It was 2003, maybe 2002, and I had drawn the line.
I was up to my ears in work as a grad student and working full time as a teacher. Not to mention, I was also coaching Wrestling and the season was not far away. My time was pressed to say the least.
It was the first time in 7 or 8 years that I was unable to make the trek to my favorite hardcore gym, Diamond Gym. I was too busy to drive 30 minutes each way, and, with the risk of hitting traffic, you never know how long the commute will take.
I started checking classified ads like a Hawk and I got lucky. A few gems were found, as a few men (lucky for me, NOT for them) had some gym equipment to sell after their gym business went under.
I snagged a 300 lb barbell from CostCo. It was a piece of crap but what the heck, it was all I needed and it was only $99, perfect for a young guy piled high in debt.
I bought a flat utility bench, a pair of 50 & 100 lb dumbbells and a gun rack so I could squat.
If I wanted to do incline dumbbell benching I placed a heavy duty tool box underneath. Worked like a charm.
I trained 2 – 3 x week, it was a blend of powerlifting and bodybuilding. I was most influenced by the stories of guys like Dave Draper, Arnold, Franco and Mike Mentzer as they trained heavy and attacked the basics.
A steady diet of benching, rowing, squatting and heavy accessory work is what worked in the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s and those guys looked better and actually WERE strong compared to the bodybuilders of today.
On the weekend I would go to a different gym as my garage had NO heat. I locked on my headphones and went to town. I was stronger than ever before and also developed a muscle thickness and maturity that I had never developed either.
Not having access to machines, cables and all the other “pump up” bull shit was GREAT.
Every day I ran 1 mile with my Dog, Arnold. It was a balls to the wall run as he would sprint and pull me until I could no longer maintain his pace and then I would get him to show mercy and walk for 15 seconds.
The hard running was great and ramped up my overall work capacity. Running short distances at aggressive speed is something I highly recommend to all of you as long as you don’t have any injuries or conditions stopping you.
Those garage days marked the beginning of an era for me, a new life actually, as I NEVER went back to a regular gym since those days. I drew a line in the sand and never looked back.
I fell in love with training without all the fancy equipment that was never necessary. I cherished having awesome music being played loud as hell and I sure as heck didn’t miss seeing guys on their cell phones right before a set of squats, or checking their hair in the mirror, or reading the paper in between sets!
Life was good as it was the first time I began to go against the grain.
The gains I made in such a short time with the minimal equipment was shocking to myself and others.
I felt like a Gladiator. I felt like I was one of the crew from The Golden Era.
Stay tuned, I’ll be giving away a copy of ‘The Gladiator Program’ and the only way to find out is to subscribe to The Underground Strength Journal.
In Strength,
–Z–
PS: Your FREE chance to get ‘The Gladiator Program’ will ONLY be announced to those who subscribe by entering your e mail in the form below or top right. Stay tuned!
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Strength Building, Success, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Nov 26th, 2010. 24 Comments. 
Is there truly an ART or a Science to getting strong as hell? Hmmmmm…… Ask Louie Simmons and he will say yes, Jim Wendler will also drop his genius with his 5/3/1 program, allowing him to keep getting stronger….and STRONGER.
But, when in doubt, just lift heavy shit with PROPER technique.
You can do high sets and low reps such as 12 x 2 reps OR…. try Hellish set – rep paramaters like 5 x 10 on movements such as the Barbell Clean & Jerk, Deadlifts, Kettlebell Snatch, etc.
Coach Reeve was always training against the clock when he was a competitive wrestler and a college wrestling coach, and, he still does it today with the Football players of Wake Forest.
Not only does this style of training build serious strength and dense muscle, but also develop immense conditioning and mental toughness, something too many people lack nowadays!
Try This: 2 reps on the minute, every minute for 10 minutes of (Choose Any One Exercise) the log clean & press, tire flip, sandbag shoulder, stone shouldering, deadlift, barbell clean & press….
I’ve done this with athletes using heavy weights if they need to gain weight and fighters, wrestlers and combat athlete who need strength endurance / power endurance.
And by the way, if you’re resting 3 – 5 minutes between sets because your last scientific handbook told you to do so you’re missing the boat.
In the REAL world, when the hell do you get to do 2 reps and rest? Learn to push heavy weights with minimal rest and as I mentioned before, using proper technique.
I’ve seen some dangerous form being used in local gyms and even by popular web sites on the internet. It sends the wrong message, and you can’t create a powerful message unless You Lead From the Front.
