Here we GO! STRONG Life Podcast Ep. 214. I wound up doing this live on Instagram with hopes of getting more questions and the audio gets a little crappy in the middle but hang in there, because as always, the information is AWESOME. Plus, I am just NOT into that Hollywood BS, trying to impress everyone with perfection. On the flip side, when I post opportunity for questions on Instagram, I want to see MORE questions. You should question everything. You should desire to learn more, to … [Read more...]
5 Reasons Why High Schools Need Expert Strength & Conditioning Coaches
I've been fighting this fight for a LONG time. I always say, The Kids are #1. Yet, when it comes to what happens in the weight room, I do NOT see this. I see administrators turning a blind eye to what happens in high school weight rooms, even though we've seen / heard on the news SERIOUS injuries (even death) occur due to unsafe training methods. - Do high school kids NEED "Navy SEAL Training"? - Do high school kids NEED to test their 1RM in the squat, bench and power clean? Here are … [Read more...]
135 | Zach & Travis Mash | The Strength Coach / Gym Owner Business & Lifestyle
Travis Mash and I discuss the lifestyle and business of being a Strength Coach & / or Gym Owner. This was a GREAT episode because the past year or 2, I have spoken with a lot of well known Strength Coaches who have stepped away from running a gym and gotten back to their true love; Coaching. On the flip side, there are a lot of business programs out there for Coaches that are being run by people who never owned a gym themselves. This is like learning someone coaching your classes who … [Read more...]
Good to GREATNESS | What It Takes for Athletes to Achieve Their OWN Level of Greatness
Last year after a few podcasts together between myself, John Welbourn & Travis Mash, we decided we're done with the BS information regarding athlete performance. Call it what you want; physical preparation, strength & conditioning, etc. - it doesn't matter. I'm not going to get caught up in more nonsense and add to the confusion. We want to transform athletes into HAMMERS. Not every athlete has the God given genetics to become a pro athlete or an Olympia, but, there are MANY … [Read more...]
The “Crowd” Wants Sets & Reps But Coaching MUST Go BEYOND Sets & Reps
Above, The Crew at The Underground Strength Gym (Middlesex, NJ) Whenever I speak at a conference I tend to not speak about the exercise specifics, the sets, the reps..... First off, the majority of the speakers ARE going to speak on this. Secondly, you will find a GREAT deal of carry over in what we do when you organize a bunch of speakers. Why? Because what works will continue to work for many decades and centuries to come. The fads and gimmicks work on instagram or youtube, in the weight … [Read more...]
Don’t Complicate Your Training: Strong is STRONG & Training is TRAINING
Training doesn't need to be complicated to be effective. Growing up in the 80s and 90s gave me insight to the times of YMCA weight rooms filled with York Barbell Equipment and men who were built like brick sh*t houses. I got to see a state championship Football team crushing the basics in a dump of a weight room while playing The Rocky IV soundtrack day after day. Their success was NO accident: They crushed the basics with consistency AND intensity. I saw my Wrestling Coach doing 10 sets of … [Read more...]
3 Simple Tips To Improve Olympic Weightlifting & Get STRONGER
Here's a cool question that came in the mail box and I wanna answer this question more in depth for you with some sample workouts: Zach, I've been following you for awhile and now that I'm not an active trainer at my local CF box, I have slowly pieced together a garage gym to call home. Which program from your Online Training would you recommend to A) build my strength and .... B) stay on top of Oly/CF type movements? I know I desperately need the strength build up, but … [Read more...]
Power Cleans for Athletes? The How & Why with Zach & Travis Mash
To power clean or not? THAT is the question. The answer of yes or no as well as HOW to Power Clean will vary depending on MANY scenarios that I discuss below in the videos on my own & with Travis Mash. SOME of those factors that will influence the how & why behind the Power Clean Are: College / High School setting where you KNOW you are with those kids for years or long term for the majority of the training Independent Strength Coach where athletes come / go for countless … [Read more...]
Take Your Excellence & SHOVE IT: The Strength Coach Standard
I had some interesting conversations recently with Strength Coaches. Conversations that run the spectrum from "Holy sh*t, I can't believe that happened....", to "He now trains people in his garage & texts our clients, telling them to come train with him...." These random thoughts that I'm going to talk about really came to my mind after I saw my close friend & world renown Coach, Travis Mash talking about how he is turning his weightlifting team into a non profit. I LOVE that … [Read more...]
3 Reasons You Must Attack Deadlifts & Calisthenics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_aSMy9RQyk Give me nothing but a Barbell and I will Build a BadAss. Do you have the discipline, drive and dedication to train with nothing but a barbell? If you do, then we can make it happen. But the truth is that MOST don't desire the simplicity. They crave the fancy. They crave the fads. If my business could be run like a simple training hall we can certainly weed out the not so serious. Add some bodyweight bodybuilding aka calisthenics and now we have a … [Read more...]