Freak Strength, Brute Strength, Functional Strength & Rugged Muscle – if you want ALL of these traits, then you better squat and dead lift.

It doesn’t have to be performed with a barbell either.

You can squat with a partner sitting on your shoulders. I spoke to the inmates at a BIG NJ prison and they told me they squat with partners sitting on their shoulders for 50 – 100 reps non stop!

You can deadlift BIG freaking stones or the back end of that old school volkswagon that hasn’t budged in years.

Might as well make use of that lil’ Bug now!

You can use a barbell or you can use Kettlebells.

You can use a sandbag or you can use a water (or Beer) filled keg.

It doesn’t matter….

What does matter is that squats and deadlifts, since the beginning of man kind, have been known to pack on muscle and strength unlike any other exercise out there.

But, do NOT overuse these movements.

You should rotate various training tools in and out of your cycle of squats and deadlifts to avoid overuse injuries.

I have been experimenting with various tools lately for squats and deadlifts and have been experiencing amazing results with this set up.

The tools I am using are the following:

- Kettlebells

- Sandbags

- Barbell

- Safety Squat Bar

- Thick Cambered Bar for Zercher Squats

- Kegs filled with water

- trap bar

And of course, bodyweight squats with jumps.

Check out the footage below of some deadlifts with a trap bar while barefoot and my buddy, Tyler English, a Natural Bodybuilder, squatting 315 for solid reps at The Underground Strength gym.

Anytime somebody sends me an e mail and asks me why they struggle to build muscle and become strong as hell, they are often missing some critical components.

1) They don’t push for increases in strength. They move around baby weights and confuse themselves with the fact that high reps are great for building muscle only when the weight is appreciable. If it’s 100 lbs and you’re gonna do a set of 20 rep squats with it, think again. Build up to squatting heavy weights for 3 – 6 reps FIRST.

2) They don’t squat or deadlift. They stick to crap like leg curls, leg extensions and machine exercises such as smith machine squats. NO good. Get away from machines and move your body as well as moving dead weights.

3) Their quality of food is poor at best. You need to consume lots of quality food. If you’re a vegetarian it’s a good idea to supplement with extra protein. If not, you need to consume fruits and veggies with at least 75% of your meals, preferably, every meal. NEVER skip breakfast, lunch or dinner and sneak in 2 or 3 small meals or snacks in between the Main 3 meals.

My son is only 15 months old and he just ate scrambled eggs, french toast and some watermelon and pineapple. I know high school kids who don’t eat that much in a day!

It’s time to enter reality and enter The Underground Strength World.

Get busy and don’t ask questions about why you aren’t strong or built like an ass kicking caveman until your squatting 315 x 5 and deadlifting 405 x 5.

Drop a comment or question below.

What are your thoughts on pakcing on functional muscle and rugged strength?

I wanna hear it!

Peace!

–Z–

PS: If you’re willing to EARN your strength and muscle and understand it takes work, learn from me and some of the strongest dudes in the world right HERE.

PPS: Wanna do what I do and start creating your own warehouse gym and get away from that job that you hate?

Join me at the next Underground Strength Coach Mentorship & Certification:

Nov. 14 with Zach ==> http://zacheven-esh.com/1DayCert.php

Dec. 5th with Elliott Hulse in Florida ==> http://zacheven-esh.com/Elliott.php

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On a lil covert trip to the hard core Skiba’s Barbell Club in Carteret, NJ, I was lucky to grill Skiba’s long time bruddah, Ray Anderson.

This is part I of a 2 part interview so stay tuned for part II.

Feel free to leave your comments and questions below and check out the critical message I have for you under this video….

Those were some cool toys, eh mate??

I NEVER Coney Island had their own version of the “East Coast Muscle Beach”?!?!

And, Ed Jubinville used to live in my hometown of Edison, NJ! In fact, Ray told me that Ed’s original gym equipment is STILL in some dude’s basement here in Edison, and the stuff hasn’t been used or moved since!

Maybe I’ll be knocking on doors VERY soon to get in an old school workout with Ed Jubinville’s equpment, time to dust it off, he he he

In Strength,

–Z–

PS: The date for the Underground Strength Gym License is July 18 & 19. I will have info on this in a few days as soon as I am up and about from knee surgery.

PPS: On June 27th I’ll be planning a kick ass Kettlebell Training Seminar, this will go fast so stay tuned for this as well.

PPPS: You dig vintage strength? You will DIG this Big time, Check it HERE.

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The people who are crying over who started to train with sandbags first can finally SHUT UP!!

Before any of us were BORN athletes, strongmen and military were using sandbags.

