Let me slap the haters in the face before we get GOING. BIG, STRONG arms are critical to aiding your upper body strength.
Wanna improve your bench press, military press, pull ups, push ups, dips, etc?
Then get those arms stronger. If you’ve got skinny, weak arms it’s likely your upper body pushing and pulling strength sucks as well. Do NOT fear doing direct arm work.
Read more on 11 Ways to Get BIG Arms…
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building, old school strength by on Dec 21st, 2011. 22 Comments. 
For those of you in the states, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving for tomorrow in case we don’t chat.
I wanna give you a few tips that you wanna use with your workouts that will have you feeling infinitely better in a very short time.
I no longer compete in wrestling but one thing that helped me feel healthier was to train MORE like an athlete and LESS like a meathead.
I had to get away from always grinding with heavy weights. I lost flexibility, got injured more often and did NOT feel explosive at all. When a friend of mine was talking to me about this, I told him that the same holds true for ALL athletes.
I keep seeing athletes getting trained by their coaches and they are either following the same ol’ squat, bench, power clean workout with NO REAL understanding of how technique should look like, how to build athletes up to using these BIG lifts and how to PROPERLY test athletes VS testing their 1RM every month…. which is, in a nut shell, moronic.
Speaking of technique…. More often than not, the power clean looks like some strange cheat curl + jumping jack + back bend motion and the coaches in these dangerous weight rooms don’t have the knowledge to even realize this as being dangerous…. or downright wrong….
Or…. we have the coaches who simply use circuits and nothing else for training…
Go from this exercise to that exercise and repeat for 10 times and the weights are SO light that none of these athletes develop ANY useful strength what so ever.
The problem that bugs me is that in the end, it HURTS these athletes, they NEVER realize their true potential because they are stuck following a program that…. well, a program that sucks.
Above, Underground Trained, Brenden “Curly” Calas after winning a state title as a sophomore.
Seeing athletes succeed is near and dear to my heart, so when I hear of the horror story workouts they follow it seriously breaks my heart.
I’ve trained LOTS of BIG, Strong guys…. but they were absolutely useless when it came time to compete.
Sure, they could bench 315, squat and dead 405 but they were WEAK mentally….
They were Weak when we took them out of their comfort zone of only lifting heavy.
They were weak with the basic bodyweight movements such as push ups, lunges and simple animal crawls. They also got hurt by doing Simple tasks such as deadlifting the farmer walk bars that were only 110 lbs in each hand.
Hell, I have COUNTLESS wrestlers who weigh 110 – 120 lbs and they can farmer walk the 106 lb kettlebells in each hand. Many can do more. We’ve built them up to carrying over 100% of their bodyweight in EACH hand.
Strong is useless when there is no athleticism behind the strength.
As soon as I got through a few of these big, strong and useless athletes, I decided it was time to push the bodyweight training for speed, throwing of objects, use of lighter weights for higher speed…..
I had to re-build these useless athletes into agile, mobile and hostile BEASTS.
We got rid of the excuse of being too heavy or too big to jump, throw, sprint, climb rope, etc.
NO excuses.
For your own training, start implementing some form of speed / power before each workout or as separate workouts.
You’ll feel a million bucks better in no time.
You’ll be more athletic, more explosive and healthier.
That’s your homework for your early AM workout tomorrow.
You are training tomorrow morning, aren’t you?
Have an AWESOME Thanksgiving tomorrow, eat BIG but eat clean and wake up before everyone else and sneak in a workout tomorrow morning.
I’ll be up at 5 AM to get ahead of the family 
Live the Code
Peace
–Z–
PS: By a LONG shot, I’ll tell you straight up….
This is the most POWERFUL DVD I have ever watched, no pun intended.
Check it out and put an end to being Strong, Slow & USELESS.
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Nov 23rd, 2011. 7 Comments.
After training for 21 + years, there is one thing about me that will simply NEVER die.