Time for me to get some rest, the alarm is set for 6:30 AM tomorrow morning. It’s training time. That means heavy weights followed by prowler conditioning.
Check out some footage below.
You may also have noticed less video footage from me. I will get back to the videos, so don;t you worry, BUT, I am zoning out when I train and hate to mess around with a video camera when I am focused on getting STRONGER, FASTER, LEANER & MEANER!
That’s me hitting some thick bar deadlifting and the Prowler Pushing with 9 plates is one of our Freshman Football Beasts, we call him “The Hit Man”.
Peace!
Lead from the Front.
–Z–
PS: For all you Strength & Muscle Building Fanatics, check the 30 Day Underground Trial HERE.
PPS: For those of you who wanna start doing what you love, check out our upcoming Underground Mentorship Courses:
2 Day Underground Strength Coach Certification / Mentorship
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Calendar, Q & A, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Feb 3rd, 2010. 6 Comments.
I’ve got 3 exercises for you below, on video, that if you attack them on a regular basis, you will FORCE your upper body to pack on muscle like never before.
I’m pushing these 3 movements HARD lately, and because I am, they are upping my deadlift, my bench press, military press and of course, adding muscle…..
Check the video….
You’re gonna need TWO things if you wanna push through barriers of strength and building muscle.
One: You need an Unbeatable Mind Set. You simply can’t push the envelope f your training without having the right mindset.
Take a look at the intensity of the Blair Wrestling Team as they train and tear it up with furious intensity and the eye of the tiger…..unlike anything I have ever seen!
Two: To bring up lagging muscle groups, you gotta specialize. Attack your weak areas and let them know you are the MAIN Boss in charge! Attack, attack, attack!
Time for me to hit the gym.
And, by the way, I’ve been eating push ups, pull ups and dips for breakfast. Feelin’ like a Bad Ass.
Peace!
–Z–
PS: I am opening up the doors for a 1 day mentorship – underground strength coach cert on November 14th. I’ll be unleashing ALL my secrets and you don’t wanna miss it. Get in on the action and change your life HERE, Today.
PPS: I am a HUGE proponent in training the mind AND body. You gotta read this Book…and you get a surprise gift with it that will light you up!
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Calendar, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Oct 6th, 2009. 12 Comments.
Sooooo many people struggle with getting stronger and packing on muscle.
To be straight up honest, most of those cry baby – whiners simply train like P**ies. Point Blank 
You gotta get under the bar, push heavy iron and eat clean, like a caveman.
Watch this video of me tearing it up (watch out for a few old school bodybuilding poses in there!)….
I’m almost 34 (yikes!!) and I’m still pushing the limits. I even enlisted the help of my Harley ridin’, crazy mo fo bruddah, Jim Wendler to help me organize my training program along with some help from the muscle nerd, Jeff Anderson.
Ya see, I’ve been training since age 13! NO Breaks, no lay offs or time off.
Sometimes you need an outside perspective on taking the next step, even after 2 decades of throwing around iron.
Jim is helping me get strong(er) and Jeff is helping me specialize in adding some lean and mean muscle - I’m a Deadly Weapon, what can I say!?!?!? haaaaaaaaaaa
I’m tweaking my nutrition to lean out, I’ve lost 8 or 9 lbs and am gunning to get down to 205 or so…..I’ll be a straight up Gladiator.
Whatcha think of the video?
Drop a comment for me, show the luv, kids!
Do you have strength building or muscle building secrets?
Let me know below.
Also, Jeff Anderson is organizing a ton of tips over HERE - if you have a muscle building tip, add your tip HERE and you, along with everyone else who shared a kick ass tip will have them orgnaized together.
It’s gonna be Bad Ass!
Peace!
–Z–
PS: Oh yea, I have a crazy video coming soon on how to achieve ALL your wildest dreams and goals….it’s gonna be BIG on mindset, which is REALLY what helps me WIN at everything I do. It’s my freaking kick ass attitude.
Not enough peeps have the RIGHT attitude – so, they always have excuses for this or that, next time / later, yadda, yadda.
NOW is the time to kick ass, not later or next time.
You’ll be hearing lots of mind set info coming from me, because it’s not enough to be strong in body, you gotta have a powerhouse attitude as well!
PPS: My Underground Strength Coach weekend is a mastermind with training, business, mind set and more. I reveal everything to you, and give you a DEEP glimpse inside my success and how you can replicate it.
Sign up HERE today….later and next time may never come.
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Calendar, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, Zach's Workouts, muscle building by on Sep 30th, 2009. 19 Comments.