I have books from the early 1900′s and late 1800′s showing this.

The cool thing about sandbags is you can use them for strength, power, adding muscle / bodybuilding and / or general physical conditioning.

There are NO rules and they are easy as heck to make!

Try doing this workout for a nice mix of strength AND bodybuilding training:

1A) Sandbag clean & press 5 x 5 reps

1B) mixed grip pull ups 5 x submax reps (leave 1 – 2 reps in the tank)

2A) Sandbag on shoulder step up 3 x 8 ea. leg

2B) push ups on rings 3 x max reps

3A) overhead sandbag carry 2 x 100′

3B) zercher sandbag carry 2 x 100′

That workout oughtta rock you BIG time and you can add this as a training day in addition to any of the training you do, regardless of your focus being bodybuilding, powerlifting or just pure strength training.

Give it a go and kill it!

–Z–

PS: Want more workouts just like what I showed you? Check out the Brand New Underground Sandbag Assault Course HERE!

PPS: Get your Underground Sandbags HERE

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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” ways.

Check out the video below…

The complex above is one I sometimes hit, and often times heavier, like 225 – 275.

Lately, the dumbbells and kettlebells have been getting abused by me

Till the next time, Kill it!

–Z–

PS: Until Friday, Midnight, I am offering some hard core, bad ass videos as a bonus to http://REALManMuscle.com – a strength training system I evolved into as life became busier and busier as a father, husband and biz owner. You will Love these Bonus Videos and all the hard hitting content inside the training manuals.

Check it out & get your Bonus Videos.

Kill it!

==> http://REALManMuscle.com

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Check out the latest article on grip and hand strength training:

==> http://www.straighttothebar.com/2008/11/grip_strength_where_is_it.html

Enjoy & Kill it!

–Z–

PS: If you want to develop rugged full body strength and strong hands, check out http://GripExperts.com

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Keep it simple, nothing fancy, hit the weights hard, hit em’ heavy, go light when your body tells you to back off, and, if you’re feelin’ like a beast, go ahead and kill the weights…..and I do mean KILL IT!

That’s 585 x 2……

I’ll break that record soon enough….so stay tuned, it’ll come your way via The Underground Strength Show!

Kill it!

–Coach Z–

P.S. - Tell me about your latest simple, ass kicking workout?

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I was watching some old MMA fights on TV before and it was interesting to see the different physiques each fighter had as well as their level of conditioning: strength endurance, power endurance and overall conditioning.

The bodybuilder type fighters had very, very poor levels of conditioning. They started with a bang and gassed out quickly.

Some of them even got knocked out quickly.

Then there were those who looked rugged, lean and mean. I had seen some of their training and knew that it would deliver in results.

They may not have looked like the guys on the cover of muscle & fitness but man could these guys move with serious speed and they had levels of strength that seemed to never quit.

I used to be a bodybuilder so I remember the feeling of looking like a stud but not delivering on the performance end.

Too many people are missing the boat here and it’s time to change that.

Do you want to make that change?

In Strength,

–Zach–

P.S.- There are a few spots left for The Gladiator Strength Seminar. This will be a very small seminar, where you can expect the utmost undivided attention.

==> http://combatgrappler.com/seminars.html

P.P.S. – Or, you can “spend” your dinero on a seminar filled with scientific, fancy jargon that confuses you and does little for delivering on training that works BIG time in the real world. Fancy talk from book smart gurus who do little in the way of training others with awesome levels of success, let alone training themselves.

It’s time you learned from those who walk the walk and talk the talk.

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This was my latest article from http://Elitefts.com

The title….. ‘NO Respect? Go to the Bsement!’

It’s been pissing many off but making more people happy that  said what I said.

Figured I’d leave this gem right here for you to read, enjoy and feel to free to comment and share with others you know

I have had some interesting conversations with Jim Wendler. One in particular struck a chord with me quite heavily. In fact, it has helped mold a process I use at my gym when training new athletes.

Jim and I spoke about the lack of respect for the weights nowadays, specifically by those who spend too much time on the internet and at these fancy gyms. I see how kids casually skip workouts that their parents pay for without a care in the world. I see how countless high school athletes don’t work jobs because they are full-time high school students who are “too busy” to work.

I see how incoming clients want to get started immediately on the same program as the experienced wrecking crew on their very first training session, completely dismissing the amount of blood, sweat, and tears it took to be able to follow such a program. I see how high school athletes think squatting half-way down actually means “squatting.” I see how way too many people have no fucking clue what it means to be committed, intense, and passionate about something, especially getting strong!