I’m ALL about the iron.
It doesn’t matter what shape or size the weights are, I don’t discriminate, I just love to lift. I get better with age, and the reason being is because I ALWAYS Lift and I ALWAYS Learn.
Here’s a few lessons that have stuck with me for a loooong time, you’ll see who influenced me and who I learned them from as well. More to come in Part II.
1) Deep Squats: Ya gotta respect the photo above, DEEP squatting. Reminds me of when I was training for bodybuilding at age 19. I used to squat super close but didn’t go down all the way. I was at Diamond Gym and a trainer there named Tony called me out. He made me widen up my stance as shown in the photo above and wouldn’t let me go heavier than 135 until I sank down, ass to the grass.
He told me this is how power lifters and olympic lifters train, allowing them to pack on thick, dense muscle to their quads, hams and glutes. He was right.
2) Lift Heavy in the 1 – 5 Rep Range: We hear so much confusion about how to pack on muscle and gets strong it gets confusing. Granted, there are MANY ways to get stronger, bigger, faster, leaner and meaner….
At Joe DeFranco’s house, we were going through his book shelf and looking at the training books and old DVDs he had. Joe had been heavily influenced from some old VHS tapes that his Dad, George, bought for him. They were olympic lifting tapes, with the lifters being extremely strong and powerful, doing lots of sets in the 1 – 3 rep range.
3) Heal Your Body: It’s actually not as hard to become stronger and bigger as it is to heal yourself when injured. Injuries affect you mentally AND physically. Jonny Hinds has influenced me BIG time in learning Eischens Yoga to heal injuries. When you compete as an athlete, lift heavy or perform explosive movements you are bound to get injured someday, some how. We’ve been using Eischens Yoga to heal our wrestlers and football players as well as myself. Check it out HERE.
Below, you’ll see a quick warm up, some heavy Kettlebell Snatches. Part II to come soon.
This is minimalist training at it’s best. I attack 2 heavy lifts in a workout and anything after that is icing on the cake. Weekends get short, hard runs to keep the cardio going as well as quick bursts of calisthenics.
Check the videos….
Thanks to the power of video editing the top of my lifts got cut off, check the 88lb snatches below. Time to get 10 reps, 5 reps ain’t gonna cut it. 5 reps = average.
Part II coming soon.
Question for You: How have you changed your workouts lately and what is the latest thing you’ve learned with regards to lifting.
Drop a comment below, looking forward!
Peace!
–Z–
Recommended Resources:
Underground Inner Circle 30 Day Trial
Underground Strength Coach Cert – Last Chance for 2010!
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on Sep 28th, 2010. 17 Comments.
Three summers ago at Joe DeFranco’s strongman contest I was introduced to a guy I had heard lots about. I had heard the rumors….Some crazy ass business man addicted to strength. Word was he was some BadAss Business Man, strong as hell and had to overcome a LOT to get where he was in health AND business.
His name, Jeff Sica.
I kinda knew his story as we met briefly at Joe DeFranco’s documentary release, STRONG, but I did not truly know the severe extent of what really happened to him and how or why he became so obsessed with strength and why he sought out Joe.
There was a short spot focused on Jeff during the documentary and when I watched it I didn’t realize that the jacked up guy I met only 45 minutes ago almost didn’t survive through a rare disease! That night was an emotional night for me.
I got a deeper look inside the family life of Joey D, I saw Joe’s Dad cry and express the meaning of family and I had just met a guy who almost lost his life and was now chasing a 405 lb bench press. It was at a time where I was regularly working from 7 AM – midnight or 1 AM and thought I had it pretty tough.
This night taught me otherwise and it toughened me up mentally in more ways than one.
Check the video below and you’ll see Jeff talking about life and lifting and how the two coincide…..
Jeff was a very reserved and quiet guy when we met. I didn’t know much except what I had heard from Joe.
