I am inspired to write this Blog greatly because of two men, both of whom I speak of often:
Jonny Hinds, Owner of The Monkey Bar Gym, who will also be presenting at The Underground Strength Gym in Edison in October (stay tuned for this announcement).
Rick Gonzales, my infamous college Gymnastics Coach.
These men have the seamless strength of Gorillas. They move their bodies through space and perform bodyweight strength exercises that are extremely challenging, yet they show such tight technique and high levels of skill, making it seem as if they are not even trying.
Kinda reminds me of the awe shocking strength of Gorillas, pulling themselves up and over obstacles such as 8′ walls using one arm with ease and speed.
I still remember Rick demonstrating ring muscle ups, one after another, with ease, talking to the class as if it was as easy as brushing your teeth. He explained to us how it was a pure strength drill, as were the majority of gymnastics basics.
1) Focus on Strength as a Skill: And because the majority of gymnastics drills were based on strength, he had us train for strength using the various apparatuses in the gym: the high bars, rings, parallel bars, pommel horse, crash mats and of course, the wrestling mat. The volume was high and we often had to complete total reps rather than prescribed sets and reps.
Examples were 50 pull ups, 50 dips on parallel bars combined with walking back and forth on the parallel bars, 50 leg raises, 50 jumps on the crush mats, 50 shoot thrus on the pommel horse. It was BRUTAL but I got strong as hell AND explosive from all of this animal training.
2) Walk on Your Hands: I’ve seen Jonny Hinds walk around on his hands with ease, walking DOWN stairs on his hands as well. BOTH men always focused on developing strength, speed, power and athleticism through the various forms of bodyweight training. Jonny also recommended hand walking on monkey bars and rings for greater upper body strength.
3) Jump Training & Plyos for BOTH Upper AND Lower Body: Rick had us perform full body traveling plyo push ups down and across the wrestling mats. Jonny performs resisted jumps for lower body often. Both Coaches used jumps to teach the body speed and power from the legs and upper body. BUT…. this requires a great deal of strength before implementation. Go back to square one if need be and focus on strength as a skill.
Check out my warm up, guided by instinct, followed by a portion of my workout, influenced by men stronger than I am.
And Now, for Part I of the “Gorilla Strength” workout…. I’ve got LOTS of work to do before I can give myself props…
I LOVE training with bodyweight, trying to mimic the movements of animals. I also LOVE ripping into heavy iron using Old School Basic barbell lifts.
Here’s my Question for You:
What type of training do you implement when “training like an animal?”
Drop a comment below, psyched to see you responses!
Peace!
–Z–
Recommended Resources:
Underground Strength Coach Certification
The Convict Conditioning Workout
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Oct 2nd, 2010. 12 Comments. 
I’m droppin’ some vids from my new web site, Get Wrestling Strength, but I bet you can learn a thing or two about training regardless of whether or not you wrestle.
We walk around on our feet ALL freakin’ day, why not use the hands instead?
It’s been a staple of my own training and how I train my athletes for MANY years now.
It improves grip strength, overall upper body strength, shoulder stability and trunk / ab strength & stability.
Look at Gymnasts, they perform countless drills with regular pressure on their hands and their physiques and ability to move with grace and power simply can NOT be argued with!
Think about how Gorillas live and “train”. Unlimited fruits and veggies, constant pulling, pushing of their own bodyweight and of course, wrestling one another.
I’m not saying you have to wrestle, BUT, partner bodyweight training can be extremely effective, which is what wrestling actually becomes. You are always pushing, pulling and lifting your opponent which is the same as pushing, pulling and performing the squat, deadlift and power clean movements.
The MAIN difference being you’re hoisting an awkward, angry aggressive person instead of a “weight” that doesn’t fight back.
My buddy, Jonny Hinds, has inspired me beyond words, and his strength, speed and conditioning speaks volumes for itself.
When I first heard about Jonny, it was through the words of some of the best MMA and BJJ guys in the world, like Rickson Gracie! They spoke of some guy who had the strength of a Silver Back and conditioning that never quit.