I have turned down prospective clients many times. I have also fired clients due to their lack of effort or their overbearing parents who think smashing their son to the ground during every workout is what it’s all about.

The last kid I “fired” was prepping for college football. Weighing around 160 lbs on a good day and skipping more than half his workouts led me to tell his father that I simply could not take his money anymore and that his son was no longer allowed to train with me. Problems with a girl, this hurts and that hurts…before I knew it, more than half of his workouts were no shows. Some were even late shows.

Kids like this do NOT deserve to train among other motivated kids. I suggest to my athletes that they help their parents pay for their membership with me. You need to earn your way to train with me.

Kids like this need to be sent to the basement, locked up for one hour four days a week, and told they must figure it out on their own. “Here you go, son. I bought you a beautiful 300-lb weight set from Costco. Now, get the fuck downstairs and figure it out on your own. No radio, no mirrors, no guidance, no asking for help. Figure it out on your own. Don’t let me see this door open up until I tell you that your one hour is over!”

Can you get jacked and strong using a 300-lb barbell set? You better believe it! And NO, there is no power rack. EVERYTHING begins from the floor.

Our new clients go through a baseline program that can last anywhere from a few workouts to a few months. The time spent on this baseline program depends on their intensity, progress, physical improvements, mental readiness, and commitment to growth, inside and out. We have them do hand walking, pull-ups, recline rows on thick ropes, box jumps for high reps, jumping rope, sled and Prowler work, high rep medicine ball throws, high rep medicine ball slams, sledge hammer work, push-ups, sit-ups, leg raises, recline rope climbing, and more of the same. The pace picks up every single workout, progress is expected, intensity is expected, sweating is expected….

Complaining is not allowed or accepted. Saying “I can’t…” or stating some other unacceptable excuse does not go over well with me. It’s supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to be challenging. In case you were wondering…

If you are warming up and it looks like you don’t want to be here, LEAVE! We don’t want you here, and the weights don’t want to be touched by you. Negative energy has NO place in a hard core weight room. Don’t try to fool me either. I can tell who respects the weights and who doesn’t. If I see an ounce of disrespect, you’re going to get smashed. You’ll be hitting circuits of wheel barrows, pull-ups, recline rope climbs, and leg raises on the dip bar. I’ll have you pushing the “Prowler of death” until you’re seeing stars and laying in the middle of the parking lot dazed and confused.

The weight room was once a special place. Nowadays, everyone wants fancy this and fancy that and cries a river like Justin Timberlake because they see box squats, clean and presses, floor presses, pull-ups, sled work, and farmer walks on a program. They wanted fancy shmancy. Why do they want fancy? Because fancy is WAAAAY easier than the basics. It will always come down to the basics and gut busting effort if you want results. This will NEVER change.

Louie Simmons kicks people who don’t show respect out of the gym. George DeFranco did the same when he owned a gym. I’m doing this today and will do so until my very last breath on earth.

The kids who respect the weights nowadays seem to be those who have jobs and need to make their own money to support their gym membership. I used to cut lawns as a teenager to earn money for my gym membership. I also washed cars. I worked full-time plus overtime at a summer job to save cash for my first car. I had to stop working overtime when someone posted a sign on child labor laws and found out I was only 16-years-old but working 50 hours a week.

I rode my bike to the old school YMCA and could barely walk my bike home after some of my workouts. Today, a kid plays football for one hour and is too tired to go to the gym afterward and skips a training session that mommy and daddy are paying for!

I’m sick of the bull shit….maybe some of these kids do not deserve to go to the basement. Might be too warm and cozy. How about a 300-lb barbell set in the backyard, regardless of the weather, and some time to figure it out.

It’s time to raise the bar regarding what we expect of our youth or anyone else who starts a strength program. Donald Trump said the young generation is turning into a bunch of wimps. The schools focus so much on positive reinforcement and making everybody feel good that no one can handle the truth.

The truth is hard work—gut busting hard work—on the basics is where it’s at. From my point of view, it looks like we’re going to have some very crowded basements. It’s time to instill some morals, values, and work ethics.

Hard is not what we do! Challenging is not what we do. We have it easy my friends, and when I hear complaining or whining, it sets me off like a time bomb. I almost lost it when one of my own clients requested me to change the rules of our LIFT Strong fundraiser because he was not a sure win. I told him not to compete because he has no clue what it means to fight for something, which is exactly why we hold LIFT Strong events. It represents the fight that Alwyn Cosgrove fought for several years.

