Let's KILL some confusion here. If you love variety in your training, go for it and DO it. If you love just attacking the basics, go for it and DO it. Let me Explain ..... Your results in training come down to a select few things that must be executed VERY well. … [Read more...]
Why Bodybuilding Workouts Are GREAT For You
When I made the transition from my bodybuilding workouts I had a bad taste in my mouth. I was wrestling or competing / training in Grappling & BJJ and the 2 simply didn't blend. I was getting injured quite a lot and I wound up ditching a lot of bodybuilding work, mainly because I stopped training in a traditional gym environment and I was now training in my garage. No machines, no cables. Just free weights and odd objects. I began developing a different type of strength. Different than … [Read more...]
STRONG Life 33: Ray Jaz, NO Easy Day & Arnold Legacy
You think you're working hard until someone makes you rethink what work ethic, commitment, intensity and passion looks like at the NEXT level. That is the key to the latest STRONG Life Podcast. I'll be giving you insight into the story behind a kid who may have rivaled my own passion and intensity as a kid from the gym, but, even better, he understood how to apply the lessons learned from the gym to his life and sports. … [Read more...]
Training When You Don’t Feel Like It?
What do you do when your body and mind don't meet at the half way point and agree on training? Deep down, it's likely a planned training day. You coincidentally came across a handful of articles, warning you against the dangers of over training, adrenal burn out, listening to your body and the importance of rest. You are now armed with ammo for a good excuse to skip that workout. But, deep down in your gut, in your heart and soul, you KNOW you should train. You KNOW your mind is pussing out … [Read more...]
Upper Body Blast & Training Mental Toughness
This blog post and video will fire you up to crush an upper body workout and to start attacking your training the same way ya gotta attack life. I seriously see NO other way to be, whether it's life OR lifting. This style of training keeps my mind in check, pushes me mentally and physically, reminds me that I CAN kick ass and go BIG, regardless of what is happening the world. The gym is a place of sanctuary. In life, to succeed at anything, ya gotta be TOUGH. That is why I train for Strength, … [Read more...]
The Problem with Perfect Workouts & Weak People
I often wonder how a Strength Coach thinks in his early days of coaching athletes. For me, when I began training athletes, I was viewed as an outcast. Seriously...... Coaches were training on Bosu Balls, using the Functional Trainer cable, wearing collared shirts tucked in all neat and there I was, having kids carrying stones, pushing trucks and sprinting up hills. In my concerns, I had a friend send me his training program for a wrestler. He was a highly certified Coach with all the letters … [Read more...]
The 6 Most Effective Strength & Muscle Building Methods
I've been doing a LOT of thinking about the various ways I have trained since starting back in 1989, well over 25 years of experience. I thought about the methods that wasted my time and didn't produce anything but all show and NO go muscles. Those days bother me BIG time because they have scarred me for a lifetime and unfortunately didn't help my success in athletics. I also thought about my days of squatting 455 lbs for reps. My days of breaking away from what the other guys in the gym were … [Read more...]
Breaking The Rules Of Traditional Strength Training & Muscle Building
I came up learning from the Golden Era Greats of Bodybuilding and the late, great John Kemper, the owner of Diamond Gym. These men were strong, jacked and ripped. They lifted heavy and often did supersets, even with the big compound movements. Even if they trained on machines, you would see guys loading up the machines and then rigging up the machine to add more 45s to the stack of weights. When I followed their routines of aggressive and heavy training using mostly free weights, my … [Read more...]
The DE Evolution of Man, Part 2
Above, The Hard Chargers. Congrats to The Newly Certified Underground Strength Coach Brothers. Welcome to The Family. Live The Code, Sky Is The Limit! BIG thanks for the support in yesterday's e mail and blog post. I get psyched when YOU get psyched! Here are a 4 more power tips to kicking ass and taking names in Life AND Lifting. Enjoy! … [Read more...]
6 Tips On Success, Crushing Obstacles & Finding Motivation
“If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.” ~ Robert Greene, Author of Mastery ~ I remember when I STOPPED Giving a shit about the perfect workout along with perfect sets and reps. I stopped because I realized that perfection … [Read more...]