Shit!
In a few short weeks I’ll be 36.
Time goes fast. TOO Fast. Here’s some stories and lessons I’ve learned along the way & hopefully you’re not too cool to learn from some of these.
Anyway, for no reason whatsoever I thought it would be legit to have a pic of Dr. Ken training with an empty bomb to remind you to push the limits 
1) I remember when I was 7 years old and racing big wheels with my friends down the hill and smashing into garbage cans. That was FUN. As we get older in age and acquire more responsibilities we forget to have FUN. Like I said time goes fast and sometimes I forget this also. Be smarter than me and DON’T forget.
2) I remember arm wrestling all the kids in the neighborhood one night in 6th grade. Everyone beat me. It sucked. It was summer vacation. I went home that night and started doing push ups. I think I did 3 or 4 push ups. The next day I did 5, then 6, 7 and up to 20 something reps. I started doing GTG (Grease the Groove) ala Pavel without knowing it. Do your push ups, kids.
3) When I was in elementary school and my older bro was in middle school he started getting into working out. There was a sporting good’s store in the mall near our home called “Herman’s”. My bro made me go to the mall with him on our bikes, with empty backpacks. He bought 40 lbs, all in 10 lb plates. We each had 20 lbs in our backpack and the ride home had a steady incline. I wanted to quit but he yelled at me and made me push through the hill.
When we got home and I took off my back pack I remember feeling light as a feather walking up our stairs.
4) When I was in 2nd grade our Doberman had puppies, born in our home. My old brother woke me up at 3 or 4 AM when they were born and I couldn’t wake up. I woke up that morning to see 8 puppies. One puppy didn’t make it and we kept one and my Dad sold the others.
The one we kept grew up with me from age 7 till I was 21. When he died I was depressed for 4 days and experienced my first lesson in losing my best friend.
5) I used to play Soccer. My Dad being of Romanian descent didn’t know much about American sports like Football & Baseball. I remember standing in the field and not paying attention until a ball went flying at full speed and nailed me in the gut, knocking the wind out of me.
I was about to fall to the ground in pain and my Coach shouted out to me, “Good block, Zach!”. He totally knew I just got my ass kicked by a flying soccer ball.
6) In 4th grade my BMX bike was stolen by 2 kids. They were big, bad teenagers and my friends and I were playing Football. The apartment complex was known for getting bikes stolen, and these kids stoke my bike in broad day light, in front of all of us. We ALL just froze, it was a surreal experience and time seemed to freeze while the only thing I saw a kid racing away on a bike I saved all my paper route money for and dumped every penny of my allowance into.
To this day I still remember that feeling of seeing my bike ride off to Perth Amboy, NJ.
I would gladly like to meet both of those kids today and would have NO problems spending a little jail time to let them know that I’m not 9 years old anymore and stealing bikes isn’t nice.
To this day, my bikes hold special meanings to me and I’m always waiting for someone to think they can ride away with my bike. It wouldn’t be pretty, that’s for sure.
7) My older bro bought one of those crushers you’ve seen in Pumping Iron. I tried to crush it and I was so weak it slipped out of my hands and nailed me in the chin, damn near knocked me out and I think I cried. I probably did cry. I was a BIG pussy back in the day! ha ha
My older bro bought the soloflex the fall of my freshman year in high school, I was still 13 years old. I think he saved his money as a bus boy to pay for most of it. I thought if I used it I too would look like Mr. Soloflex. I’m still wondering what happened?
9) The first time I ever cut school was freshman year in high school so I could tape American Muscle Magazine. The show would always air at strange times like 3 AM on a weeknight or 12 noon on a weekday. I fell in love with bodybuilding and decided I would use my “sick days” strategically, once a month, to record the monthly American Muscle show. I would then ride my bike to The Metuchen YMCA so I could get in a double workout that day. I was always scared they would call the cops and ask me why I wasn’t in school.
10) The first hardcore gym I ever trained at was called Dynamic Fitness. The owner welded ALL the equipment himself, all the plates were wide flange Ivanko plates. Squat racks lined the wall along with plenty of benches and dumbbells up to 180. It was common place to see bodybuilders benching 315 and squatting over 405. The place was a 7,000 sq ft warehouse and no air conditioning. There were large industrial fans everywhere and I LOVED it.
