Last night I went to the neighboring downtown with my family as everyone got some ice cream. In case you’re wondering, I skipped the ice cream part 
Don’t worry, I’m still human, I eat ice cream, but I’m on a mission, and that will require doing what others don’t do.
On the way home, about half way there, my wife dropped me off on the side of the road so I could run the rest of the way. This wasn’t your typical jog all the way and do nothing else.
No my friend, this was a brutal workout mixed with many different methods and movements.
First of all, I had to run the first few minutes up a steady incline. I ran instead of jogged, but didn’t sprint all out. I then walked the distance of 2 or 3 houses, dropped and cranked out 10 push ups. The running began again, this time, through the woods behind my old elementary school, jumping over bushes, downed trees, on the side of a hill and finally sprinting through the parking lot.
I jumped up and grabbed the basketball rim and cranked out 5 perfect pull ups.
Read more on An OLD wrestling workout…
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Articles, Calendar, Success, Zach's Workouts by on May 25th, 2008. Comment. 
I have been a big believer in hand walking ever since my undergrad class in Gymnastics.
My instructor was Mr. Gozales, he was an All American Wrestler and the owner of a Gymnastics school. He was ripped and rugged, built like a rock solid statue.
One of the students in my class was wrestling for the University as a freshman when Mr. Gonzales was a Senior. He told me how Mr. Gonzales would do back flips to escape from take downs and was faster than a bolt of lightning.
Read more on The power of hand walking…
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Articles, Calendar, Zach's Workouts by on May 23rd, 2008. Comment.
Slightly over 2 years ago a young wrestler began training with us….
He weighed 88 lbs at the time and was 1 month out from wrestling season in which he would be wrestling at 103 lbs.
We had little time to prep before the season and in the first 3 weeks of the season he broke his collar bone during a wrestling match.
When you’re weak and have little strength and muscle, you can bet that your ligaments and bones are also weak.
Through the years we trained him with our Underground methods and every year he kept packing on the muscle and adding lots and lots of strength.
Believe it or not, we did not use a whole lot of barbell work….no back squats and no bench presses.
We didn’t have the need for them for the most part. Everyone needs something different, we can’t prescribe the same thing for everyone all the time, and this was certainly one of those times.
Read more on How I trained an 88 lb. weakling…
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Articles, Q & A, Success, Zach's Workouts by on Apr 23rd, 2008. Comment.
Wow, I was just remembering a guy who was a grade under me in high school. He was 103 lb wrestler as a freshman and his intensity was amazing. I watched him warming up 2 hours BEFORE his county final match in the corner of the gym with his walkman on, pacing and skipping near the bleachers.
As the years passed he packed on the muscle. Junior year he hit 135 lbs and senior year he was a rock solid 152 lb wrestler. That’s a 50 lb jump in only 3 years time.
When I graduated high school I would train at a great, hard core gym. The owner welded EVERYTHING together on his own. Power racks lined the walls and HUGE dumbbells traveled all the way up to 200 lbs each!
Pull up bars were welded and installed into the cement walls and there was even a main powerlifting rack / platform in the center of the gym. It was awesome, with tires piled underneath a wooden platform to absorb the shock of the weights being dropped! I NEVER saw anything like this.
The gym had great intensity, and this kid, was training there before his senior year in wrestling. He was damn strong for only weighing 150 lbs, that’s right, he was NOT cutting weight, he was rock solid.
Read more on Intensity that was unseen and unheard of……
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Articles by on Apr 10th, 2008. 7 Comments.
If you’ve been visiting my Blog for a few weeks you may recall my old post about our young Football Player / Wrestler who carries a 100 lb sand bag on his back after every workout at The Underground Strength Gym.
Well, as simple as it is, he is getting to be one strong mofo!
His box squats are getting better and bigger….
His tire flips are looking meaner and more explosive…..
His traps are starting to stretch through his t shirts….
His competition is paying the price….
As you can see, it’s the simple things that work, simple, not easy.
The training is gut busting, I will not lie. It’s not for wimps.
It takes a focused mental drive to do what we do. If you want to achieve BIG success in anything you gotta be ready to put forth the work.
If you want to get the edge, think about the ONE thing you can do to change your workouts that can make a big difference.
What is that ONE thing?
Do you need to add tire flips and strongman training?
Do you need to add deadlifts and other powerlifts?
Maybe high rep squats every other week for 20 – 30 reps?
Maybe back squats on monday, zercher squats on thursday. If you wanna be as strong as a house ya gotta build the foundation.