Well, Jonny was doin’ a boat load of hand walking on his Power Wheel and he also would go to the beach in Venice, Ca. where there were traveling rings to swing and train on, ropes to climb and various gymanstics type bars set up for hand walking.
He was strong as hell and when a man like Rickson Gracie talks someone up, you KNOW you need to pay attention and listen!
Start thinking about how you can change up your training regime to train more like an Animal.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Can your nutrition change?
- Can your training tools change?
- Do you have to train at the gym?
- Can you train outdoors at a playground or on the trails in the middle of nowhere!?!?
- Can you lift stones instead of barbells and dumbbells.
- Can you consume more fruits and veggies?
- Can you perform more hand walking movements?
Don’t allow yourself to settle into a comfort zone of training the same way over and over, day in and day out.
Train Like a Gorilla, Eat Like a Gorilla.
Get Busy.
Lead from the FRONT!
–Z–
Recommended Resources:
June Underground Strength Coach Certification
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on May 20th, 2010. 10 Comments.
A few years back i was introduced to Jonny Hinds, owner & creator of The Monkey Bar Gym.
Pat Miletich and I were chatting by phone and told me I need to connect w/Jonny. Pat was a former UFC champion and has coached countless greats to the top of their game in the world of MMA.
Jonny and I connected right away and he blew me away with his knowledge and wisdom of physical culture.
We just spoke on the phone literally 15 minutes ago as he cruised around Santa Monica Beach on his bike, and we spoke about building “Natural” type gymnasiums with all types of climbing apparatuses, various surfaces for running, crawling, jumping and more.
I’ve always said, if I didn’t live in the Dirty Jerzee and I was located in a year round warm weather location, I would NOT own a gym with a roof on my head.
It would be a mix of a playground and old school muscle beach…..with a fence around it to keep the normal people on the “outside” 
You see, through my experience, I have met MANY athletes who were strong but lacked athleticism and power.
They could bench 315 but they would vomit after flipping a 400 lb tire a few reps.
They could box squat 400 + lbs but couldn’t drag a sled, couldn’t sprint and couldn’t jump.
At my gym we have guys who weigh 250 lbs cranking handstand push ups, rope climbing, jumping on top of tractor tires 36 + inches in addition to their ability to squat, bench and deadlift.
But, wanna know what REALLY gets my athletes souped up and gives em’ goosebumps?
They recall the days of training when I did NOT own a warehouse gym.
They recall the rope climbing in the backyard, swinging sledge hammers, sprinting hills, jumping on / off picnic tables and walking on their hands across 200′ of grass!
They laugh at the incoming athletes who think “today’s workout” was brutal.
So, if you’re not training like an animal now, when will you begin?
Make it Happen!
–Coach Z–
PS: LOTS of e mails regarding 2 things have been coming through: Lost Secrets of Strength and The USC Certification.
Yes, we have a few copies left of Lost Secrets of Strength HERE
Yes, space is available for both September and October USC Certifications HERE.
PPS: Wanna train like an Animal? Get yourself a pair of Kettlebells HERE – carry em’, throw em’, swing em’, press, row and snatch em’! These will send your training into a whole new world! Get your Kettlebells HERE.
Filed under Articles, Calendar, Strength Building, Success, muscle building by on Aug 25th, 2009. 7 Comments.
Ironically, I have been getting a lot of e mails regarding injuries, pain and staying healthy.
Let me tell you, as an addict of heavy iron for just shy of 20 years, I sometimes wonder if life has a purpose without heavy squats and deadlifts – no joke.
But, I also understand the importance of longevity.
You see, I want to be able to do this when Im 60, 70 and 80 years old…all the way until my very last breath on earth.
It hits me hard when my lower back is so busted up that bending over and trying to hold my kids still to change diapers is painful.
That is a serious problem.
I spoke about this with several friends and colleagues in the iron game and they all agreed…
We all want to be able to play catch without experiencing back pain, swollen knees, achey shoulders and other problems.
Now, the 1 thing I thought I would Never do…and I do mean NEVER….is Yoga…
Until, my homeboy Jonny Hinds spoke to me about his hand pain, back pain, and everywhere pain.