There was ALWAYS someone bigger and stronger than you in that gym. It was heaven while it lasted.
11) While in middle school and in Israel, my older bro and I went to the local book store and I found Arnold’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. I sat on the floor and couldn’t stop reading the book till I was kicked out at 1 PM when ALL the stores shut down for mid day naps.
The book was twice as expensive in Israel compared to the states. My Grandfather bought it for us anyway. He never said “No” to us.
I STILL have that book today, in my office.
12) I rented the movie Pumping Iron while in high school and watched it over and over ALL day on that first day. It blew me away and all I could think about was bodybuilding and living in California. I was connected to the Golden Era bodybuilders 100 x more than what I saw happening in the 90s.
I began reading books from Arnold and Mike Mentzer. I preferred the black and white pics over the color pics. I preferred the REAL pics of the guys lifting heavy compared to the fake images in the magazines.
13) When I trained at The Metuchen YMCA the membership was $5 a month! They had a York Isometric rack, York Dumbbells, plates and all York gym equipment.
Mid way through high school they got rid of all their York equipment and the dingy basement gym and brought in all fancy nautilus & bodymasters equipment, put it upstairs and added carpeting. I NEVER trained there again. The day that old school gym was removed broke my heart.
14) I remember trying to ride my bike home from the YMCA after a leg workout. I could barely pedal my bike so I started walking it, leaning on it, trying to push it. My legs were cramping up BIG time after following a leg workout from Arnold’s Encyclopedia at the young age of 13.
I was hurting and saw a landscaper along the way watering a garden. I asked him if I could drink water from the hose and I think he saw the desperate look in my eyes and let me drink. I began to cherish the feeling of soreness and the inability to walk after a leg workout was THE main factor that determined if my leg workout was intense enough or not.
15) The first time someone coached me to deadlift was at Apollon Gym. His name was Herman and he still trains there today and I always remember that day. I was deadlifting with 115 lbs.
16) The first year I began wrestling was freshman year. The team was packed and I had to wrestle off for the freshman spot. I got pinned EVERY wrestle off and it fueled my fire to train harder than everyone else. Those consecutive losses also proved to be a burden on my mind and I was never able to recover from so many losses. No matter how hard I trained my mind held me back.
Those depressing times taught me largely how I need to think to become a champion in everything I do. My pain in wrestling and a select few other areas in my life have fueled my first to do what I do today, to help others avoid my painful past.
Wrestling taught me to become immune to physical pain and discomfort.
Wrestling taught me the pain of losing.
Wrestling taught me the power of the mind.
Wrestling taught me emotional pain and it is the ONE thing I never want to face again.
I’ll crank a part 2 soon enough.
Any thoughts, questions or comments feel free to drop em’ below. If you enjoyed this blog, please share with friends via facebook and twitter
BIG thanks,
Peace
–Z–
Filed under Articles, Kick Ass Business, Kick Ass Life, Q & A, Success, Videos, Zach's Workouts, old school strength by on Nov 9th, 2011. 20 Comments. 
Above, playing with some unique Deadlifts & Heavy Dips from Blunt Force Trauma
Many say that deadlifts will wreck your back…. True, if you do them wrong.
Many say dips will wreck your shoulders…. True, if you do them wrong.
I find that Deads work best for me when I rarely if ever max out, instead, performing sets of 2 – 5 reps per set so it forces me to keep a lighter weight.
I also use what’s called “submax” effort, in essence, I do NOT KILL myself on the deadlift, I leave 1 or 2 or even 3 reps in the tank. I still remember, from age 13, sitting on the floor of a book store in Israel reading Arnold’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.
I sat on the floor ALL morning, reading every page, inspired by every black & white photo, until it was “siesta” time and the book store closed. What do I REALLY remember from that very day, 22 years ago? Arnold spoke about deadlifts and he never said do 5 x 5, or 8 x 3 or 10 x1…..