Maybe you need to go crazy every other week with a workout that breaks ALL the rules….carry a 100 lb sand bag on your back for 1 mile….maybe 2 miles??!!
If you know what to do, then stop fussin’ and start doin’.
If you want to know how we do it and how we can help you, then check this out.
Average and mediocrity are not accepted at The Underground. Learn from us and skyrocket your strength like never before.
Dedicated to your success,
-Z-
Recommended Resources:
Underground Strength Coach 30 Day Trial
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Articles, Zach's Workouts by on Apr 9th, 2008. Comment.
Back when I was paying my way through Grad School I was bartending on weekends at a shot and beer joint. Bar tending was also mixed with bouncing.
Saturday nights got wild because bands played most Saturday nights. It was often standing room only and because this was a shot and beer joint, the drinks went fast and people regularly consumed an average of 8 drinks no problem.
I met some serious drinkers, who smoked quite heavily as well, who worked at the nearby factories and industrial plants. They were strong as hell, and they used to help me carry beer filled kegs from the basement to the tap before we had taps running through the floor down to the basement.
These regulars had big hands and thick forearms, all from their manual labor jobs. They also had no fear of throwing down should anyone bother them in any fashion. Their confidence came through their strength.
Read more on Smokes, Drinks and Can Still Kick Your Ass…
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Articles, Zach's Workouts by on Mar 30th, 2008. Comment.
I was 13 years old, my Dad was getting the big set of stairs in front of our house rebuilt.
I used to run up and down those 32 stairs back in high school after they were built, after I ran my 4 or 5 mile wrestling run.
The guy who built the stairs was named Americo. He was a shorter guy, maybe 5’6″, but I still remember the day he was
showing my Dad the different bricks and stones which could be used for the stairs.
Americo’s hands looked like big meat hooks, his forearms were massive and muscular with veins running up and down them, and his biceps were rock solid.
I had been working out for only 2 or 3 months at this time, and seeing Americo’s arms, hands and forearms really sent a message home. It was that day I knew how impressive and intimidating it was to sport a pair of rugged, muscular hands, forearms and biceps.
That was 19 years ago, and I still remember it like yesterday.
Those hands, forearms and biceps didn’t get big doing a whole lot pencil pushing and in today’s speak, this means that sitting behind the key board and lifting small weights won’t cut it either.
There are many paths one can take when developing the hands and forearms, and the best thing is that when you strengthen your hands and grip you strengthen the rest of your body. I’ve seen this happen every single time, without fail.
You will NEVER find a man with a powerful grip to have a weak body.
You can also see the story of how I met a guy with freakishly strong hands and forearms who put my buddy and I to shame over at http://GripExperts.com
This guys name is Tony, and he doesn’t work out at a gym, ever, instead, he works at a tire yard.
Tires, barbells, kettlebells – they’re all weights. But when you put together the correct recipe,
it spells serious success for you in the strength game.
Check the story out plus a photo of “Tony” over at http://GripExperts.com
In Strength,
Zach
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Articles by on Feb 18th, 2008. 2 Comments.
Wow, today’s workout was bad ass. It was a mix of indoor and outdoor training. Th cold weather really hits the lungs and I miss that feeling which I experienced back in the day of my nightly winter runs during wrestling season.
That was in the early 90′s, and that was also when Rocky IV was already out, why didn’t more of us learn from that movie?
The way he trained with stones, chopped wood, pushed sleds, ran through snowy mountains and performed pull ups on the wooden beams was impressive to the onlooker, but the majority of us still congregated to the traditional gym.
Still, in the traditional gym, we should have been working those BIG lifts like hang cleans and barbell rows and stayed away from the majority of the isolation exercises.
I unfortunately ran into a few guys who trained in this fashion back when I was wrestling.
Read more on The Farm Boys I Met Years Ago……
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Articles, Zach's Workouts by on Feb 16th, 2008. Comment.
When was the last time you have witnessed a man so rugged and powerful looking?
It’s probably been ages, or, quite possibly Never!
How badly do you want to achieve the Rugged look of The Russian Lion?
Everyone wants to develop a physique that is rugged and performs like an explosive animal.
No more puffy bodybuilder look that can’t perform worth a dime, it’s time for the New You!
In Strength,
Zach Even – Esh
http://combatgrappler.com/RussianLion.html
Share and Enjoy
Filed under Announcements, Articles, Videos by on Feb 5th, 2008. Comment.
Recent Comments