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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Underground Strength Nation – This was shared Monday to my e mail subscribers via This Blog. Please subscribe at the top right to get these powerful e mail updates, here’s a quick look:

It’s Monday…. the beginning of a new week to get things done, make epic sh*t happen and take your overall life to a new level.

There’s a BIG question asked my way often:

“How do you get so much energy and get so much done all the time?”

I’m asked if I drink tons of coffee, others ask if it’s “really you?”

Yep, this is me.

I approach life and lifting with passion and commitment. I see NO other way.

When it’s tough, I don’t back down. Neither should you.

When I am outnumbered and negativity is flying my way, people try to hold me back or even stop me, I remind myself of Spartans…. Navy SEALs…. Special Forces Soldiers…. ALL of whom are always outnumbered yet they NEVER back down, refuse to quit and refuse to allow anyone or anything stop them, slow them down or dare stand in their way.

As you can see, this has to do with attitude, ALL of which YOU control.

If life is NOT the way you want it to go, then you need to LEARN, as I did, exactly how to make things happen in YOUR favor.

Warriors are always learning, evolving and bettering themselves. Are you living your life as a Warrior?

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Warriors that will be speaking at The Underground Strength Conference will make this a life changing event.

At such a cheap price (on sale NOW) you can’t afford to miss this.

The speakers are all close friends of mine, ALL of whom I also learn from, trust and operate on an ethical basis first and foremost. No BS, NO liars, cheats or people who don’t #LiveTheCode

What types of speakers will be present? From the best Strength Coaches in the world to a former Navy SEAL to people who have overcome obstacle after obstacle….

Take a few minutes, get rid of distractions, read the entire web site, and begin changing your life, your success, your ability to
overcome…. NOW.

Click HERE for Details on The Underground Strength Conference

Stronger Than Yesterday.

Have an awesome day!

–Z–

PS: This conference is NOT just for Strength Coaches…. you’ll see the gist of the entire conference is all about overcoming obstacles and succeeding at all you do.

This is about LIFE…. Living it to the fullest, following your passion, kicking ass & taking names. Period. End of story!

I see NO other way to live.

This is an event not to be missed.

Details HERE. Check It Out Before The Discounted Rate Ends.

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I’ll be cleaning out my office BIG time these next few weeks as I move into a new office and get rid of courses / books that I have read and need to be passed on. Sitting on shelves does nothing so it’s time to pass them on.

Check this E Bay Listing HERE with the video describing everything below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Good Luck!

Peace!

–Z–

PS: Details for The 2012 Underground Strength Conference is HERE. Sign ups are coming fast and price increases soon. Details are 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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I’ve got a question for you…..

Click here to view the embedded video.

Please drop a comment with your answer. Looking forward to hearing who and what inspires the men and ladies of Underground Strength Nation!

Peace

–Z–

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