I’ve always encouraged athletes to cross train with various training methods and through the use of various sports, even on a recreational level.

I encourage my Football players to wrestle and vice versa. I encourage BOTH wrestlers and Football players to train in Judo, run trails, practice Gymnastics and more. We need MORE athleticism NOT less.

Look at what Martin Rooney says with regards to athletes utilizing ‘Training for Warriors’ even if they are not combat athletes.

Comments or questions on Cross Training?

Drop a comment below!

Lead from the FRONT!

–Z–

PS: June USC Cert is Open, and, price will be going UP after June. If you’re on the fence, time to make the jump!

PPS: Check out my Underground Biz Journal for Strength Coaches HERE.

Reccommended Resources:

June Underground Strength Coach Certification

Training for Warriors – The Books!

Hey Bruddahs and Ladies… Thanks for stopping by again, I LOVE it when you visit

Below is a workout I cranked with “General Chow”, a D1 collegiate wrestler.

The pace was not as furious as normal, and, please forgive my new movie making skills as I JUST STARTED working the Hollywood skills on my MAC

Check the Video and then read on….

In a nut shell, here is the run down of our combat conditioning workout:

1) Bench Press – worked up to 2 heavy sets

** Followed the Bench Press with 3 sets of Close Grip Benching x Max Reps

2) Rope Climbing – 5 sets performed in “I Go – You Go” Fashion. Held the L Seat position to strengthen the core and hips… wait, your hips are your core!!!

3) Grappler Pressing – Performed in see saw and push press style for 3 hard sets in the 10-15 rep range.

4) Superset for 2 rounds, NON Stop: Chins & Dips x Max Reps

At the end of the night I finished with grip and ab work.

General Chow used to read my training newsletters back when he was a high school freshman, stealing cinder blocks and cement bags to train as a high school wrestler in the good ol’ Dirty Jerzee.

He would also have his younger bro hop on his back and sprint hills with his “Human Weighted Back Pack”.

In September of his Senior Year, General Chow began training at The Underground Garage, and that year he only had 2 losses and placed 7th in the NJ State Wrestling Championships. Those 2 losses came in the state tournament.

Pretty damn good

Now, I fear General Chow, so I wouldn’t mess with him, and, this is my goal for all my athletes and for you:

I want YOU to become a Bad Ass and put fear into me and anyone who gets in your way.

Got a comment on the Video or General Chow’s story? Drop it below

Peace!

–Z–

PS: Do you want to be feared? Do you want to be a Bad MoFo? Click HERE and begin your Journey.

PPS: Wanna do what you love? Wanna open your own hardcore gym? Wanna say “F**K it!!” and stop training those boring clients?

Now is your chance by learning the secrets at The Underground Strength Coach Certification and Mentorship.

Check it below…

Nov. 14th in NJ ==> http://zacheven-esh.com/1DayCert.php

Dec 5th in Florida with Elliott Hulse ==> http://zacheven-esh.com/Elliott.php

Every now and again I crank a rant. Sometimes ya gotta just say it like it is.

My friend, Johnny Drama is also fired the fuck up! See what he has to say, how pissed off he is, and then see what I have to say below…..

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve received too many e mails from people wondering why they can’t pack on the muscle or get stronger. They have a million excuses as to why this or that doesn’t work for them.

Too many people asking for everything to be handed to them on a silver platter.

Too many shit talkers.

One dude e mailed me stating he cancelled his membership to http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com and then followed that up with 5 BIG questions. Is that rude, stupid or BOTH?

In business, I receive countless rude e mails telling me they are going to stop by my gym and see how I do things. Thanks for inviting yourself I never spent a dime on my business education and since I don’t know you and you’re so polite, feel free to stop by.

If some people were a bit nicer and had better manners things would have been different.

The first time I e mailed Joe DeFranco asking to stop by and do a Q & A with him I said this, “I know you’re extremely busy and I value your time. I’d be willing to pay you whatever the investment is for an hour of your time, or whatever time you have available.”

I payed him less than 2 weeks away from my wedding which was a time when I was in serious financial troubles but I KNEW that I needed a mentor and I KNEW that the investment would return 10 fold. It has returned infinitely.

