3 Things to Lift & Learn….. STRONG Forever
After training for 21 + years, there is one thing about me that will simply NEVER die.
I’m ALL about the iron.
It doesn’t matter what shape or size the weights are, I don’t discriminate, I just love to lift. I get better with age, and the reason being is because I ALWAYS Lift and I ALWAYS Learn.
Here’s a few lessons that have stuck with me for a loooong time, you’ll see who influenced me and who I learned them from as well. More to come in Part II.
1) Deep Squats: Ya gotta respect the photo above, DEEP squatting. Reminds me of when I was training for bodybuilding at age 19. I used to squat super close but didn’t go down all the way. I was at Diamond Gym and a trainer there named Tony called me out. He made me widen up my stance as shown in the photo above and wouldn’t let me go heavier than 135 until I sank down, ass to the grass.
He told me this is how power lifters and olympic lifters train, allowing them to pack on thick, dense muscle to their quads, hams and glutes. He was right.
2) Lift Heavy in the 1 – 5 Rep Range: We hear so much confusion about how to pack on muscle and gets strong it gets confusing. Granted, there are MANY ways to get stronger, bigger, faster, leaner and meaner….
At Joe DeFranco’s house, we were going through his book shelf and looking at the training books and old DVDs he had. Joe had been heavily influenced from some old VHS tapes that his Dad, George, bought for him. They were olympic lifting tapes, with the lifters being extremely strong and powerful, doing lots of sets in the 1 – 3 rep range.
3) Heal Your Body: It’s actually not as hard to become stronger and bigger as it is to heal yourself when injured. Injuries affect you mentally AND physically. Jonny Hinds has influenced me BIG time in learning Eischens Yoga to heal injuries. When you compete as an athlete, lift heavy or perform explosive movements you are bound to get injured someday, some how. We’ve been using Eischens Yoga to heal our wrestlers and football players as well as myself. Check it out HERE.
Below, you’ll see a quick warm up, some heavy Kettlebell Snatches. Part II to come soon.
This is minimalist training at it’s best. I attack 2 heavy lifts in a workout and anything after that is icing on the cake. Weekends get short, hard runs to keep the cardio going as well as quick bursts of calisthenics.
Check the videos….
Thanks to the power of video editing the top of my lifts got cut off, check the 88lb snatches below. Time to get 10 reps, 5 reps ain’t gonna cut it. 5 reps = average.
Part II coming soon.
Question for You: How have you changed your workouts lately and what is the latest thing you’ve learned with regards to lifting.
Drop a comment below, looking forward!
Peace!
–Z–
Recommended Resources:
Underground Inner Circle 30 Day Trial
Underground Strength Coach Cert – Last Chance for 2010!
Share and Enjoy
Related posts:
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on Sep 28th, 2010. Comment. 
Comments on 3 Things to Lift & Learn….. STRONG Forever
zach I could watch this stuff all day. actually i do watch this stuff all day…I need to get a real job.
anyway, I’ve changed my workouts lately by adding lots of sledge hammer work and getting away from pure powerlifting to add more conditioning to my program. I check the underground routinely to get more ideas.
kill it bro
[Reply]
Zach,
Great stuff as always.
I think a very important point you made in the video is always keep learning. That is so important. I been lifting around 39-40 years now(about to be 54 get’s a little harder to remember every year).
The first video DEEP Squats you talk real man strength that’s it right there. I learned from a guy many years ago squat deep or don’t bother.
And lately I have been doing more bodyweight stuff to go with the weights and bells. Gives my workouts a whole new feel.
Strength and Honor Joe (Just watched Gladiator the other night)
[Reply]
Z, I havent seen your gym from this angle before… its almost a ghetto as mine! haha!
Big change in my training is the addition of LONG distance running (oh shit! did Elliott Hulse just say dat?)
Yea, I’ve decided to go on 3 mile runs a few times a week and it has really helped my focus and concentration with other training sessions and even when working on biz stuff…. its like meditation.
Everyone talks shit about how long distance running is bad (including me)… but take anyone who has been lifting for a long time and put their ass on the street to run a few miles and some SERIOUS physiological shifts are going to take place.
See ya in a few days!