The REAL word was, Jeff almost lost his life at one point due to this rare disease, and because he was so committed to life in general, it was only natural for him to become committed to his health after he made it out of the hospital.
Jeff got extremely sick in 2001 with a bacterial infection that attacked his skin and then was headed to his heart and brain. He suffered with fevers around 105 and facial distortion. He was packed in ice and treated with an arsenal of antibiotics that wiped out the infection and also his stamina.
Here and there I get sick and it wipes me out for a few days perhaps a week. The mental fortitude one needs to bounce back after 6 months of exhaustion is mind boggling and impressive to say the least.
So, like many over achieving business men, Jeff wasn’t interested in being your typical business man who hits the elliptical for 45 minutes 3 days a week after a long, hard day at work.
Nope. That’s the WRONG guy. This guy is DIFFERENT. WAY different.
He told a friend he had to get BACK on track and he asked his friend to research the best trainer in NJ. His friend told him about some dude named Joe DeFranco, who became the key to changing Jeff. Jeff began training with Joe twice a week and then employing Joe’s method of training two other days on his own at home changed Jeff forever. He never looked back, and has not been sick again since making his comeback. He made Joe’s washed up meat head hall of fame instantly!
I knew of Jeff’s goal to bench 405 and so when we met in person again, there seemed to be a mutual respect that we were both a bit crazy. Perhaps we had BOTH just heard strange stories of one another. Who knows what Joe and his athletes have said about me, haha!!
When I arrived at Joe’s first open strongman contest with 10 + high school and college athletes ready to rumble, the question was, “Who the hell is Underground?”
We were an unknown gym at the time and Joe was explaining to others that we were basically a bunch of crazy bastards coming from some tiny warehouse gym loaded with strange objects like stones, kettlebells, sandbags and more.
When Jeff saw our guys compete, I think we earned his respect a little more as well. He saw our guys fighting for every inch of speed and strength on that hot day. Jeff’s wife liked what she saw in our athletes as well. Perhaps she saw the same “fight” in them as she saw in her husband.
Every time I ran into Jeff it reminded me of a guy who I had first seen on ESPN, competing as a bodybuider in The Mr. NJ competition. We became friends when I was a bodybuilder at the hardcore, Diamond Gym. The bodybuilder was a business man and as I grew up in that gym, from a teenager and then into a working man, working as a teacher, we always discussed the need to be strong as I got older.
His name was Carlo, and he was in his mid 40s, strong as hell and ALWAYS ripped. He seemed to never slip, always tight on his training, nutrition and his tan! haha
He would tell me that his business was so successful because of his physical and mental strength. He mentioned how he would dominate business meetings because of his energy and his ability to handle large quantities of work and complete tasks in less time than others.
Carlo would always train with his wife. She respected him for his drive and loved him for his dedication to his health and his family. He kept things simple, it seemed to me. Be strong and ripped, be healthy. Love your wife and love your family. Kick ass in business.
Jeff Sica does the same. I am lucky to have crossed paths with men like this. I spent many years training side by side with Carlo. My respect to him was great and my memories of his intensity and his passion have never faded.
With Jeff, although we have never trained together, I have the common bond. The feeling and the understanding of what he does while in training, his commitment to strength, business and most importantly, family.
I have known Joe since 2004, we met 2 weeks before I got married and I had studied his methods. Jeff has been training with Joe since 2001. I know his last 9 years have been an intense battle with the iron.
Men like Jeff Sica are a RARE breed.
If you ever feel you are down and without hope, look at Jeff’s battle to regain his health inspire you….
For a little over 6 months Jeff had NO energy. He was always a regular at the gym and worked 12-15 hour days, but he barely made it through these days. Finding Joe, was the key to change, training with him twice a week and then employing Joe’s method of training two other days on his own changed him forever.
Jeff never looked back, and has not been sick again since then. He made Joe’s washed up meat head hall of fame instantly! Its easy to see when you look at him the work he has put forth, stretching his shirt sleeves with his jacked up guns, big ass traps and chest….