Nope. He said “Do a couple sets of a couple reps with heavy weight”…. That about sums up how I treat the deadlift, regardless of whether or not I use the barbell, trap bar or every now and again some crazy variation as show in this video to shock my body from unique angles.
What about Dips? Do they REALLY wreck your shoulders? Yes, they will wreck your shoulders, if you….
- Perform them too often
- Bounce in the bottom position
- Do not tuck your elbows and constantly allow them to flare out (you want to try and make your thumbs externally rotate, forcing the pit of your elbows / biceps to face forward)
- Your mechanics might suck
NO, they won’t wreck your shoulders when performed properly and in moderation….
Then again, about that moderation thing….
Some athletes can get away with doing TONS of dips, almost daily with NO adverse effects. It will depend on the individual, as some have poor mechanics or LOTS of natural internal rotation of the shoulders which starts to wreak havoc on the pec, shoulders and upper back.
Ironically, the bodybuilders from the 70′s (aka The Golden Era) and prior did TONS of dips and never were they looking for shoulder rehab / prehab techniques. Could it be our era, of always sitting on our asses, in front of computers? Hmmmmm…….
Deadlifts and dips, two of the most effective movements I have ever used since the age of 13, back some 22 years ago. But, when overused and abused, they quickly can become your enemy. Learn to use these two exercises optimally and effectively, not always maximally.
Use various bars for your dips as well as rings. For the deadlift, use the straight bar AND the trap bar, test drive pulling from different positions such as from a deficit, with chains, bands and from the rack or blocks. Find what works for you, as not everything works the same for everyone.
Question for You: What are your experiences with dips and deadlifts? Drop a comment or question below, looking forward to learning and helping.
Peace
–Z–
PS: One of the most powerful training programs I have ever used came from a 300 lb barbell, a few dumbells, chins and dips. Check it out HERE, it’s straight up old school strength
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Jul 17th, 2011. 21 Comments.
I was finishing off my workout and wanted to finish with some bodybuilding work…. POWER-Bodybuilding, that is. HEAVY stuff that most Jersey Shore fans would be lifting light and easy, watching themselves in the mirrors and making sure the hair looks good and the sun glasses don’t fog up in between text messaging and 5 minute rest periods
For me, the transformation is ON, time to get rid of the BIG hair and attack the weights, I see no NO other way to attack.
Side raises don’t need to be performed with dumbbells only like some pretty boy bodybuilder. Instead, I used chains and the thick handled Rolling Thunder.
Heavy lifting is what you need you need to eat, lift and mix with your morning coffee. You dig?
The BEASTS of The Golden Era didn’t mess around, hard work on the basics was the gist, and they were Power-Bodybuilders, BEASTS of the gym that we simply don’t see nowadays 
For the gun show it was more chains, cheat curls with a slooooow negative and the JM press on the floor coupled with close grip pressing. BOTH are great for pumping out the GUN SHOW but also, for improving all your upper body strength lifts.
You NEED strong friggin’ arms to help your bench press, military press as well as helping your critical bodyweight movements such as dips, chins, rope climbs, handstand push ups and more.
Don’t be afraid to crank the gun show AFTER you cranked your efforts on the heavy basics.
Remember, if you wanna eat your dessert, you gotta eat your steak and potatoes FIRST…. NO excuses.
Peace!
–Z–
Recommended Resources:
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Mar 15th, 2011. 4 Comments.
I’ve been test driving all types of training methods, exercises and systems of training on myself and others ever since I was a young kid.I amassed every bodybuilding book that every book store had. Every holiday, birthday or special occasion that brought gifts my way came in the form of a bodybuilding book.
My brain had information overload and I wanted to use ALL the methods in some way, shape or form. I experimented on myself with every workout in every book. I had specialty books for arms, legs, shoulders, chest, high intensity, super high intensity, heavy duty, Arnold’s Encyclopedia, etc. – I LOVED training and didn’t discriminate against any of the methods. I was fascinated by ALL.
I remember ordering books from the back of a bodybuilding magazine when I was 12 or 13. It said money order, which at my young age, I thought meant CASH. So I put in my $5 and waited and waited until I finally called the company. I told the lady I did a “money order” and put my $5 in the envelope which was my allowance and she informed in a very nice way that this did NOT mean cash money.