I guess 5 years later everything is supposed to be free and easy. Does anybody realize that success requires work?

Feel free to shout out your own rants in the comments section. Some people really shock me with their rudeness, laziness, jealousy, trash talking, and sense of entitlement.

On with the show…

Top 10 Reasons Why You Train Like a Panzy….

1. You can’t get stronger. Fucking add weight to the bar and crank the tunes. Stop being scared of the weights.

2. You can’t gain muscle. You’re not training hard enough, period. You train like a pussy and eat like a bird, enough said.

3. You think dumbbells can’t do the job. I have a 150 lb dumbbell in my gym. If you can snatch it, clean & press it, floor press it, row it, carry it and swing it, you ARE a strong MoFo! Dumbbells work, and if they don’t work, it means you ain’t workin’ hard enough.

4. You keep looking for the “Secret Sauce”. Stop looking for the secret supplement. You won’t find results in a bottle or a jar. Earn it, SON!

5. You have NO passion for strength and muscle. If you don’t love the iron you will NEVER gain strength and muscle as fast as the next guy who loves wrapping his hands around a heavy barbell or dumbbell.

6. You’re a Fucking Quitter. Push yourself to the limit. Train hard. Stop popping zits in the mirror and checking your hair. The set ends when you have pushed past your limits.

7. You use a cell phone while training. Do you check text messages or take phone calls when training? You SUCK!

8. You don’t Deadlift. This exercise ain’t pretty. Squat down, grip it and rip it. And NO, the leg press is not a substitute!

9. You don’t Squat. Putting BIG weights on your back is no joke. Squatting heavy AND for high reps will shock your body into new growth.

10.  Your stomach always hurts. If you eat like shit your stomach will always bother you. Stop eating like shit and do what needs to be done to improver your fitness. If not, you will always be nauseous. Get in shape and commit to yourself. And guess what, sometimes you just might throw up. Oh well.

That’s my rant.

I’m tired of the half assers and tired of the free loaders.

I’m tired of the quitters, the whiners and complainers.

Tired of the jealous assholes who feel entitled to everything.

It’s called WORK.

Step up, train hard, work hard and get your hands dirty.

Till the next time…

–Z–

PS: Add your rant in the comments section. I can’t wait to read your thoughts!

Onward and upward we go bruddahs….

The next part of the workout was a couplet or superset:

1 arm dumbbell push press for 3 -5 reps per set

scare crow – face pull combo using rings or blast straps (these can even be done with the climbing ropes I have hanging in the gym)

Check out the previous videos to see how the workout started and progresses.

Heavy overhead work was actually a mainstay in the programs of bodybuilders and lifters alike from the 1960′s and prior. The bench press gained popularity once the golden era of bodybuilding came into life during the 1970′s.

Our overhead work usually is in the lower rep range of 1 – 5 reps, most often 3 – 5 reps.

Check out the beasts, many of them worked up to 85 lb dumbbells and heavier.

Scarey Matt Wichlinski rocked the 150 and 130! That’s SERIOUS STRENGTH!

I’ll be connecting with Matt to do an audio interview for http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com – stay tuned!

These guys went through some serious program design strategies and methods.

It doesn’t matter so much what you do, as many of us do certain movements, but it’s HOW you put it all together!

Kill it!

–Z–

PS: This is a special AND rare offer. It’s a 30 day trial membership to The Underground for only $1. I’m hooking you up, but, do NOT take this offer if you’re not serious about strength. This is a special site devoted to being strong as hell, click HERE if you want some.

PPS: If you have a passion for training and want to skip all the mistakes and avoid wasting your hard earned time & money then the Underground Strength Coach Certification is for you. Click HERE to register for the April 25 – 26 USC Cert. They ALL sell out, don’t procrastinate!

OK, it’s on now baby, you wanna move quickly on this…..

The due date is Saturday, September 13th…

More info can be found here:

==>  http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com/contest.html

Kill it!