Jonny was a BIG time fan of BJJ and Muay Thai – he trained under Rickson Gracie before the first UFC ever was around and won the Pan Am games in BJJ.
But, Jonny also had his share of heavy training until he met a guy named Roger, who helped him reallign his body and very quickly rid himself of all those nagging pains.
I have been follwoing this Yoga DVD Jonny sent me as a gift for a few days now and each and every day I am feeling waaaay better.
My back and knee have been giving me problems and I follow the program for 12 minutes.
My daughter was trying to do the Yoga sequences with me yesterday, which was hilarious!
I e mailed Jonny yesterday my exciting news of feeling better and told him I would do the sequence every few days or every other day.
He said, “NO, you need to go 30 days in a row, rain or shine, and it’s not even gonna be funny how much better you will feel! All the pains I am experiencing now are a result of my years of beating myself up”
Jon is right, and it’s on, every night, I am doing this 12 minute routine, rain or shine.
Why? Because my health is worth it.
And, I hate being in pain when doing simple things like changing a diaper. I mean come on, is this what it’s supposed to be like at age 32 (I’m 33 on Thursday, yikes!!!) – what happens when I’m 43, 53, 63??
It’s all about being healthy.
And this means being smart.
My earlier years of craziness were definitely not smart.
Still, I cherish those times and would not change them, but, I am making a small, 12 minute adjustment because I want to be healthy and want to do this for a very, very loooong time.
Until the next time,
Kill it & be healthy!
–Coach Z–
PS: If you have any aches or pains, or, you simply want to add a meditative aspect to your training to clear the mind and body, I highly reccomend the Yoga DVD here:
Simply scroll down to the bottom of that page and you’ll see the Yoga DVD.
Keep me posted on your success and as always, e mail me w/any questions. I stand by this Yoga DVD wholeheartedly.
Time for me to get in my Eischens Yoga
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Success, Zach's Workouts by on Dec 1st, 2008. 9 Comments.
My homeboy, Jonny Hinds, is tearing it up with kettlebells and plyos in his favorite style of training, Prison Workouts.
Check it out and test drive it yourself. I have done this while jumping on two tires rather than plyo boxes.
Our Football players have also followed this kettlebell / jump prison workout and it is awesome for strength and power endurance!
Kill it!
–Coach Z–
P.S. - Gotta love the endless variations you can use with Kettlebells! Check em out HERE.
Filed under Videos by on Jul 15th, 2008. Comment.
On my one hand, I can count those who have REALLY influenced me in training AND in life.
Without hesitation, Jonny Hinds is one of those people. I connected with Jon maybe 2 or 3 years ago by phone, after Pat Miletich, the MMA Coach and former UFC Champion, sent me his way.
I would spend over an hour on the phone talking about physical culture and nutrition every time we chatted. We would philosophize about life and exchange cool training and life stories and experiences, and, I’ll admit, Jonny has many more cooler stories than I do ha ha
You have probably also seen me promote very few things that are not my own creations. The equipment Jonny has developed blows my mind and kick ass physically as well as spiritually. Sounds crazy, but if you’ve done bodyweight training you understand that it heals the mind AND body, something I am BIG on.
Two of my favorite tools are his kettlebells and the power wheel, although I am also quite the avid fan of his various weighted jump ropes (which I have ALL of them), the jungle gym and the power push up.
The conversation you are about to hear is jam packed with golden nuggets of awesome strength and conditioning information. You’ll love it. From bodyweight training, healing your injuries through Eischen’s Yoga, REAL core training, the NFL combine and tons more.
Please let others know about this Blog and this audio so we can spread the powerful info unleashed in this audio interrogation with my homeboy, Jonny Hinds. Enjoy!
Click HERE for the Jonny Hinds Podcast!
In Strength,
–Coach Z–
P.S. – Get the power wheel HERE. I have spoken about the powers of hand walking, and the incredible core and ab training you can get from this awesome training tool. You will love it when you get it, I know it!
P.P.S. – Check out all of Jon’s products HERE.
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