Deep down she wanted to tell me I was a dumb ass and someone bought themselves lunch from Jack in the Box with my $5. Hey, back in the late 80s, $5 went a loooong way
My friends ALWAYS wanted me to train them. I was always the guy they looked to for motivation and knowledge. But, one friend in particular did NOT get bigger or stronger training with me. It bothered me BIG time.
He could NOT gain an ounce of muscle.
He was the picture perfect ectomorph and no matter how much steak, chicken, tuna, eggs and potatoes he ate NOTHING seemed to work. NOTHING. I felt horrible. He would bust his ass in the gym and the gains crept away slower than a snail.
At that time, even though I was purely bodybuilding, I was heavily influenced by the smarter approach that guys like Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates took to their training.
They hit their workouts hard and brief and got the heck out of the gym….. time to rest!
So, with nothing to lose we decided it wouldn’t hurt to experiment on a super brief program with workouts lasting no more than 20 minutes and NEVER training 2 days in a row.
After every leg day, we would take TWO rest days instead of one.
In fact I still remember showing up to the gym 20 minutes before closing and the owner said to us, “We’re closing in 20 minutes, is that enough time?”
I told him we would be done in LESS than 20 minutes.
We split his workouts up into 4 workouts and this equated to training each muscle group once every 10 days!
Here’s how the split looked:
Day 1: Shoudlers, Triceps, calves, abs
Day 2: Back, abs
Day 3: Chest, Biceps, forearms, calves
Day 4: Legs, abs
Lo and behold, he began gaining muscle and gaining weight. In less than a month he gained 10 lbs or so from what I remember. His strength soared every workout and he basically did one, hard working set of each exercise.
Here’s the bottom line:
What works for one doesn’t work for all. If you’re following someone else’s program don’t be afraid to make small tweaks if you find the program doesn’t work for you.
- You may find you need more volume for certain exercises, or less volume.
- You may find that you don’t need to train to failure on big lifts such as the squat, military press, deadlift or bench press.
- You may find that every other day training causes you to lose muscle and maybe you need a 4 day a week program.
- Some guys love dips, for others, it kills their shoulders.
- Some guys get ripped eating fruity pebbles and turkey sandwiches, others might become fat bastards from this style of eating.
I have found that I always responded best to short, brief workouts, training no more than 2 days in a row. I learned this the hard way, as when I was younger and competing in bodybuilding, my training partners took steroids and I was natural.
I went to college full time, taking 15 credits each semester and coached wrestling almost every night of the week.
My training partners had NO jobs and didn’t attend college. They slept in every morning and I was up at the butt crack of dawn.
The thing that always pulled me through was my mental toughness. BUT, no matter how mentally tough you are, it doesn’t matter. Your body responds great to the rest in between tough workouts and stressful daily activities such as work, family life, university studies, etc.
Learn from others, but learn to master and understand what YOUR body responds best to.
Question For You: What have you found to work best for you with training and nutrition? What have you found to NOT work at all for you with training and nutrition.
In Strength,
–Z–
Recommended Resources:
Underground Strength Coach Certification
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Success, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Feb 16th, 2011. 11 Comments.
It was 2003, maybe 2002, and I had drawn the line.
I was up to my ears in work as a grad student and working full time as a teacher. Not to mention, I was also coaching Wrestling and the season was not far away. My time was pressed to say the least.
It was the first time in 7 or 8 years that I was unable to make the trek to my favorite hardcore gym, Diamond Gym. I was too busy to drive 30 minutes each way, and, with the risk of hitting traffic, you never know how long the commute will take.
I started checking classified ads like a Hawk and I got lucky. A few gems were found, as a few men (lucky for me, NOT for them) had some gym equipment to sell after their gym business went under.
I snagged a 300 lb barbell from CostCo. It was a piece of crap but what the heck, it was all I needed and it was only $99, perfect for a young guy piled high in debt.
I bought a flat utility bench, a pair of 50 & 100 lb dumbbells and a gun rack so I could squat.
