the functional training myth

There is a myth behind the term “functional strength”.

Back in the day it was all about balancing on a ball,
a wobble board or anything unstable.

Nowadays it’s all about kettlebells.

When I think about “functional strength” it means
one thing to me and that is my ability to display
strength regardless of the situation I am in.

I want to be able to lift big…that means
being able to squat, deadlift and olympic
lift heavy weights. I want to be able to
flip 600 lb tires with ease, sprint up a hill
faster than all heck, and be able to kick
ass and take names if a bar fight breaks out.

Back when I was bodybuilding, I was strong
for what I was focusing on, so for me, at that
time, that was functional.

But the day my buddy Griffin and I went to the
tire yard to test ourselves we got our asses handed
to us by the tire yard freak (you can see a
picture of him at http://GripExperts.com).

I wrestled with a tractor tire for what
seemed to be a good minute.

Then Griffin tried with equal pain
as Tony smoked his cigarette and watched
us make fools of ourselves.

Tony and his coworker stomped out
their cigarettes and said out loud,
“Easy!”…as they proceeded to flip
the tires several times without even
using a knee lift.

In fact, you’ll see a quick clip
of Tony flipping the tractor tire
on our Ancient Training DVD
(http://combatgrappler.com/ancient.html).

It’s amazing how many different methods are
out there nowadays, but one thing is for sure,
I know what works and what doesn’t.

I am test driving these methods out on a
daily basis. Sometimes I am the experiment,
other times, my clients are the experiment.

Today, we had a mock strongman contest
and our least experienced, least genetically
gifted guy and the guy who actually trains
the least is the guy who won!

Don’t underestimate the power of recovery
and the power of using only what works.

On Fridays this tall lad of 6’4″ trains with us
using all the basics with a variety of tools:
barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, strongman
training and plenty of calisthenics.

There is NO time wasted on movements
that do not add strength or muscle.

So, here’s a kid training once a week
with some calisthenics scattered into
his week when not here, who would have smashed
me during workout had I met him several years ago
when I was bodybuilding.

Lucky for Kurt, he has come to us to experience
training for “functional strength” without
wasting his time elsewhere.

And when his friends ask him how much he benches,
he tells them, “I may not be able to bench as much
as you but if you try to workout with me I’ll
outwork you and kick your ass up and down the
street before the workout is even half way through.”

He’s right….what we do works and that’s the
bottom line, it’s all about results.

In Strength,

Zach Even – Esh

P.S. – I’ve been adding countless videos
to http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com

You’ll get the rare, uncut, raw footage of
exactly what goes down when we train at
the Underground.

I hope to see you there

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Related posts:

1. I Still Remember Him, 19 Years Ago
2. Gymnastics, Tractor Tires and Back Yards