Yesterday I exchanged an e mail with Jason Ferruggia, author of Renegade Muscle Building & Minimalist Training.
If you don’t have his training courses, I’m highly recommending you do so, they are LEGIT and I have been using lots of his workouts from his Minimalist Program.
Anyway…. Jay was talking about how he can relate to everything I went through as we’ve been both training hard and heavy for over 2 decades.
The nagging injuries, the strange pains in our feet, injuries from simple daily tasks like tying our shoe laces.
Today, we laugh at these injuries because back in the day we would NEVER have guessed that being so strong could contribute to such strange injuries.
Of course, we’d both rather tell people that we got hurt deadlifting a car trying to save someone’s life but that just isn’t the case.
We’ve learned our lessons the HARD way, so you don’t have to experience the pain and suffering, trust us, you wouldn’t want to, it just ain’t cool 
The mistakes we’ve made have made Jay & I better Strength Coaches…. SMARTER Strength Coaches……
I don’t want there to be confusion here, that bodyweight training is reserved for washed up meatheads and ex athletes.
Here’s the TRUTH: ALL athletes should be using bodyweight exercises, ranging from the most basic of bodyweight movements to the advanced training methods that you can see below with some of our athletes in the videos.
After you watch these videos, I’m gonna explain to you Why and How we use bodyweight training for our athletes and why I recommend bodyweight workouts for other athletes as well.
Check these vids out….
Years ago I began training more athletes aside form wrestlers. The majority of new athletes were Football players. They showed up BIG AND STRONG.
What were their “normal strength levels”?
The norm was a 315 lb bench press for 3 – 5 reps, a box squat of 315 – 405 for 3 – 5 reps and a trap bar deadlift of 405 – 495 for 5 reps.
But….. these athletes couldn’t perform bodyweight lunges or push ups unless their hands were elevated. Forget about doing a pull up. They couldn’t even hold onto the pull up bar for more than 2 seconds. I was FIRED up.
What happened to the days of Football BEASTS like Herschel Walker I thought to myself, guys who attacked calisthenics and sprints like it was their passion and their JOB.
If these kids weren’t gonna do it on their own, I was gonna lay the law down on them, plain and simple…. well, simple, but NOT easy.
These kids were WEAK.
Maybe according to their Coaches and the program they followed in their high school weight room they were strong, but… they were missing the boat, BIG time. Athletes MUST be able to maneuver their own body with control and ease.
Stronger does NOT mean faster. Faster means Faster.
I decided that I was gonna make the first 4 weeks or these BIG athletes training regime focused around bodyweight training, sled work, some simple kettlebell drills (farmer walks, clean & press, swings) and aggressive conditioning using met-cons with sledge hammers, bodyweight exercises, jumping rope, sprints, sled work, etc.
I didn’t give two shits how much they could squat, bench or deadlift. They couldn’t get through our warm up without being exhausted and useless. I was DONE with strong and useless athletes.
I wanted to build athletes who were agile, mobile and hostile. Welcome to my world, Bitches!!
When an athletes asks me if Bodyweight Bodybuilding will be suitable for his sport I tell em’ immediately, “Hells Yea, SON!”
These Bodyweight Bodybuilding workouts center around everything an athlete needs:
- Strength & Power Endurance
- Adding Functional Muscle – NOT the strong & useless muscle I see countless athletes walking around with
- flexibility & mobility (staying healthy)
- Conditioning / Stamina / Mental Toughness
I remember thinking about the way the guys at Westside Barbell train, the strongest gym in the world. Each workout has a focus on either strength or speed, after the strength or speed component is finished, the lifter performs muscle building work. So I said to myself, ‘Why can’t this be done with bodyweight exercises?”
Now, I eliminate the excuses of “I’m too heavy” or “I’m too big” to be good at bodyweight exercises.
F**k that. You become good at what is important, plain and simple. We now build ALL our athletes up to climbing rope, walking on their hands, performing jumps, sprints, handstand push ups, plyo push ups, glute ham raises, etc. We don’t tolerate excuse or allow self limiting beliefs.
Big or small, tall or short, heavy or light. When you begin dominating the bodyweight exercises and manipulate their use for the various performance traits such as strength, speed / explosive power, stamina, etc you will become a BEAST on the competitive field.