Rather than complain about the “challenge,” we must be grateful for it, embrace it, and become better people because of it. Hard is what guys like Alwyn Cosgrove have fought through as well as those like Lance Armstrong, Mrs. DeFranco, Deon Anderson, and the like. These are the people who have experienced what “hard” is.

That’s my rant, and yes, I’m pissed off! And if you walk into my gym, you had better believe that I’m going to take it out on YOU! So be ready!

Zach Even–Esh is a performance coach for athletes and the owner of the Underground Strength Gym in Edison, New Jersey. You can learn more about his methods at http://ZachEven-Esh.com or http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com.

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It was 10 PM at night.

The air was cool and my wife was asleep. My daughter fell asleep at 8:30 PM and I just finish cleaning up, massaging my wife to fall asleep and unable to get in my quick workout, I headed around the backyard into the dark to grab an 80 lb Kettlebell.

The sky was bright, being it was a full moon, I was able to see better than usual.

I had to train, because being strong is what made me successful in the first place.

If time allows, I’ll be squatting tomorrow.

But, for tonight, making sure I lead from the front, I cranked out a brutal circuit under the full moon in my backyard.

The workout went as follows:

1A) 1 arm clean & press x 5 each

1B) 10 push ups

2A) 1 arm snatch x 5 each

2B) 10 push ups

3A) 2 hand swings x 10

3B) 1 arm rows x 10 each

3C) push ups x 10

I did the workout for 2 rounds. At the end, I did the 1 arm overhead walk around the entire back yard, half way around I switched hands. The overhead Kettlebell walk is brutal for developing a strong and stable midsection, it works the abs unlike any other exercise.

It’s one thing to develop strong abdominals, but to develop stability and strength makes you that much more of a dominany athlete. Our abdominals and trunk work and contribute to much more than we think.

At 10 at night I could have strolled down to the office to get work done but priority numero uno is being strong, let me rephrase that, STRONG. So, next time I’ll be working with a 100 lb dumbbell rather than a 80 lb kettlebell.

I have a few little tools here left at home, and if I am stuck in a rut and need to move some iron, I have it at my disposal.

With a little time left, I need to get some work done. I planned on having my latest project out for June 24th, looks like a little snafu is in the mix and I’ll be postponing just a tad, but not to worry, it will be out shortly after.

In Strength,

–Z–

P.S. - Adding kettlebells to the mix of powerlifting, jump training and calisthenics is going to add some heavy duty ammo to your arsenal. Get your old school Kettlebells HERE.

P.P.S. – A few days ago we posted a 10 minute podcast with my crazy homeboy, Jim Wendler, I spoke highly about his 3 days a week training manual and it’s finally out. It’s the way to go if you want to follow a simple program, no ocnfusion, just barbells and dumbbells and a power rack, just 3 days a week. I admire Jim, I respect how he trains and what he has accomplished, and I have read this manual and approve of it 110%. If you wanna be strong, get his manual HERE.

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I have been realizing the lack of respect nowadays, especially with the younger generation.

I’m tlaking about a lack of respect for the weights and how to obtain strength. The kind of strength that people nowadays only dream about yet rarely do what needs to be done to achieve this level of strength.

I’m 32, listen to me talking like I’m “old”. ha ha

I see younger kids getting driven everywhere, rarely
jogging, running, riding bikes or finding other
active means of travel.

These younger kids want big results, super fast, while
doing leg extensions, 25 lb. bicep curls and
lat pulldowns.

My feeling is that these people need to be
sent down to a basement, with nothing but
a 300 lb barbell set and a pull up bar.

“What do I do, theres no equipment for me to work out with?”

Think again…I have just given you all the tools
youll ever need to get incredible results.

The other tool is your mind, but most kids….and men
for that matter don’t think. They are followers,
so they follow what the internet key board gurus tell
them to do when the keyboard guru probably barely works
out himself.

I have experienced the power of a 300 lb barbell set and
not much else.

I have gone behind the walls of the NJ federal prison and sat face to face with “lifers” talking about their training methods that have allowed them to develop incredible strength, speed, conditioning and mental toughness.

It’s time to get rid of the fancy and get back to
the old school.

I’m tired of hearing the excuses and seeing the
laziness.

I’m sending you down to the basement 3 days a week.

Don’t even bother walking back into the sunlight
until you’re drenched in sweat and pushed your body
to the limit.

You better have attacked the basics with a ton of blood, sweat and tears or I’ll kick you right back down those stairs.

Get er’ done!

In Strength,

Zach Even – Esh

P.S. – Here’s something everyone could use. It requires nothing fancy, it does, on the other hand, require pure blood, sweat and tears:

==> http://combatgrappler.com/RussianLion.html

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