I’m a HUGE fan of Bodyweight training and full blown Bodyweight workouts.
This morning I had some work to do at the new house and my nearby neighbor, Uncle Mike Stehle, owns a gym 10 minutes away, you can check it out HERE, it’s a Kick Ass Place!
I was planning on doing heavy Deadlifts and Kettlebell work but Uncle Mike asked me to jump in on the group workout he was about to Coach, and his partner, one of the most bad ass dudes on the east coast, ‘The Milk Man’ was gonna take the class.
Our workout was pretty damn nasty, training for 30 minutes with 30 seconds work / 30 seconds rest.
We cranked weighted jump ropes, Animal crawls, pull ups, squats and more. My upper body was especially hammered from supporting myself on my hands during the workout.
Last time I trained with The Milk Man I got crushed, so I had to try to stay neck to neck with him, it was close, but Milk Man still outconditions me easily!!! I WILL redeem myself!
Anyway, sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up in your “own” style of training, whatever that style may be. It’s a great idea to get outside your normal environment and normal training circumstances and do something different.
You can’t just be strong with one tool such as a barbell or kettlebell, you must possess the ability to demonstrate athleticism, body control and overall conditioning. Strength without endurance is NOT a good thing in the real world.
Even powerlifters, bodybuilders and olympic lifters need conditioning, it improves recovery ability and the ability to tolerate intense workouts.
I’m a HUGE believer in Bodyweight training integrated into your existing workouts as well full blown, bodyweight workouts.
At my gym, we climb ropes, jump on and over objects, walk on our hands from various positions, perform handstand push ups and countless pull up variations with countless handles to grip onto allowing us to improve our grip strength as well.
Sprinting up hills are older than dirt yet they are brutally effective for conditioning and improving your speed.
You can also perform jumps up hills or stairs.
I want to see more athletes with the ability to perform the following:
50 push ups
10 pull ups
5 handstand push ups
climb a 15′ rope
squat 50 reps
I see too many athletes who can bench BIG but yet can’t do 50 push ups, let alone TEN PUSH UPS!
I’m excited to be living near the beach, this means more sprints in the sand and more bodyweight workouts, most certainly with Uncle Mike and The Milk Man.
Time for you to train like an animal!
Lead from the Front.
–Z–
PS: Here are two of my favorite Bodyweight Training Resources.
Bodyweight University – This is my ultimate bodyweight training resource with workouts for upper body, lower body, full body, jump training, plyometrics, partner exercises and animal movements.
Convict Conditioning – I have TWO copies of this awesome book, 1 for me and 1 for my Coaches at the gym. YES, that is my affiliate link and I only encourage products I personally invest in, personally use and personally believe kick ass BIG time. This is definitely one of those resources! This program is strength focused through the use of Bodyweight training and man will it push you past any limits you once had in bodyweight training.
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Feb 16th, 2010. 2 Comments. 
Check out my interrogation with Dan John.
I gotta say, guys like Dan John, Coach Ethan Reeve – these guys are amazing coaches, but also a bit crazy. I feel related to them – kinda like we’re from the same mentally crazy Strength Tribe.
Thoughts or comments on the audio, drop a comment below, looking forward to hearing your feedback!
Peace!
–Z–
Click HERE to Play The Dan John Audio (be patient as it uploads 
Reccomended Resources:
http://UndergroundKettlebells.com
http://UndergroundStrengthManual.com
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Articles, Podcasts, Q & A, Strength Building, Success, muscle building by on Dec 6th, 2009. 10 Comments.
Wow, I’ve been getting a lot of questions regarding bodyweight training since all the bodyweight videos have been released.
Check out the last few videos and add your answers or comments by posting a comment below.
QUESTION: Zach, can someone get endless strength gains from Bodyweight Training?
ANSWER: Awesome question!
I use Bodyweight training to supplement how I personally train & how I train with my athletes – Bodyweight training is a HUGE part of what we do, but, NOT the ONLY part.
Then again, have YOU maximized your potential in bodyweight training if you can not perform the below bodyweight movements:
1) pistols x 10 ea. leg
2) 1 arm push ups x 10 ea. arm
3) 1 hand pull up x 1 rep ea. arm
4) muscle up on bar / rings x 5 in a row
5) 100 consecutive push ups
6) 10 handstand push ups
7) handstand walking
20′ rope climb without leg assistance
9) parallel bar dips x 50 reps
10) 20 pull ups (overhand or underhand grip)
The above list of exercises are the toughest movements for bodyweight training.
Remember, strength is a skill and it must be practiced regularly, and bodyweight training gives you the power to practice anywhere, anytime and with no equipment.
So until you are able to perform the above list of 10 bodyweight exercises I honestly believe you are NOT strong enough in bodyweight training.
Can I perform the list above? Not all of them, so this tells me I need to get stronger in those movements and that comes through more practice in bodyweight training and reduction of body weight.
Obviously, being heavier will not make the performance of those 10 bodyweight exercises easier, but, this is NOT an excuse as I have shown you many videos of myself and my own clients performing many of these feats.
So if you’ve been thinking you’re strong enough with bodyweight exercises and the only exercises you’ve been doing with your own bodyweight training are push ups, pull ups and dips…..well, it looks like you have your work cut out for you.
You better get busy because we ALL need to get stronger.
You CAN maximize your physical potential by making bodyweight training an integral part of your workouts.
I highly reccomend you do so.
In Strength,
–Z–
Recommended Resources for those who want to become Bodyweight Animals. How BAD do you WANT it? Wanting and Doing are two different things.
Take Action…..
Bodyweight Bodybuilding Secrets
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Articles, Q & A, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building, old school strength by on Jun 19th, 2009. 29 Comments.
I had just finished a phone call with Joe DeFranco and he was telling me how Mike “the Asshole” Guadango was regularly doing heavy, HEAVY 1 rep sets for pull ups and recline rows with over 100 lbs at times.
These HEAVY sets helped him kill which is why “The Asshole” rocked a 50 rep set of pull ups!
Plus, last time I checked, the only way you can get stronger is by putting more weight on the “bar”.
Jack it up!
Question for You: Tell me how you’re breaking records and pushing big weights with your bodyweight workouts by commenting below!
Kill it & smash it up!
–Coach Z–
Recommended Bodyweight Training Resources:
The Convict Conditioning Workout
PS: Just had a beastly crew of guys come to The Underground Strength Gym for the USC Certification. They got the home study course and can now spread the Underground method on how to build athletes who posses brute strength and lightning fast speed.
This is where you can get our system for yourself:
http://UndergroundStrengthManual.com
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Nov 4th, 2008. 14 Comments.
Recent Comments