If I wanted to do incline dumbbell benching I placed a heavy duty tool box underneath. Worked like a charm.
I trained 2 – 3 x week, it was a blend of powerlifting and bodybuilding. I was most influenced by the stories of guys like Dave Draper, Arnold, Franco and Mike Mentzer as they trained heavy and attacked the basics.
A steady diet of benching, rowing, squatting and heavy accessory work is what worked in the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s and those guys looked better and actually WERE strong compared to the bodybuilders of today.
On the weekend I would go to a different gym as my garage had NO heat. I locked on my headphones and went to town. I was stronger than ever before and also developed a muscle thickness and maturity that I had never developed either.
Not having access to machines, cables and all the other “pump up” bull shit was GREAT.
Every day I ran 1 mile with my Dog, Arnold. It was a balls to the wall run as he would sprint and pull me until I could no longer maintain his pace and then I would get him to show mercy and walk for 15 seconds.
The hard running was great and ramped up my overall work capacity. Running short distances at aggressive speed is something I highly recommend to all of you as long as you don’t have any injuries or conditions stopping you.
Those garage days marked the beginning of an era for me, a new life actually, as I NEVER went back to a regular gym since those days. I drew a line in the sand and never looked back.
I fell in love with training without all the fancy equipment that was never necessary. I cherished having awesome music being played loud as hell and I sure as heck didn’t miss seeing guys on their cell phones right before a set of squats, or checking their hair in the mirror, or reading the paper in between sets!
Life was good as it was the first time I began to go against the grain.
The gains I made in such a short time with the minimal equipment was shocking to myself and others.
I felt like a Gladiator. I felt like I was one of the crew from The Golden Era.
Stay tuned, I’ll be giving away a copy of ‘The Gladiator Program’ and the only way to find out is to subscribe to The Underground Strength Journal.
In Strength,
–Z–
PS: Your FREE chance to get ‘The Gladiator Program’ will ONLY be announced to those who subscribe by entering your e mail in the form below or top right. Stay tuned!
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Strength Building, Success, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Nov 26th, 2010. 24 Comments.
Stopped at my parent’s pad to get some “work” done before tearing it up at The Underground Strength Gym.
This is Part I & part II of The Backyard Stone Workout, where it ALL began …. more to come. Check the vids and drop a comment with questions or thoughts.
Enjoy….
There are more vids to come from this backyard Underground workout.
Drop a comment about the last workout you cranked outside of a traditional gym, would love to hear about it and see some workouts posted in the comments section.
Looking forward to your comments.
–Z–
Recommended Resources:
Underground Inner Circle 30 Day Trial
Underground Strength Coach Certification
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Sep 2nd, 2010. 11 Comments.
After lifting for 21 years and having gone through quite the gamut of training methods, training tools, near death experiences and plenty of pain and pleasure mixed in I have learned quite a lot. I’ve learned quite a lot in regards to training AND life through these 2 decades.
1) I used to do my homework in the gym. I just wanted to be amongst the weights. If I opened one of my books in the classroom you would find FLEX magazine inside the book. I couldn’t get my mind off lifting and being in the gym.
2) I would cut school to record American Muscle Magazine on ESPN. The show would air at strange hours, catering to to the west coast bodybuilding scene. Sometimes the show aired at 3 AM so I would set my alarm in the middle of the night just to watch the show.
I would count down the days till the show and mark my calendar. The weeks I had to wait to catch the next episode seemed like years to me.
3) I used to watch The Lee Haney show on Sunday mornings at 8 AM.”Stimulate, Don’t Annihilate.” I would watch his workout tape before I trained at home when I was 13 years old! Hells Yea I bought that tape!
4) I read ‘Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder’ for 4 years straight while in high school, NEVER allowing the other kids to take the book out from the library so I kept renewing it. I feared they would learn the secrets of Arnold and catch up to me.
5) On family vacations I didn’t want to relax. I made my Dad drive around and find me a gym. They would often drop me off in the morning and pick me up SIX hours later!