–Coach Z– 

One of our Underground Strength Coaches, Nelson “Necho” Puentes just returned from the NAGA grappling tournament last weekend and took 1st in white belt Gi and No Gi. His next battle will be the Pan Ams this Fall as a Blue Belt in BJJ.

Necho has been known for his brutal workouts, he scares our clients with them, but, Curls, another one of our Underground Strength Coaches, loves these brutal tests of physical and mental will power.

Test drive the following “Nightmare with Necho” workout and post comments here on your results

10 Minutes of max rounds of:

1A) sandbag power clean x 5

1B) handstand push ups x 5

1C) pull ups x 5

10 minutes max rounds of….

2A) 2 hand Kettlebell swings x 10

2B) ring push ups x 10

2C) recline rows on ropes or rings x 10

3) Finish with battling ropes hybrid: 6 exercises in a row for 15 seconds per exercise

Enjoy your “nightmare with Necho”

In Strength,

–Z–

P.S. – Get your Russian Kettlebells HERE. The workouts you can perform with kettlebells are endless. Today, I was throwing and tossing my Kettlebells on a grass field! The workout was intense but man was it awesome using all power to throw those bells around!

Here’s a sample of what some of our athletes did yesterday. Give it a go and let me know how you do:

After a warm up (our warm up is listed at http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com)

The Underground Strength Workout:

1A) Sandbag shouldering 4 x 6 (3 each shoulder)

1B) 1 arm Kettlebell push press 4 x 6

2) 100 reps of mixed grip pulling and mixed pushing bodyweight drills

These drills consisted of:

- mixed grip pull ups

- recline rows with thick ropes

- dips

- ring push ups

- weighted pull ups

- clapping push ups

- feet elevated push ups

- close grip push ups

- medicine ball push ups

The athletes were allowed to break down the reps any way they wanted, continuing until pushing and pulling each had 100 reps.

The end of the workout was 4 sets of sled and prowler work for 150′ per trip.

After that recovery was utilized as a cool down.

It was a rough one to say the least.

The warm up we use will be placed on video at The Underground, you don’t wanna miss this one!

Go get em’ and I’m looking forward to your comments!

In Strength,

–Z–

My gym, The Underground Strength Gymnasium, is connected to an auto garage. On the side of that garage, the owner throws old tires away. Some with the wheel still intact, others just the tire. I snagged a few and helped guys make these tires into sleds. They were happy

Can you build muscle and build strength through the use of things you might find in a junk yard?

You better believe it.

 Check out the video below and fast forward to the 1 minute mark. I am not too fond of the partial reps and pump training this fighter does, although he can kick my ass

Many athletes are successful in spite of their training methods because of their high skill levels.

There are many incomplete and / or incorrect training programs, and for any athlete, the partial reps and light pump training is what I wouldn’t want to see, unless it was a deload session.

The explosive work with the tire in this video is some really good stuff.

You can do this with a light kettlebell as well.

Check out the video and pay attention to how you can get in some tire training or any other form of Underground Strength Training to deliver ass kickin’ results.

In Strength,

–Zach–

P.S. – When my athletes stopped following the traditional workouts most people use in gyms today, their results exploded. I want you to learn these methods, either through the up and coming Gladiator Seminar, or through Underground Strength Coach.

Sometimes, I feel we train too often, too much. I am going for the minimum necessities that give me the maximum bang for my buck. And today, was one of those days!

Here’s my workout which lasted barely 20 minutes…..

1A) Deadlift x 3 reps, except 475 lbs x 2 reps and 525 x 1 rep

1B) handstand push ups x 3 each set

1C) power wheel roll outs x 5 each set

Short, basic and an awesome workout.

Stay tuned for more, as I have a special audio gift, FREE for you, coming soon.

In Strength,

Coach Z

PS – On June 24th, stay tuned for the launch of some hardcore, serious, heavy duty training for the time crunched man. You’re gonna love it!

PPS - I have mentioned the awesome, mighty, Power Wheel several times. I freakin’ love this bad boy! Hand walking, abdominal training and countless exercise variations makes this little tool one of my favorites. It is the ultimate for training your core. Get your power wheel HERE.