Jeff Sica IS built like a BadAss.
Jeff’s wife, Lori, spoke to me about his dedication and she said she doesn’t think there is anything he looks forward to more than training after a long, hard day at work as it clears his mind a bit. Joe has to force him to take a week off once in a while.
Behind MANY great men stands a great woman and a great family. Marriage is sometimes the toughest thing one can face, but it has made me a MUCH better man and for sure, my life is better with my family. Before meeting my wife, to be honest, I had NO goals of what I have today. I was self centered and focused on ME and how everything could benefit ME. It was NOT a good way to live.
Every time I run into Jeff I see him with his wife, Lori. It’s NOT odd to see a good man spending most of his time with his best friend and biggest fan. Last time we all met was at Joe DeFranco’s charity dinner for The MS Society. I believe she convinced Jeff to take it easy on me as we battled for a bid on a David Diehl autographed NFL Jersey. BIG thanks to Jeff and Lori for taking it easy on me, haha!
Lori connected with me as I told her I was inspired by what Jeff does and how he lives with greatness. She was honored to share some info about the man who nearly lost his life and now gives his ALL to his family and those around him.
Jeff has been married for 15 years and has 3 kids, a son who is 12, and twin girls who are 11. Jeff is the defensive coordinator for his son’s football team and has recently launched his own company, Sica Wealth Management.
A typical day for Jeff…. Up by 5 AM and in the office by 7. From August through October he coaches Football three nights a week. Outside of that, while he always worked long hours, this year, getting the business started required more hours..some weeks 7 days and as late as 11 or 12 pm.
This has been his dream for many years, and after assembling a great team, getting the right business plan and just about perfect office space, he made his dream a reality on May 28, 2010. He is also the vice chairman of the Board of Directors of Daytop NJ, a program for adolescents fighting the demons of addiction.
Even with all that, he finds time to be an amazingly thoughtful and loving husband and father.
When it comes to nutrition, Jeff is adamant. Lots of protein, lean organic meats, vegetables, no gluten and no dairy…well, an occasional piece of cheesecake.
Vitamins, pre and post work out shakes and a few through out the day as he sometimes doesn’t have a minute to eat. Jeff is passionate about serving his client base, always looking forward, helping to bring out the best in others: doing everything, working, training, helping, mentoring, with an intense drive and focus.
It’s an honor to shake Jeff’s hand every time we meet. It’s awe inspiring to know such a man. Jeff’s story and commitment to family, health, strength and being an overall BadAss inspire me to take EVERYTHING I do to the next level and then some.
If you’ve been inspired at all by Jeff’s story please drop a comment below and share.
I’d like to thank Jeff’s wife, Lori, for taking the time to share more of Jeff’s story with me as well as always being supportive for the success of The Underground. I’m honored and grateful beyond words.
Thank you to ALL who read this Blog and have inspired me to go beyond the workouts that once began in my parents garage.
Most of ALL, thank you to my wife and my beautiful children, without them, I am not even 1% the man I am today!
Lead from the FRONT!
–Z–
PS: Please drop your comments below!
Filed under Articles, Kick Ass Business, Kick Ass Life, Success by on Aug 8th, 2010. 24 Comments.
Below is a lil’ compilation of various Football / Gridiron Gladiator Workouts.
From myself to my bruddah Joey DeFranco and Duane Carlisle.
Duane Carlisle is the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for The San Francisco 49ers.
Years ago, Duane had several locations of his OWN in NJ, not too far from Edison. I would listen to countless audio interviews with Duane, especially his speed, agility and conditioning work as my expertise was in getting them Strong as Hell.
Duane has given an inside look as to how he trains Football players with regards to Strength, Speed / Agility & Conditioning. You can pick it up HERE. If you snag Duane’s Total Football Training, e mail me your receipt and I’ll send you The BEAST Strength Program).
