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STRONG Life Podcast ep 495
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As I am working on IRON JOURNEYS II, I came across some old articles by Dr. Ken Leistner and so naturally, had to get the original magazine articles in my hands.
Some people are fine with the digital world but I prefer the physical, hard copies of books and magazines.
During my research I was fired up coming across training articles almost as old as I am.
I came across an old video I shared on IG and then re-posted it of Dr. Ken.
See below:
I was fired up!
I was also fired up because I have been disappointed (Read: Pissed the F-- Off!) in how teen athletes are today along with their parents.
Endless excuses. Weak mindset. NO respect for Strength. Always leaving for the next shiny object.
And, the young coaches who endorse this BS and turn high schools into a Jr league for NIL.
F-k that.
IRON JOURNEYS II is coming back because the world needs it.
The only people who will read IRON JOURNEYS are those who are already living the code.
Everyone else will be staring at their phones looking at clowns talking about some "new exercise" they invented that was being done in the 60s.
Here is a short excerpt from my new Intro.....
Just a little taste of what's to come....
I wonder who trained with this vintage York Barbell? Did a father buy it for his son who was getting bullied at school?
Did a Grandfather pass it down to his Grandson to train for Football while reading the book Super Squats or Ditillo’s Muscular Bulk & Power? Did Grandpa tell his Grandson how to make the GET BIG DRINK from an old Keys to Progress article?
Did a Dad drive hours from Maryland in his old station wagon to York, Pa with his “hard gainer” son to buy a barbell set after working 3 months of overtime at the factory to make it happen? Did they drive in their station wagon with roll down windows, no air conditioning and Chuck Berry on the 8 track?
I cherish & respect the days of the past because of how hard people had to work to earn everything. Ahhhhh yes, Earn EVERYTHING. Do we not value information anymore because you can just scroll on your phone and find it in 6 seconds?
What about the days of waiting for Muscle Builder & Power to arrive at the local convenience store or newsstand to read articles from Bill “Peanuts” West and George Frenn about powerlifting and athletic strength training? I was too young for those days (1968 – 1972) but I have those magazines and those articles will tell you how to get STRONG like a punch in the face!
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In fact, Dr. Ken photocopied all those articles and then gifted them to Jim Wendler in a spiral bound book. Jim gifted the book to me because he said he knew I would cherish those articles more than he would. It has been one of the most amazing gifts I have ever received in my life.
Those black and white photos literally jump out from the pages, especially with those deep dish Zuver plates loaded up on the barbell. What about Zuver’s Gym made it so special? Certainly, it’s always the people. You can feel the camaraderie from every photo of Zuver’s Hall of Fame Gym. Today, how can you build friendships or get mentored by the strongest guys in the gym when everyone is plugged in with their headphones and unplugged from the real world? It’s sad to see as I have amazing memories of being mentored and making new friends at every gym.
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Everything was supersized in Zuver’s Hall of Fame Gym, welded by Bob Zuver who was part of the early UDT (Underwater Demolition Teams), aka the Navy Frogmen, which are today’s Navy SEALs. Rumor has it that there were dumbbells over 150 lbs and many men used them for accessory work after benching. Another favorite accessory was weighted parallel bar dips on the 12 ft “Big Dip Rack”. I doubt these guys needed any “pre workout” – back then, your PASSION was your pre workout!
​Dr. Ken Leistner was training at Zuver’s Gym in the late 60s and lifting thick bars and kegs before they were a thing; this was Strongman Training before Strongman was the norm. They simply called it GETTING STRONG! Today, high school athletes are asking me about bench presses to the neck to work their upper pecs. Decades ago, your goal was to incline bench 315 for 5 reps. Again, GET STRONG, EAT BIG, DRINK MILK. Doing the right work on the basics took care of your “upper pecs” and anything else you wanted to grow.
Video Below:
Listen HERE on Apple PodcastsÂ
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When I see teen athletes trying to grow their arms and all they do is empty bar curls (45 lbs) and 20 lb dumbbell curls, I tell them to start doing 50 pull ups and 100 push ups instead. STOP the pretty boy pump up BS.
The trick here is you must LOVE the Work. You need to chase it. Today’s training is not really training. It’s a workout….. it’s exercise. Training is when you have a goal and it all revolves around hard, gut busting work.
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I guess I don’t fit into this world anymore because working hard makes me “Old School” and Old School means you’re “not smart” because you’re not training athletes with 20 different electric gadgets. Speaking of athletes, I look at the best wrestlers in the world and they come from the mountains of Russia. They are running hills in the mountains, training with stones and attacking odd shaped weights welded together like a prison weight pile.
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We have gotten so far removed from training in today’s high-tech world. In fact, I would go far as to say most athletes are NOT training. They are exercising. They are working out. How about you start WORKING IN!?!? Take your training to such levels that you find out who the f—k you REALLY are. Push yourself in training where you build the mind, not just your body.
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That's ALL for now and plenty more to come.
Live The Code 365,
Z
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