Amazing strength and muscle can be developed in a garage, basement or in your own lil’ corner of that fancy commercial gym.
Check out some workout footage from http://UndergroundMuscleBuilding.com
This program would be SICK if you and a few other iron lover friends jumped in on the program TOGETHER, this is when the training can get REALLY intense, just as Arnold did when he was training and competing in Gold’s Venice, he always sought out the best training partners.
If you want a blue print on packing on muscle and raw strength, an A – Z blue print, then stop the guess work and go straight to the answer.
You’re either serious or you’re not.
Which are you?
In Strength,
–Z–
Underground Approved! ==> Click HERE
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Videos, muscle building by on May 26th, 2009. 1 Comment.
I used to belong to one ass kicking gym. It was 7,000 sq ft of free weights, squat racks, power racks, dumbbells going up to 180, countless benches and the sickest powerlifting platform I have EVER seen.
EVERYONE in that gym trained heavy and hard.
Powerlifters AND bodybuilders were rubbing shoulders all the time, it was packed wall to wall with aggressive competitors.
The bodybuilding and powerlifting methods they used were free weight oriented because NO machines existed in this gym.
It worked and it worked BIG time. The physiques walking the floor of this gym were mind blowing.
The strength possessed by these men and women was also mind blowing.
It was like heaven.
Well, to make a long story short, that gym shut down, due to POOR judgement in business.
I remember like yesterday how all these hardcore bodybuilders and powerlifters just disappeared from that place.
I assumed they all went to their basements and garages.
Well, I bet they followed training VERY similar to what you’re about to see below and inside of http://UndergroundMuscleBuilding.com
I still get angered at how this amazing gym went down and disappeared into the pearly gates of hard core gyms.
But, I know this much: the Underground movement is VERY strong through garages, basements and in corners of commercial gyms where a select few gather to train like Gladiators.
If you’re a Gladiator, then THIS is for YOU!
Don’t Click HERE if you’re not 100% serious about packing on muscle and strength like never before in the next 16 weeks!
–Coach Z–
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Strength Building, Videos, muscle building by on May 25th, 2009. Comment.
Just a lil’ highlight of the beasts who stopped by the day before our Lost Secrets of Strength Seminar (coming soon on DVD).
Dudes cruised in from around the country as far as Cali!
They just wanted to watch our Friday crew train but the Underground bug snagged them into the workout and the energy was so damn high we took over the entire parking lot!
This ENTIRE workout is being posted in detail at http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com along with hundreds of other videos, articles and audio interrogations!
Check the vid…
This kind of training packs on the muscle and strength like no tomorrow.
But it’s not enough to just be strong, you MUST be “in shape” which means having the ability to sustain all types of training which is why we have a HUGE emphasis on using bodyweight / calisthenics to improve physical fitness to an even greater level!
What are your thoughts on training for overall fitness and maintaining a healthy balance between strength, power and conditioning?
Post your thoughts, comments and answers below!
Kill it!
–Z–
PS: Watch this ENTIRE workout on video at http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com in addition to hundreds of other Exclusive articles, special reports, workouts, videos and audio interrogations.
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on May 17th, 2009. 10 Comments.
Tire flipping isn’t for everyone.
Strongman training isn’t for everyone.
A SOLID foundation MUST be built before you can dive into strongman training.
There are several different techniques for tire flips, and as you’ll see below, we use a sumo stance, drive up at an angle and focus on power cleaning the tire using a knee lift and running THROUGH the tire.
Running through the tire, driving at a 45 degree angle and using a knee lift gets you away from the dangerous curl position.
Check out the beasts digging into some strongman training with tire flipping.
Other benefits of strongman trianing, specifically the tire flip:
- Hand Strength
- Wrist Strength
- Leg Strength
- Back Strength
- Mental Toughness
The benefits of hand, grip and wrist strength are WAY underrated with tire flipping.
Next week we will begin more strongman training and strongman medleys to prepare for our summer strongman contests.
These are super intense and VERY competitive.
How do you use strongman training in your own workout or with clients?
Looking forward to your comments!
Crush it!
–Z–
PS: My top 2 reccomended resources for implementing strongman and unconventional strength and muscle building methods are:
1) http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com
2) http://UndergroundStrengthManual.com
Filed under Articles, Strength Building, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on May 13th, 2009. Comment.
I have mentioned this so often before, and, in our last post, many of you commented on your favorite exercises being “Ground Based”.