Check these Videos of Gridiron Gladiators in Training, Jerzee Style.
Now that you’re blood is pumpin’ it’s time for you to rip through some heavy weights and run some hills!
Lead from the FRONT
–Z–
Recommended Resources:
Duane Carlisle’s Total Football Training
Underground Strength Inner Circle 30 Day Trial
Filed under Announcements, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Jul 23rd, 2010. 5 Comments.
Team Underground has been competing in Strongman Competitions held by Joe DeFranco since Day 1. I believe the first one was 4 years ago in the parking lot of Joe’s Gym. It was held after an Elite FTS Seminar where Jim Wendler & Dave Tate were present.
I still remember getting a 600 lb tire 3 or 4 days before the event so our guys could practice the tire flip. The tire was old and grimy and the guys couldn’t even grip the tire.
It was the beginning stages of The Underground Strength Gym being in a warehouse, after several years of being housed in my 2 car garage.
No one expected our athletes to do well as we were unknown to others. What others did NOT know was that my athletes were like a tightly knit unit of a Military Special Forces Team. They had gone through Hellish Underground Workouts in my garage, backyard and at a school field down the road from my house.
I still recall the spectators at the first strongman competition asking, “Who the hell is Underground?!?!”
That first Strongman Competition was an epic day and one that I still remember as if it just happened 2 minutes ago, where one of our athletes, “Curls”, had to compete against Adam “Trigs” Triglia in an overtime finale with a prowler race for the high school division crown.
Trigs won by a mere fraction of a second and it would spur Curls to go on and win the next TWO strongman competition titles hosted by Joe DeFranco.
From chubby slow poke as a kid to the world’s strongest college athlete it was a helluva ride. I try to explain to my athletes often that this chokes me up and makes me proud as all heck, but I still see nerves in their eyes every time I talk to them about what I want them to do and the high expectations I have of them.
This year, as we prepped for The World’s Strongest Athlete my nerves were running more than ever. With our college guys coming back to The Underground with nagging injuries and crazy work schedules we had to work around LOTS of injuries, strange time schedules and I had to rebuild these warriors.
We used lots of Eischen’s Yoga & soft tissue work to get the body’s back on track. Strongman training was actually VERY low volume and we focused on Kettlebells, Bodyweight and Muscle Building movements.
Several weeks our from this year’s WSA competition, my former students from Elementary School, Curls & Coop, stood nervous as we went over workouts, expectations, nutrition and MORE expectations. I got a bit choked up as I looked back to how fast time had gone.
It seemed like yesterday that these two boys were in 4th grade and we still bring back our memories of Curls rapping in 4th grade math class using Football touchdowns and field goals to help the class memorize their times tables.
Coop still remembers getting in trouble with me and sitting out after performing a death defying head spring off the vault during while I was teaching Gymnastics.
Curls remembers being slower than everyone else and getting tagged first in every game.
I remember those days like yesterday and after the WSA was over, I had this clear vision in my head of these boys still being scared and nervous every time I spoke to them. I realized we had only 1 more year of competition ahead and that as a TEAM, we had seen each other change and grow.
The boys growing from elementary school to high school stand out Football players, and today, the standouts of their college Football team. Myself, a teacher and wrestling coach and today the owner of The Underground Strength Gym.
Last year, our top athletes represented BIG time at The World’s Strongest Athlete. Curls took 1st in the college division, T Woods 3rd in high school and Kevin Kelly, a NJ State Trooper took 2nd losing the entire event by a mere half second.
It was a stressful day of events this year, with our high school Beast, T Woods, going through a repeat battle as Curls did when he was in high school. The first Prowler Race was so close we had to go into Double Overtime where Pat Cole edged out T Woods for the title. I didn’t get as much video footage as I wanted as I was too nervous pacing the floors of the event watching all our athletes compete.
