Check out Part II of my interrogation with Vince DelMonte below.. Vince: What do you mean when you say stuff like, "I'll help you slap on rugged muscle..." Zach - Rugged muscles comes from the old school movements that so many people miss out on, especially in these fancy gyms. Look at the bodybuilders from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. They had that rugged, chiseled look that came from an intense focus on the basic lifts with heavy loads. Today’s bodybuilders are puffy and bloated. Vince:: If I … [Read more...]
REAL Man Muscle: Strength Training Hard & Heavy
Man, if there is 1 thing engrained into my DNA, it must be that I LOVE to train hard & heavy. But, lately, I've been straying away from the heavy barbell, rocking the dumbbells, kettlebells and bodyweight a lot more. I'm feeling healthier, and still strong as a mofo. It doesn't make me feel good when my back is so f**ked up that it hurts to change diapers. As I grow, I evolve. Does this mean I will never touch a barbell again? Hells NO! I still use them, but I am finding "other" … [Read more...]
You’re kidding, right?
Since the explosion of the internet and the fancy shmancy gyms that have been popping up on every corner of every town, notice how everyone struggles with results? You shoulda seen the gym Lou Ferrigno trained in when he was in Brooklyn, preparing to compete against Arnold. Oh man, what a little dungeon that was, with barely any room to move..... Barbells and dumbbells and what else??? Come on, you know the deal.... sweat, blood, blistering effort, intensity..... This is what training is … [Read more...]
he trained with me in my Dad’s garage
Wow, those were some wild days. Back when I FIRST began taking on clients as a profession, a five bucks per hour profession none the less :) I was training a few athletes from my Dad's garage, his backyard and the local parks. At the time, Kurt, was a high school basketball player. His Dad owned a truck and I offered to train him all summer for free if he can help me pick up some gym equipment. I purchased a long dumbbell rack, a chin - dip combo bar, a boat load of rusty ivanko … [Read more...]
the trail blazer
Time for some action. Time to do it your way, finally, not anyone else's way. Seriously. Stop doing what you see everyone else doing. Stop copying the concentration curls, the lat pull downs, the smith machine presses....everything performed seated of course. Every workout does NOT have to be the perfect balance of push / pull, or upper / lower body work. Who ever said that everything must be in total harmony and balance is full of it. Ask the guys in the pen about balance and … [Read more...]
Break the Rules for BIG Strength
We haven't been following a ton of rules here at The Underground. This is a BIG reason why our clients are developing in strength and muscle so quickly. Compare our style of training with the typical program that has light dumbbell curls, lat pull downs, crunches and calf raises to someone flipping tires, hoisting heavy barbells overhead, deadlifting and squatting hundreds of pounds - it's no secret why the old school program works better than today's "powder puff" workouts. Sometimes all … [Read more...]