I have spoken repeatedly of the tremendous benefits that come from ripping weights off the ground, especially heavy, awkward Sandbags.
Wanna build muscle?
Want Serious grip strength?
Want power and speed?
Then you MUST rip “weights” of all sizes, shapes and types off the floor.
Notice all the carries we perform in this video…
The workout was coming to an end and we planned on carrying all types of “weights” outside in the parking lot, but, when weather doesn’t cooperate, and in NJ it rarely does, you make due with what you got.
For us it meant carrying dumbbells, sandbags, anvils, weighted vests, kettlebells and even training partners!
Every set began with a power clean of some sort from the ground up, helping the athletes develop power, grip strength during the lift and the carry, conditioning during the carry and overall strength and mental toughness.
I would love to hear how you make due with what you’ve got and how you turn a simple movement into an all around muscle building, strength building movement.
Post your advice, answers and comments below. Last post was just shy of 30 comments, let’s break 30 comments this time!
Kill it!
–Coach Z–
PS: Friday Night at 12 AM, EST, The VIP Underground Sandbag Sale ends. The bonuses you can get before then are Massive. Take advantage of the VIP Underground Sandbag Sale HERE.
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Strength Building, Success, Underground Strength Show, Videos, muscle building by on Apr 16th, 2009. 6 Comments.
Recently a gentleman stopped by my gym to gift me with some very, very, very rare gifts.
This shocked me BIG time….
This gentleman, named John, stopped by my Underground Strength Gym unannounced. Normally, I am not a fan of unannounced visitors as they want to talk and take me away from the # 1 focus I have, training my athletes.
John was DIFFERENT. He waited until ALL training was done for the night before he introduced himself to me.
John watches my Underground Strength Show, a BIG Fan, he reads the newsletters and loves what I’m doing. He loves seeing a young guy bringing back the old school ways of lifting when men trained like REAL men.
He was in the area, visiting a nursing home and some family.
He knew I was in Edison and took a chance of stopping by – I think he feared I would attack if he stopped by unannounced – ha ha.
Am I really that scary??
John is a teacher and a Church Pastor – trust me, I felt very odd and I immediately apologized for my cursing on my videos
I told John I cursed from excitement, and hoped he would understand
John had seen my videos and newsletters on how the strongmen of old influenced me so much, and John had a VERY rare gift stashed away in his attic:
1) ALL The Dino Files from Brooks Kubik. I’m tlaking about the ORIGINAL Dino Files, NOT the re-published Dino Files.
2) VHS tapes of Dr. Ken Leistner - these are tapes with rare footage of Dr. Ken training himself, training D1 Football Teams and training along side his training partners behind his gym on a day called the “4th of July Training Massacre” – this was Brutal! Dudes were throwing up in between sets of doing farmer walks with empty missiles, barbells on their backs, squats & MORE craziness.
He showed up with them in a gift bag, the kind you would give a family member for their baby on a birthday….
Covered in a light dust, there were 3 binders, filled tightly with page after page of old school training, a combination of Underground Strength Training and old school bodybuilding – in my opinion, an amazing combo, deadly for those who stand in your way
After John left I did some research on him. Found a few interesting things….
I found out he was quite the BEAST on the Football field in college and turned down going into the NFL to become a Pastor in his Church! I saw his name sprinkled on a few web sites where men spoke of him as “One of the strongest guys you’ve never heard about….” -
One day I plan to have my gym a place not just for people to train, but also a place for strength fanatics to hang out at. Perhaps with a library of books, DVDs and VHS tapes. A movie room where the old films can be viewed.
This is the type of place I would have LIVED in when I was younger as I used to do my homework at the gym, just so I could be around the weights and hear the sounds of plates clanking together or heavy barbells / dumbbells being dropped to the floor!
They did this back in the day, when bodybuilders of the Golden Era owned supplement shops, the muscle building and strength fanatics would gather in the back of the store, watch bodybuilding shows, read books and magazines, share stories and training methods – all while pounding down their favorite protein shakes.
Sounds like heaven to me
I’ll fill the back room with my library of strength books, videos, memorabilia and more.
I can see it now…
Tales of bodybuilding and Tales of The Underground:
- talks of sandbag training and heavy barbell workouts
- dumbbells and tires
- kettlebells and gymnastics
- ropes and rings
More to come, more to come…
In Strength,
– Z –
Recommended Resources:
The Underground Inner Circle 30 Day Trial
Filed under Articles, Kick Ass Life, Strength Building, Success, muscle building by on Mar 19th, 2009. 2 Comments.
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