Having a powerful, bone crushing grip is one of the cornerstones of a legit, strong MAN. Heck, you might even say that being Man means you must have a bone crushing grip. You KNOW you remember the guy who always shook your hand when you were younger that had you walking away saying to yourself, “WOW, that Dude has got one helluva grip!”
Do you think people say the same thing about you? If not, then I must say, “Houston, we’ve got a problem”.
If you’re gonna use the Kettlebell drill in the video below, you’re gonna need to slap on the “death grip”. Crush that handle like you wanna crush it to dust! Check the video….
The bottoms up kettlebell press is not just good for the grip and shoulders in the realm of strength, but, the stability required to hold the kettlebell in the bottoms up position is great for shoulder health as well.
I’ve been playing with ladders a lot lately, not just with presses, but also with bodyweight training, kettlebell movements of all types such as squats, snatches and the clean and press.
The ladders have been inspired by Pavel, and let me tell ya, these workouts are fast and efficient, and also a helluva lot of FUN. It’s a form of Density Training that Coach Reeve talks about HERE.
Low reps work great on the bottoms up press, anywhere from 1 – 5 reps, BUT, I usually go with higher volume on the sets to make up for the low reps.
More to come on this later, if you’ve got questions or comments on this drill, please drop a comment below. Looking forward to your thoughts 
Peace
–Z–
PS: Did you pick up your 7 Gifts yet? 30 days, one dollar, 24-7 access to the REAL deal behind my training, my mindset and what I do at The Underground and why we are always building BEASTS. Click HERE, you don’t wanna miss these 7 Gifts.
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Jun 10th, 2011. 4 Comments. 
After spending time with Coach Reeve and Coach Istvan Javorek over the weekend while speaking at The NC State Strength Coaches Clinic we spent lots of time speaking about athletes who overcame adversity.
Coach Reeve & Coach Javorek have so many stories and memories of athletes it is awe inspiring.
I’ve seen my fair share but my experience pales in comparison compared to these two Gentlemen.
Of course, we spoke of wrestlers and olympic weightlifters the most
These stories of athletes achieving greatness and overcoming adversity reminds me I have MUCH room to grow. Reminds me that YOU have lots of room to grow as well!
These stories remind me to push the envelope in training, not just in how I organize the workouts and make
them more effective, but also through raising the intensity and above all else, getting stronger. So, with these stories fresh in my mind, I went balls out at my gym.
The past 2 weeks of training has been beyond my norm. I can’t let this “age thing” be an excuse until I’m 95 years young Was it me vs the weights or simply me battling against myself?
I think you KNOW the answer. My workouts are a battle of will and you need the same battle at least some of the time. That’s what I call “REAL World Strength”.
A Navy SEAL told me something back when I was only 18 years old, half my life time ago!!! He said the worst thing in life is to lose your edge. “Never lose your edge!”
You need the same mentality because training the body doesn’t suffice, you MUST train the mind as well. If you lay in bed at night knowing you left some in the tank or held back in life and lifting, you will NEVER gain that opportunity back. It’s gone…. forever.
You need to beat your previous best…. add one more rep or 5 more lbs.
Get more done in less time and take your mind to the next level. Coach Reeve calls this “Density Training” and he was using this in the early 1970′s when he was competing as a high school and collegiate wrestler. His wrestling strength and conditioning workouts would crush the average human, heck his wrestling workouts would crush the ABOVE average human!
Coach Reeve wasn’t just training his body though, it was mental training as well. Giving himself the edge that he KNEW he trained harder AND better than his competition.
This is what life is ALL about, getting outside your comfort zone….
REMEMBER: Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Are you always doing low reps? Try high reps for a change.
Always resting 60 seconds? Try resting 30 seconds instead.
Always doing sets of 5? Try ten heavy singles instead.
My legs are crushed from my “Death by Squats” workout. I’m still feeling it.
It was me VS me during that workout. Pushing the set further each time. I wanted to stop at certain points but I took it one rep at a time.
Doing an extra rep each time my body told me not to.
Life is about pushing limits…. Who holds you back, anyway?
Is it everyone around you, or, is it YOU?
Remember, it’s YOU vs YOU.
YOU determine the outcome, let no one else tell you otherwise.
When I was 22 or 23 I attended a Tony Robbins seminar. I used my entire pay check to get a front row seat which was over $1,000. back then that was a BIG deal for me.
It was 2 weeks worth of work but man did it change my life FOREVER. I coulda gone the cheaper route and taken a back seat where it was cheaper but I wanted to be UP FRONT, heck NO, I thought to myself when I saw the option for the cheaper seats in the back, back seats ain’t my style!
I learned LONG ago that if I am to do anything in life, I should be going for first place and nothing less.
You should be gunning for first place as well. If you don’t someone else will take your place.
If you’ve read my Blog, my e mails and watched my movies long enough, you know I’ve experienced LOTS of losses in my life. 2nd place sucks and losing in general is nothing to aspire to. I have learned LOTS from my painful mistakes and losses.
But, when it’s time to represent for my family and for those I teach, I am proving that you must lead from the front. I am out to WIN and dominate. Period.
I think you should do the same.
Drop your comments / questions below. Looking forward!
In Strength,
–Z–
Recommended Resources:
Underground Strength Coach Certification
How to Kick Ass Business Immersion Weekend
Underground Inner Circle 30 Day Trial
Filed under Articles, Kick Ass Life, Success by on Jan 18th, 2011. 6 Comments.
When I first heard about Density Workouts is when Coach Ethan Reeve was describing his very own workouts from when he was a college wrestler back in the 70s. He would crank intense workouts for 20 minutes, going for maximum rounds.
The workouts would give an ass whoopin’ to ALL of us.
The Rutgers Wrestling Team is learning ALL about these Density Workouts as we crank many of our workouts based on time. It forces you to push the pace, minimize rest and in turn, mental toughness improves along with strength endurance, power endurance and muscle density.
No wimps allowed.
Below, I cranked 10 minutes of speed benching combined with mixed pulling, much of which was rope pull ups to improve grip strength.
With Density work you do not have to perform an entire workout based on time.
It can be portions of the workout.
You choose. Get UNDER the bar, in the trenches, live and learn.
Lead from the FRONT
–Z–
PS: I’ll be doing Part II of The Coach Reeve Audio Interview for The Underground Inner Circle this week.
Don’t miss it!
Recommended Resources:
Underground Strength System / Coach Ethan Reeve Audio Interrogation
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Jun 28th, 2010. 10 Comments.
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