of the day you encounter a physical confrontation? This is why we say, “Train for LIFE!”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s your workout for today: 04-11-12

1) Snatches from Floor: 3 x 5 reps light weight, 2 x 3 reps medium weight, 3 x 2 reps heavy weight

AFAP: 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 reps

A) Bodyweight Deadlift

B) Push Ups + 20 lbs

C) Pull Ups + 20 lbs

If you need 20 lb chains, get them HERE

Post your comments, weights used, times, etc in the comments section

Let’s DO this!

Train For LIFE

–Z–

PS: Mark your calendars for June 1st and 2nd, the FIRST Underground Strength Conference is going down in NJ. Details to be announced this week.

Recommended Resources

The Underground Strength System

30 Day Trial for Underground Inner Circle

Renegade Diet

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We always hear about “old school strength” but what is it, really? Well, one thing’s for sure, we don’t see a whole lotta dumbbell training going on nowadays.

Back in the day, “old school strength” books and magazines show athletes and lifters using heavy dumbbells (dumbbells weighing 100- 200 + lbs) for movements such as:

Click here to view the embedded video.

- Military Presses

- Snatches

- Clean & Press

- Bent Press

- Windmill

Let’s get back after these old school lifts.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Try the “Old School Strength” Workout below using as heavy a weight as possible for at each rep range.

1A) Sandbag Power Clean x 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 reps

1B) Strict Dumbbell Military Press x 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 reps

Post the weights you used in the comments section.

If you’re pushing your work capacity and endurance, set the clock and post your time as well.

Your weights can vary with each rep range and you don’t necessarily need to choose a weight light enough to complete each rep range consecutively.

Post your weights / time in the comments section below.

Peace!

–Z–

Recommended Resources:

1 Day USC Cert in Kirkland, Washington

The Underground Strength System

Old School Strength Equipment

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Here’s your Underground Strength Workout for Monday….. or, if you’re gonna sneak in a workout today, this one can get done pretty fast, so crank it out before family festivities begin.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Add weight as the sets go on while keeping rest between each round minimal or even zero for at least a few sets.

10 Rounds

1A) Double Jumps x 2 (over hurdles, boxes, benches, etc)

1B) Snatch from Floor x 2

1C) Squats x 2 (use any back squat variation: sandbag, barbell, specialty bar, etc)

Doing this workout for time is optional. I prefer NOT doing it for time and focusing more on moving maximum weight with the best technique I’ve got, especially if you’re practicing snatch technique as I am.

Post your weights used in the comments and if you go for time, post your time for “10 rounds” as well.

Below are videos of our Football guys using just the jumps and squats as part of their lower body day. Adding the snatches will change this workout BIG time. The blend of jumps, olympic lifting + power lifting will make these 10 rounds feel brutal.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Get after it

–Z–

Recommended Resources:

Underground Strength Cert in Washington

30 Day Trial Underground Inner Circle

Underground Strength System E Course

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Click here to view the embedded video.

I have a high school Football Player / Wrestler who broke his hand / wrist in 8th grade. Now, he’s a sophomore and strong as hell (naturally .

After his hand and wrist were fixed via surgery, it wasn’t quite fixed. Ironic, right?

Benching and holding horizontal weights in the hands is tough, the wrist deviates big time & causes pain no matter how strong we work the hands, wrist, grip, etc. Neutral grip barbells and dumbbells feel somewhat better and stronger.

But, when it comes to snatching a 80 lb Kettlebell, flipping a 450 lb tire, farmer walking 185 lbs each hand, dragging sleds…..

He’s an ass kicker.

Clean and press double 70s, BOOM. Legit, powerful and explosive.

The question arises about the bench press... naturally, as a high school Football player, this will happen.

Your Football Coach says ya gotta do it, even if it means your hand will break at the wrist, or the bar comes down crooked, or it forces one side to work harder than the other & destroys your shoulders…..

Your buddies say, “Ya gotta bench, dude.”

What do I say about the bench press for athletes?

Who Cares.

I fear the athlete who can snatch an 80 and 88 lb kettlebell at a bodyweight of 175 lbs, farmer walk more than his own bodyweight in each hand, deadlift more than 2 x bodyweight and can run fast as hell coupled with mental toughness.

The ability to climb rope, rip through 450 and 600 lb tire flips, drag, push and pull sleds at high intensity…. this is where it counts. The mind and body must dig deep to stay strong and remain explosive.

It reminds me of the old training footage Dr. Ken was using to train Football players, although not pretty and the form was quite wild, these guys were prepared for WAR on the field, you could see it….

Click here to view the embedded video.

I have had many big benchers walk through these doors who couldn’t make it through The Underground warm up… Football is a sport of battle. The ability to bench heavy isn’t what counts, it’s ALL about the performance on the field.

Having strong and explosive horizontal pushing power is critical in Football but we achieve this through movements aside from the bench press.

- med ball throws

- neutral grip push ups on rings / dumbbells with added weight (chains or vests)

The list goes on and on. The bottom line is we wanna help athletes and tactical men / ladies be prepared for battle in the physical AND mental sense.