6) On the way to the gym one day, at the age of 14, my brother was driving me there and I was meeting up with two of my idols, both former wrestlers from the high school team and two of the most Bad Ass Wrestlers I knew at the time. Instead of helping my brother I got out and ran down the highway to get to the gym.
7) By age 15 I KNEW I wanted to own my own gym. My Dad would drive me to ALL the gyms within a 1hr drive and I would meet with the owner and ask him questions about running a gym. My Dad always had the business mind and would ask them if they would sell the gym! haha
There was a small, hardcore gym in Perth Amboy, home of John Grimek. The owner was lazy and the place was a yellow building with a few light bulbs and tons of OLD equipment, YORK barbells, dumbbells and a crossover machine connected with rope rather than cable! I would have bought that gym but the owner burnt it down…… Pure accident of course, at least that’s what the paper said. Coulda been quite the gem if I got in there.
9) There was a gym for sale in Newark, in a scary area. It was called Pumps Gym and the owner was a welder. He welded EVERYTHING, all the dumbbells, barbells and he even MADE the machines. The Leg Press was the size of a Volkswagon Beetle.
The Power Rack musta been 11 or 12′ tall!! He was burnt out and wanted to sell it for 10 grand. I had 10 grand in the bank to buy a diamond engagement ring. I ALMOST bought the gym instead!! Instead of the gym, I married that girl and bought some old equipment from the guy
10) When I was in my early 20′s I traveled to California alone, to do some soul searching. I stayed with my older bros buddy from The Israeli Army. Every day I drove into Venice and Santa Monica to train on Venice Beach or at Gold’s Venice.
I ate at the Fire House every day and layed on the beach. I was hoping for some nostalgic feeling of Pumping Iron but it NEVER happened
I walked into World Gym and saw Joe Gold, Zabo and a few other GREATS from The Golden Era hanging out behind the front desk like the good ol’ days!
11) While in Santa Monica I walked by the ORIGINAL Gold’s Gym where Arnold and the boys used to train. And although it was just a BIG cement wall, I swear I could still hear Arnold talking and weights clanking as if it were 1975 all over again, the year I was born.
Last I heard some dude bought the original building and made it his house. Bastard.
12) I almost moved to Cali that summer and was ready to tell my parents to send me socks and underwear. I bailed and stayed in NJ ans regretted that for YEARS! It taught me to Man the F**K UP and be more of a risk taker. Now that I live 2 minutes from the beach I’m a happy man
13) I remember having a goal of squatting 225 for 50 reps. I hit 46 or so on my own and cranked the extra few with a spotter. That was FUN. Sometimes I wonder if my legs were so damn strong from doing Leg Presses!!??
14) I remember squatting 315 for 22 reps. I wanted to impress this hot girl at the gym but I was too shy to speak to her, imagine that. Figured I could catch her attention by squatting 315 for 20 + reps. She was ALWAYS at the gym when I was there. Except this time she showed up 10 minutes AFTER I did 22 reps with 315. The entire gym stopped to watch me, except for her.
15) I won the “Young Mr. Israel” contest when I was 18 with less than 2 weeks preparation. I was convinced to compete when I went to visit my Grandparents and the gym owner saw me. The competition was held inside an amphitheatre and the crowd was over 1,000 people watching!
The crowd was nuts and there 18 or 19 competitors in my weight class. I beat a kid from Russia to win the contest. I trained with a Navy SEAL and the gym owner, a former physical instructor for The Israeli Special Forces. Those 2 weeks of training were some of the most memorable days of my life!
16) When I was pumping up for Mr. Israel bodybuilding show it was in the basement. I retreated to a small back room and began churning out push ups with my feet elevated and my hands placed on 2 chairs for the extra stretch. Why did I do this? Because this is what Arnold did when he first came to America and competed in his first ever bodybuilding competition on American ground.
All the other kids were staring at me trying to figure out what secrets I had from America. After winning they all accused of me being on steroids and the Navy SEAL I was training with kind of flipped out. Kind of
17) I remember copying everything Vic Richards said in the magazines. It was common to find me doing things like:
- Squats for 2 hours
- Leg Press or Hack Squat for 2 hours
- Bench Press for 2 hours
18) I remember a kick ass, hardcore gym in my hometown that was packed with powerlifters and bodybuilders. The music was always loud as hell and everyone was lifting hard and heavy.