[Reply]
Dude, those snatches were beast
[Reply]
As always great stuff Z… meaning and purpose. Elliot, I have to tell you, If I were you (and I’ve been there- running distance, including 6 marathons) I would turn those 3 miles of distance running into a 3 mile “rabbit run”… basically, do it on the clock… sprint for 30 seconds, then walk for 30 seconds and do it for the whole 3 miles… eventually decrease the walking time. Even better… do it in the woods on the trails. Just like chasing a rabbit. Talk about physiological changes. Over time the distance running, or I’ll just call it jogging… will take it’s toll even if you feel good now. Just a thought.
[Reply]
I’ve learned over the past 15 years that everything has it’s place. Just like Elliot said he has found a place for distance running in his workouts. Science would say it’s counter productive for a strongman to run distance. I guess I’ve learned that science can only go so far, the MAN has to pick up the slack at some point and make some non-scientific decisions to get better. I’ve also become better at filtering out junk in programs that cause clutter. Simplicity and efficiency can go a lot farther in training than complexity.
[Reply]
Z,
With football taking up a lot of my time I’ve been hitting a lot of body weight stuff. I’ve come up with a circuit that I hit in my garage of the following: Sand Bag Rows – 15, Push Up’s – 20, KB Swings – 20, Sand Bag Zercher Sqauts – 15, Split Squat Jumps – 10 each, KB Curl and Press – descending reps from 10. I bang out as many sets as I can with a short break in between. I just started this so I’ll keep you updated on my progress with it. It’s definitely different from my usual and kicking my ass big time.
[Reply]
I really appreciate the note about healing. You gotta take care of your body otherwise it won’t take care of you! Stretch! Stretch! Stretch!
[Reply]
Just switched over to an all bodyweight exercise routine.
Standard pushups, situps, chinups, bw squats. A lot of volume
using the 100 pushup, 100 situp, 200 squat, 50 pull up template. Also getting back to conditioning with KB swings,Turkish Get Ups and Prowler sled pushes up inclined driveway that is about 55 yards long.
Spent the entire summer using barbell exercises: squats, bench, deadlift, press. Started to hit the wall and recovery was getting slow,just feel like I needed a break from the heavy iron. Learning to listen to the body even more at this old age.
Zach, good stuff as always!
[Reply]
Zach,
I follow Jon Hinds MBG workout of the day. What is your view on his style of training, which doesn’t really have heavy barbell lifts. Would you say throw some in if you wanted to, just to add that kind of strength? I love his workouts, but I feel like throwing in some bench pressing, squats, deadlifts, and military presses might be a good idea. Do you have any recommendations?
[Reply]
Zach,
Your videos ALWAYS get me pumped. I train at home and at the local track with minimal equipment available, so am always looking for new ideas. Keep it up! You are a driving force!
[Reply]
Nice KB lifting Zach. Keep up the good work!
[Reply]
! lift (Bench, High-bar Squat, Power Clean & Press, or Deads)
20 minutes
Singles, doubles and triples for the allotted time.
Great way to get stronger and pack a ton of volume into a short amount of time.
I have gained 10 pounds in a few months doing this kind of thing.
Throw in an accessory lift in at the end if you want and you’ve got yourself a program that covers a ton of bases.
It’s kind of a spin on EDT.
I love it and will continue to use it!
[Reply]
1 lift*
[Reply]
Hey big ZEE, well I’m on your 12 month beast program and loving it!
I’m also learning from other coaches as much as I can before it’s time to get to anabolic zzzzz… :p
I learned about better preparing your CNS for the upcoming work from a certain doctor
also even tho I learned that it’s better to start of with the pure strength exercise (3-5) for me it’s even better if I do a power exercise BEFORE the pure strength exercise, like box jumps before heavy squats.
It really prepares your cns AND your joints too. The power movement of jumping alerts your cns + the landing actually makes your joints stronger cos of the mild stretch you put on the joints as you land.
Then I do these 3 short stages before the first 3 sets of a strength exercise to tell my muscles “ok this is what we’re doing right here so brain, eyes on the prize”
I’m sure this all helped increase my squat by 22lb in freakin’ 3 weeks AND double the reps, so…me happy
[Reply]
more of the meathead cribs! a few of those books i saw on joe’s shelf are on my amazon list right now!! it’s also good to see that you both recommend the e-myth so much. it definitely helped me a lot.
[Reply]
Matt, I love what Jonny does w/MBG, for sure, if you see a workout that allows for room to begin with a powerlift then go for it
Jon is strong as hell, but, I am prob like you bro, I need a heavy barbell to throw around every here and again.
Definitely go for it, it’s a great blend of strength, power, conditioning and muscle building!
[Reply]