The bench press doesn’t matter too much…..

What are your thoughts? Drop a comment and let us know.

Mission: Agile, Mobile & Hostile

Peace

–Z–

Recommended Resources

The Underground Strength System – The Inside Look at How The Underground Strength Movement Began, Evolved & Helped Athletes Dominate

Underground Inner Circle 30 Day Trial Plus 7 FREE Gifts

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Click here to view the embedded video.

The more I utilize dumbbells & bodyweight for my workouts as well as for teaching others how to use dumbbells & bodyweight exercises the more I realize dumbbells & bodyweight training get NO respect. If you’re looking to develop full body strength using dumbbells and a few bodyweight exercises, check these out…..

I’ve seen people who can throw around a heavy Kettlebell, a heavy barbell, etc but when it comes to a heavy dumbbell…. they’ve got NO control. The dumbbell pushes them around. They can’t distinguish kettlebell technique vs. dumbbell technique…..

Remember, when YOU train, YOU are in charge. Period. End of story.

If the training tool you’re using pushes you around, you need to do the following:

- Reduce your reps, stray FAR away from muscular fatigue.

- Treat Strength as a Skill. Pavel & Dan John encourage this HERE

- Lighten the weight, drop your ego, focus on technique.

Above, Bent Press with 200 lb Dumbbell

If you’re focused on bodyweight training and you’re not progressing or your body sways all over the place during squats, push ups, pull ups…. then do the same as you would with free weights. Treat bodyweight strength as a skill, STOP using bodyweight exercises for a finisher, a circuit, fat loss, etc. Treat your bodyweight training as a strength skill, as many guys do when locked behind bars, HERE.

These 3 exercises using one dumbbell and your bodyweight are a must:

1) 1 Arm Dumbbell Snatch

2) 1 Arm Dumbbell Clean & Press

3) Various Bodyweight Pulling Movements (Pull Ups, Rows, Rope Climbs)

If I was forced to add to the list in a minimalist fashion I’d tell you to work the following exercises:

- push up variations, handstand push ups & various hand walking skills

- jump training (box jumps, hurdle jumps, jumping rope)

- Sprints: preferably on hills or sand, but any flat surfaces work fine just warm up properly

- Leg Raise Variations for abs

Basic and effective.

If you’re always using a barbell or kettlebell for your quick lifts, grab a dumbbell and work the snatch and clean and press.

If you kip during pull ups and sway or use momentum during bodyweight exercises, slow it down and use strict techniques as outlined HERE.

Now, time to train. Less reading, MORE training.

Questions or comments, drop em’ below & I’ll answer.

–Z–

Recommended Resources from This Blog Post:

The Man of Steel Challenge Training Course

Convict Conditioning – Bodyweight Only Strength & Muscle Building

Easy Strength with Dan John & Pavel

Jason Ferruggia’s Minimalist Workouts

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As a Strength Coach you MUST have a commitment to your students / athletes. Your commitment to helping others succeed will lead to your commitment to seeking greater knowledge. You will always want to better yourself. Bettering yourself leads to bettering others. 

Your commitment to your students will help you rise above when you’re feeling tired, having a bad day, your girlfriend or boyfriend dumped you, etc. That’s what commitment is – putting someone else at a priority level that trumps all else.

If you’re tired, no one should know. Problems with a loved one? Oh well, hide it, swallow it, be strong & solve it. It’s not anyone’s problem but your own. It’s time to GIVE to your students…. give em’ ALL you got… then give some more.

By the way, have you ever heard of a “quality problem”? They are problems disguised as gifts, they make you a better person, stronger, more character and more appreciative of what you have or don’t have. You see them as problems, a smarter, stronger person sees them as challenges. Challenges are presented to us to test our character, ultimately making us a better person.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I recently spoke to a group of CrossFit Coaches and I told them that on a scale of 1 – 10, you gotta be a 20. Sometimes, you just gotta get crazy. That’s OK. Normal doesn’t cut it, your passion should be exploding out of you.

Of course, in order to have passion you MUST walk the talk and Live The Code. Do you LIVE what you tell your students to do or are you ALL talk?

Check out training footage from some of the Best Underground Strength Coaches I know…. they LIVE the code, you can hear the passion in their voice and see the passion through their training.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Be passionate and bring some intensity to what you do. Did you FEEL the passion & intensity from the above video?

I sure as heck did. I don’t have to ask them what they do, they PROVE it and I can feel it thousands of miles away.

Intensity will push you through the tough times when most people quit. Commitment is on your shoulders. In the end, it is up to you to walk the talk and live the code.

Thoughts? Please drop a comment below & share this post with your friends and colleagues.

Peace

–Z–

PS: If you’re a Strength Coach, take a minute and sign up for The Underground Biz Journal. You’ll get business and critical mindset strategies to help you grow and evolve into a better, more successful coach.

PPS: This business and mindset product is a must have for Strength Coaches. Check This Out (Click HERE).

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