The owner sold his gym near the jersey shore, came back and painted all the brown equipment white and baby blue. The clientele cleared out like the plague was coming, the tape deck was removed (yes, it was THAT long ago) and eventually the gym shut down.
Shoulda stayed hard core. Period.
19) After years of trying to find a hardcore gym, as they were all either burned down, burnt our or sold out, I purchased a $ 99 300 lb barbell set from Costco. The training I had was f**ing awesome. I began purchasing odds and ends from E Bay, classified ads and Craigs List.
I was benching, power cleaning, deadlifting, floor pressing and shrugging.
The garage was freezing, literally. I purchased a space heater which did little to keep me warm. I wore 2 pairs of sweats, 3 – 4 sweat shirts, hats and gloves. I purchased a 2nd space heater, but when turned on, I shorted the entire house. My Dad wasn’t happy. I continued to train through mid December until I got sick for a full week and had to retreat back to a “regular” gym. F**K
20) The first time I ever saw Pumping Iron was when my friend’s Dad rented the movie for me. I didn’t leave the house and must have watched it over and over again until I had to go home. My friend’s Dad copied the VHS for me so I could watch it over and over again…. except this time at my house, haha
When the anniversary edition came out and all the lost footage was brought onto another DVD, I did the same thing. Spent ALL day watching that movie!!
21) There used to be an OLD School YMCA in Metuchen. All the equipment was by YORK and all the dumbbells were globe style or round heads. I would ride my bike there and barely make it home alive. I would try to ride my bike at other times push my bike.
Those days were THE BEST! I remember asking a landscaper if he had any water as I was pushing my bike home after killing myself with a leg workout copies straight out of ‘Arnold’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding’. The guys would always play AC / DC in the radio tape deck and this is the gym where some of my earliest articles about ‘NO Rules Training’ came from as some Beast named George was tearing up the YMCA weight room.
I have PLENTY more stories to tell, perhaps there will be a Part II.
Drop a comment with some of your memories and stories from lifting. Looking forward to reading them!
Lead from the FRONT!
–Z–
Filed under Articles, Kick Ass Life, Success, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Jul 14th, 2010. 21 Comments.
There are those who “Get it” and those who simply don’t “Get it”.
Some struggle with how to train athletes, having no system of their own, no time in the trenches and too much time on their ass sitting in front of a computer and in the books, NO Real World application.
Some try opening their business and quickly crumble and fall out of “business”.
Some see adversity and cower away, while others stare it straight in the eyes and keep charging.
Some have a laundry list of excuses and very few take responsibility.
Some Kick ass and Take names while others get their ass kicked.
Some are The Hunters, other are the Hunted.
If the Devil was facing you in the cage would you still fight, or would you lie down and quit?
You must be relentless when attacking your goals if you ever want to achieve them and start living life on your own terms.
Who cares what others think or say you should do. You can follow or you can lead, doing both doesn’t cut it.
Blaze your own trail. Yes, you will mistakes and be knocked on your ass and on your back, you can lie down and quit or get back up…. again and again.
Here’s a guy who “Gets it”…. BIG Time.
He Kicks ass and is on a mission, with fire his in eyes.
The Virginia Beach Beast, Matty Wichlinski, a Bruddah who Leads from the Front!
Check it…
When Matt opened his warehouse gym he was struggling in more ways than one in his life. While others could have given up, lied down or simply never have taken the first step, Matty took massive action to achieve his dream of opening a warehouse gym.
He has been growing his business quickly and not only is he kicking ass with his warehouse gym, but as a Coach, he is constantly evolving and growing, learning, making him self better, and in turn, making his athletes that much better.
Drop a comment on Matty’s Video.
Matty and I hope to see you in Virginia, click HERE for details.
Lead from the Front!
–Z–
PS: The night before our Virginia Underground Strength Coach Mentorship I will arrange a gathering (optional on your part) and we’ll talk training, business, life and of course, how to start living life according to your own rules.