T Woods had just finished a whirl wind 2 weeks as he was in full blown Football practice for the Snapple Bowl, a Football Game that pits the best players of Middlesex County VS Union County and you can see the reporters were BIG time impressed with his presence on the field HERE.
When Travis began training at The Underground, in the garage, he was training alone, in a corner almost, as he was too weak to deadlift more than 185 lbs without rounding his back.
On the other side of the garage was Curls & Coop, deadlifting 500 + lbs and motivating Travis to that next level. T Woods went from 160 lbs to 220 + lbs and is heading off to play college ball.
Check the highlight below and you’ll see how tough this event was and why I am so proud of the athletes who represented from The Underground Strength Gym.
Before the day was over I was PROUD of my crew for representing BIG time in more ways than one. They competed with every ounce of strength they had to raise funds and be strong for The MS Society as all funds were donated to MS.
The crew was ready for the next step and that was to prepare for their next season. They ALL showed up Monday ready to train again. Dedication. Commitment.
Although we battle for 1st place during this competition, our crew and DeFranco’s crew have become brothers through the years. It’s been an awesome journey watching our high school athletes grow into college athletes and now on the verge of graduation they’ll be heading into the work force.
I believe these are THE kids who can bring the economy back on it’s feet as they are warriors, they understand how to get results and don’t fear the hard work, sacrifice and commitment necessary to become a BIG success.
What these boys have learned in the weight room has made them better MEN.
And, because of these times and these athletes, I too am a better man.
I am grateful and honored.
Lead from the FRONT.
–Z–
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Calendar, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos by on Jul 21st, 2010. 10 Comments.
Joe DeFranco just released our TOP Rules to live by when building your own warehouse gym business HERE.
Rather than do what Joe & I did, which is the investment of tens of thousands of dollars on business services & products, you can get it ALL for a fraction of the price and in a fraction of the price. Click HERE to take action.
Check us out as we’re “Ridin’ Dirty” talkin’ Biz and you will get a taste of what’s coming your way when you get Lost Secrets of Strength: The Business Files.
The above videos just dropped GOLD on how to get your Warehouse Gym pumping.
There is TONS more Right HERE, get yourself a nice holiday gift HERE.
Peace!
–Z–
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Q & A, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, marketing by on Dec 18th, 2009. 1 Comment.
Dave Draper said it best, “Dungeon Gyms are Heaven”.
Unfortunately, Dungeon Gyms are as rare a finding as is finding Sasquatch.
Check the Video…
Was that gym sweet or what?
I never saw Joe D look so nervous, ha ha
Sorry for the speedy tour, I had to get my ass back to Edison and open the doors to a HardCore Gym.
Peace!
–Z–
PS: Stay tuned, The Lost Secrets of Strength: The Biz Files are coming soon
PPS: I am laying low on holding my own Underground Strength Mentorships in groups, and taking 1 on 1 or business partners on individualized coaching instead (e mail me if you’re serious and want in).
But… Elliott Hulse is hosting the final Underground Mentorship in Florida, December 5th. If you wanna learn how to start your biz, click HERE for more info.
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Calendar, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on Nov 25th, 2009. 21 Comments.
An inside look at Joe DeFranco’s kitchen and how a busy man eats.
Lots of supplements and Lots of caffeine….check it kids….
The journey gets crazy now that we’re leaving Joe D’s pad….
Stay tuned!
–Z–
Filed under Articles, Q & A, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on Nov 24th, 2009. 1 Comment.
More info on how to organize your day to day and year to year business information.
A little inside look at Joe DeFranco’s MeatHead Kitchen.
This is golden info that I wish I had when I was starting out!
I keep a filing cabinet in my gym and a filing cabinet in the home office.
You need to organize EVERYTHING by category. Check with your accountant and see what he / she tells you to do.
Episode # 5 Coming Up….
–Z–
Filed under Articles, Calendar, Q & A, Success, Underground Strength Show by on Nov 24th, 2009. Comment.
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