I remember as a kid reading Arnold's bodybuilding books and his Encyclopedia mentioned how he uses Deadlifts. He said to do "a few sets of a few reps". I took that as keeping it fast & furious, never killing the Deadlift or it will kill you. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and done. 3 x 3. 2 x 2. Any of the simple combos above seem to work very well. I recall when I Deadlifted 545 I never went heavier than 405 in training. Of course, I squatted heavy, did various rowing exercises, weighted … [Read more...]
Training Tips for When You’re Short on Time but NOT Short on Excuses
If you would have told me 20 years ago that in my 40s I'd be busier than ever, I'd say NO WAY! The fact of the matter is, I AM busier than ever and if you're an adult with a family, then you likely are in the same shoes. I run 2 gyms, train 100-200 athletes every day and most importantly, have 2 kids. I find a way to get my training in so it does not interfere with family time. I train early in the morning or right after taking kids to school. Sometimes, I have 20 minutes. It reminds me … [Read more...]
5 Reasons to Surround Yourself with GREAT People for GREATER Success & LIFE
I say it all the time and I can not emphasize this enough.... You MUST surround yourself and engage with battery chargers, NOT battery drainers. On Monday, Dan Goodman (Co Owner of Varsity House Gym) traveled down to The Underground Strength Gym of Manasquan with his Head Coach, Adam Menner. We trained, talked business, shop and LIFE. I wanted Dan to take a birds eye view of my business as we work on the next strategy of growth & impact for my various businesses: - The … [Read more...]
Rebuilding the Body, Fixing Old Injuries & Always Learning
I remember my left shoulder and right knee feeling the pain by the time I was 16 years old. At the time of this writing, I am 44. Time flies yet I have never stopped training, EVER. What am I to do? Sit home? On the couch? Do that and you literally become the couch. Training must go on. I must continue to learn and evolve. Not just for myself, but for all the athletes I train. Coaching others is a privilege. When an athletes tells me this or that hurts, I ALWAYS have an answer and a solution. … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Insider Ep. 43 | Be TOUGHER Than Your Excuses
How many excuses can people come up with? Listen, I HATE my OWN excuses. But hearing everyone else with their excuses that never end makes me realize, holy sh-t, I am NOT on their level of weakness. Yes, I know, I know, who am I to judge? But here I am, judging, getting fired UP, hoping this short STRONG Life Insider fires YOU up so you can destroy anything that dares stand in your way. This episode is after receiving 2 replies to my newsletter from men who are TOUGH. Men who are … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Ep. 219 – Martin Rooney & Zach Share Their 50 Combined Years of Coaching Wisdom
Here we GO! STRONG Life Podcast ep. 219 with my man, THE Martin Rooney! Martin was actually my FIRST ever guest on The STRONG Life Podcast and here we are, 7 years later! Man does time fly! This episode can be summed as THE Wisdom Episode for Coaches. You see, Martin and I have a combined 50 years as Coaches, maybe more! I began training and coaching athletes in a hospital fitness center in 1995. In 1993 I was already coaching wrestling. Martin has been at it since the mid 90s and … [Read more...]
STRONG Life 218 | Elmer Bench of Breaking Bars
STRONG Life ep. 218 with guest Coach, Elmer Bench, owner of Breaking Bars Training Center. After 20 years of teaching and coaching Football, 2 weeks in The NFL and a host of bad experiences training in commercial gyms, Elmer took his savings and opened up Breaking Bars Training Center. Listen to his stories and struggles as he built his gym from ground zero to 500+ members! His gym and the community he has built is amazing. Listen to the show and prepare to get fired up! … [Read more...]
15 Year Anniversary of Underground Strength Academy
It's been 15 years since I started The Underground Strength Academy! Feb. 2005 is when it ALL began! I was partnered at first with Ryan Lee and I was writing articles and taking photos from every garage gym training session that I could. Back then there was no iPhone. I used a digital camera and then wrote at least 1 article a day for 3 months. Once we had a few months of content we launched the site! With the site I added seminars, books, DVDs, live teleseminars...... It was … [Read more...]
STRONG Life BONUS: How I Started The Underground Strength Gym
STRONG Life BONUS: How I Started The Underground Strength Gym In this QnA, I answered questions for 1 of my athletes who is now in college at The D1 level. He actually started in 7th grade weighing 82 lbs, now he weighs 182 or more! I get asked about business ALL the time. First off, there is hundreds upon hundreds of free audios, videos and articles here relating to business. But I find that those who truly pay attention, pay. YES, they invest in themselves! So step up and get … [Read more...]
Max Effort Training Tips for Athletes & Sports Performance
Athletes need to be strong, there is NO question about it. With all the fads and gimmicks, some athletes think they need a program of all speed or all agility, and they believe they are “strong enough”. This is not the case. Heavy lifting and struggling take guts. It is HARD. It requires a strong mindset and being ready to fight and never give up. Speed work does NOT require this ‘never say quit’ attitude. Don’t fool yourself, you are NOT strong enough. It's NEVER a case of JUST speed … [Read more...]