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Calendar, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on Feb 18th, 2010. 14 Comments.
I receive countless e mails asking me how I get so much done without fail. How I balance my business with family life, lifting, answering e mails, vacations, and more?
I’m also starting a NEW business (On the DL for now) and just bought a new house.
I do my best to answer in the video below.
If you have good stuff to add about YOUR ‘Art of Living’, feel free to drop a line!
Peace
–Z–
PS: This is perhaps the BIGGEST success that comes from attending The Underground Strength Coach Certification & Mentorship…. Learning how you can create YOUR dream life. The Next Mentorship / Certification is HERE with only 3 spots left.
Filed under Articles, Calendar, Q & A, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos by on Dec 29th, 2009. 10 Comments.
Many, Many, MANY years ago, as a young teen, reading Arnold’s book, ‘Education of a Bodybuilder’ I remember Arnold speaking about being Fearless.
I would keep taking the book out from the school library, renewing it every 2 weeks so noone else could read about Arnie and learn his secrets. Just me, it was all mine!
I remember laughing to myself as my name was the only name to fill up both front and back of all the sign out cards for this awesome book.
Arnold was Fearless to go heavier and move HUGE & Massive poundages that others feared.
Arnold would perform calf raises with over 1,000 lbs, loading the calf machine to maximum 
capacity plus having his training partner stand on the machine!
Arnold went the extra mile and did NOT fear the heavy load sitting on his back because he was sooo freaking hungry to make his calves grow because he wanted to win so badly!
Arnold also understood that this going the extra mile, or sometimes only the extra few inches is what created the greatness that so many others feared doing.
Are you going the extra mile?
What about the extra inch?
On Sunday my athletes were invited to come in for a free workout with the Coaches going through the certification / mentorship. It was a 10 AM workout.
2 kids who said they would show, did not. That is missing out on inches and miles.
That is FEAR of waking up and doing something when perhaps your mind and body are not wanting it. Sometimes, ya just gotta say ‘F**k it!”, right?
Arnold was Fearless to travel to America to compete against the best bodybuilders in the world when he did not speak English.
Fearless to tell people of his lofty goals of becoming the best built man in the world, moving to America and becoming a Hollywood star known around the world.
Everyone else around Arnold focused on how crazy he was, and how he should not have such “dreams”.
His passioned toppled and trampled over all obstacles and road blocks.
Arnold’s most powerful weapon: His Mind.
Your most powerful weapon? Your Mind.
Only if you so choose.
Most people remain scared their entire life and fear the risk of doing what Arnold did; Achieving Greatness.
Greatness to you may not mean becoming a Hollywood action hero and Mr. Olympia.
It might mean benching 315 lbs, quitting your lame 9-5 suit & tie job and not waking up to an alarm clock.
YOU decide what Greatness means and only you can define it.
But, just like Arnie did, you gotta have that “F**K It!” attitude and go for it.
You gotta believe that you too, are Numero Uno!
Above, Arnold believed he was Numero Uno, even when he wasn’t smokin’ The Ganja Mon!
It’s OK to be scared, the trick is, not allowing your fear to control you!
Want to know more ways to achieve greatness and become fearless?
Listen to this Audio Interrogation that I did with Matt Furey, author of The Unbeatbale Man.
** Feel Free to download the Kick Ass, Guaranteed to “Pump You Up” audio with Matt Furey and I to your I Pod as well! **
Click HERE for the Greatness & Fearless Audio Interrogation with myself and Matt Furey…
Or….Click Play Below while you listen….
This was obviously just the scratching of the surface.
But, I definitely want to hear your thoughts on how you overcome fear and what you do to achieve greatness in your life.
What does greatness mean to you?
I am psyched to see what you write in the comments section!
Peace!
–Z–
PS: If greatness and becoming fearless means opening your own fitness business, then you owe it to yourself to meet me HERE!
PPS: If you need to give your mind the right food to become fearless then you must read The Unbeatable Man HERE.
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Calendar, Podcasts, Q & A, Strength Building, Success, muscle building by on Oct 12th, 2009. 14 Comments.
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