In a nut shell, my advice to athletes: Dominate the Bodyweight. Period
Peace
–Z–
PS: For more info on the ‘Bodyweight Bodybuilding’ training system, click HERE, whether you’re a competitive athlete or not, you will dig this if you want to become a BEAST…. Agile, Mobile & Hostile. Make it Happen
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building, old school strength by on Oct 27th, 2011. 10 Comments. 
Franco Columbu was a BEAST when it came to pull ups.
He cranked them from all angles AND added weight to them.
High reps AND low reps. Reminds me of my OLD Bodybuilding training partner…. We almost always began our workouts with chins and progressed to weighted chins. He would build up to chins with THREE 45 lb plates strapped to a weight belt! His back was THICK! It freaked people out! Heavy Chins and HEAVY barbell rows were his ticket!
Back to the legend of Franco Columbu…..
Read more on The Truth About Bodyweight Workouts…
Filed under Articles, Kick Ass Life, Strength Building, Success, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building, old school strength by on Aug 18th, 2011. 11 Comments.
I’ve spoken often about using the “ladder technique” with bodyweight training, but also with Kettlebells and sometimes with deadlifts as well, inspired by Pavel.
The ladders are a solid way to increase strength, pack on muscle and if used with an aggressive pace, you’ll be burnin’ fat like a mofo, kids.
Here’s how I roll when using ladders with bodyweight exercises:
- I start somewhere between 3 – 5 reps per set
- Add 1 rep each set
- When I can no longer perform a set unbroken (i.e. I get stuck at 15 pull ups) I start over again
- If I am using added weight for the bodyweight workout with ladders, I might perform ladders of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and then rest 2 – 3 minutes and repeat for 1 or 2 more rounds.
- If I am performing the bodyweight workout with ladders and NOT using added weight I’ll push the pace more, NOT resting after each exercise OR each round, just keep attacking.
The non stop attack style is very much like the Density Training described HERE.
This week I’ve performed 4 days in a row of some nasty bodyweight workouts, all of them with a different 
purpose and a different system of organization in place.
But, let me tell you, day after day of dips, pull ups and jump squats starts getting VERY tough, this is where the mind takes over and kicks in, I begin to think of Herschel Walker and his training book as well as wrestlers, grinding it out, being mentally tough and doing what others do NOT want to do, but they still do it, undeterred and driven to constantly achieve MORE.
I understand when my body needs a break but I also understand the need to PUSH my body and my mind, to adapt and overcome, to build myself into a stronger man, a stronger machine.
If I train my body to be pushed, I can get used to being uncomfortable, and as I always say, “Get comfortable being uncomfortable”.
Before I check out, I wanna try and explain where so much of my energy comes from, of course, this is tough to explain in such a short time, BUT, it all goes back to what I learned as a wrestler. The constant training, the commitment, the mental toughness that was built…. We were built into a rare breed of men.
What I learned through wrestling will never be forgotten, and, I am STILL on a mission to become better. I competed a few weeks ago in my friend’s Warrior Challenge and got crushed during the conditioning events, I’m on a mission to change that.
Anyway, check out some wrestling training, you’ll see what is bred inside of us…. to constantly attack.
QOD (Question of the Day): What makes you “tick”?
Make sure you leave your comment below…
And, if you’d like to see my favorite Bodyweight Training Book, check it out HERE or click on the Convict Conditioning Book Covers, Below, for more info on the most kick ass Bodyweight Training Book.
Click HERE to check out The Convict Conditioning Bodyweight Workout
Peace!
–Z–
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Jul 29th, 2011. 7 Comments.
In a way I am shocked yet on the flip side, NOT so shocked.
Last week we had 3 different athletes throw up, simply from TWO bodyweight exercises, both of which are in Bodyweight University.
It was the first 10 minutes of the workout nonetheless.
The problem is, I have high expectations, or maybe not, you tell me when you post your comment.
There are FAR too many athletes, even high level athletes, who can not handle even the simplest workout using bodyweight exercises.
Last week we had an MMA fighter, football player and a basebal player throwing up in the garbage can numerous times – just from 2 bodyweight exercises.
Our goal is NOT to make them vomit, don’t be misled, it is to improve their performance.
But, too many people experience SERIOUS shock from bodyweight training. Maybe because they can’t sit down, lay down or let a machine do 90% of the work for them?
Bodyweight training is where it ALL starts. It is your foundation to fitness and strength, yet it can also be taken to highly advanced levels as well.
Now, let’s look at the guys who are vomiting: MMA Fighters, Football players and Baseball Players.
I wasn’t shocked to see the baseball player get sick, but a Football Player and an MMA Fighter? NOT good!
These men are supposed to be ready for WAR!
We have a lot of work to do out there, and we need to change the fitness abilities and levels of ALL people, but when I see combative type athletes getting sick from bodyweight training it tells me that their life is in danger if they decide to to keep their fitness levels at such a poor state.
It made me realize just how freaking important bodyweight training is. It goes beyond just the beginner. It goes into the possibility of saving lives and being ready to do battle – NO joke.
Bodyweight training can be a powerful weapon – for you, for an entire group of people, a fitness boot camp, an athletic team or a unit of military soldiers.
I;m telling you, we need to change the state of fitness in this world.
It begins with you, and from there, you must pay it forward.
Do it for yourself or for those who you train.
Tonight, the sale ends for Bodyweight University.
In Strength,
–Z–
PS: I was reading former NFL great and all around bad ass, Herschel Walker’s old training program and he started kicking ass when he began doing 30 push ups and 30 sit ups during TV commercials. he also did uphill sprints, chased his Pony around his farm and even played dodge with the farm Horse! That dude is crazy but he was also built like a freaking machine – Bodyweight was his Main weapon for athletic performance and transforming his body!
Below, Herschel sprinting as a teenager – lookin’ ripped & athletic!
Below, Herschel crushing the competition as a collegiate sprinter while at Georgia – look at those friggin’ legs! Dude is built like a machine!
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Success, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Jun 22nd, 2009. 21 Comments.
Off on a trip through the woods to see what I can find, see what you can do, and shed some light with my “minute of motivation”.
There are more wild adventures on the way, plus, footage of my battle to beat the trap bar deadlift record at Joe DeFranco’s gym.
I can’t tell you what happened, you’ll just have to wait for the show!
Kill it!
–Coach Z–
P.S. – For members of Underground Strength Coach I will be giving them the early release of my latest e book, which is super jacked up with tons of added information and shit that rocks in the real world! It’s a comin’ soon!
P.P.S. – Spread the word on The Underground Strength Show….it’s only gonna get crazier!
Filed under Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts by on Aug 7th, 2008. 2 Comments.
Herschel Walker, wow, what a beast! I still remember to this day seeing a TV commercial of him sprinting with a tire strapped around his waist tied to a rope!
Underground Strength Training was alive and well long, long ago.
As you can see, he was NOT an excuse maker, he certainly did make due with his lack of “equipment” for strength training and he became one heck of a feared Football player!
He was also smart enough to partake in sprinting on the track & field team. This only made him a better Football player.
Smart athletes know to participate in a variety of movements, sports, athletics, etc. to optimize longevity and improve athleticism.
Kill it!
–Coach Z–
P.S. – Wanna see the ultimate in no frills strength training? This is what Herschel Walker woulda loved to have in his hands back when he was a competitive Football player! Click HERE to find out.
Filed under Articles, Videos, Zach's Workouts by on Jul 15th, 2008. Comment.
Have you ever heard of Herschel Walker?
If you’ve read my Blog for the past year, you certainly have.
Pull ups, push ups, sit ups – hundreds and even thousands of reps every day…..
Sprinting with a tire and rope strapped around his waist….
Hill Sprints…
Throw in some power cleans…
We have quite the recipe for amazing strength, speed, conditioning and mental toughness….
That is a list of 5 exercises. Work the heck out of them for the next 2 months, or maybe the next 3 months, or how about from now until September 1st? Will you commit yourself to kicking the crap out of those few exercises and working harder than ever before on them, aiming to get an extra rep or an extra 5 lbs added to the bar every week?
The consistency and die hard dedication is what most people lack. So, I say remove the complication and go hard with the list above.
It will work, you just have to put in the time. Plain and simple.
Dedicated to your success,
Zach Even – Esh
P.S. – I have always loved plain and simple. Herschel Walker would have loved This Training Kit!
Filed under Articles by on Mar 11th, 2008. 1 Comment.
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