When schools or individuals are worried about turf instead of their grass field, a beautiful weight room instead of the old dungeon weight room and sophisticated X, Y, Z ........

They are worried about the WRONG things.

The TRUTH is that fancy and pretty equipment don't mean a thing unless the training and technique is dialed in.

GREAT Coaches & a GREAT Environment Builds GREAT athletes, it's NOT the equipment.

This journey began for me in my early teenage years.

I quickly learned that The Biggest and Strongest guys never came from the gyms with the best equipment. It was the gym with the best atmosphere.

Imagine this.....

You're getting fired up to PR on your Squat and then the "front desk manager" pays no mind to the radio as a commercial comes on, or perhaps Justin Timberlake blasts through the airwaves.

Before iPods.....

Before Satellite Radio....

I was traveling ALL around NJ to find a Gym that blasted loud music.

Here and there I attached my Sony Walkman (Circa 1991-2002!) to my weight belt with my best casette tape gym mix but that was cumbersome and bulky and got in the way during squats and deadlifts.

Then the gym manager walks up to you and says, "You're gonna hurt your back doing that".....

The other lifters next to you are complaining about work, their girlfriends or some other BS.

More and more, the serious lifters are finding their way into basements and garages and building their OWN Gyms.

The Garage Gym can be cold, it can be lonely, but it's Always YOURS.

The Rules are yours and you're free to invite anyone to train with you and kick out anyone who lacks the discipline to "stand on the porch".....

The day I began my Garage Gym days dates back to my time as a teacher, finding time between teaching, coaching wrestling, Graduate School AND training?

I found a way and so are people all around the world.

The results were awesome.

I feel like there's an Us VS Them mentality.

The pretty boys of the Globo gym and the hard chargers of Garage Gyms.

At the current moment, ALL I have is a barbell and 2 Kettlebells.

No squat rack, no rings, no plate tree, no dumbbells.....

Yesterday I tore through an awesome training session and it goes to show you how effort and a NO excuses attitude is the KEY to success.

YES, you need smart training, not just hard training.

Here's yesterday's training session:

I warmed up with some arm circles, hip circles and movement work as it was cold in the garage.

I was getting my mindset dialed in after stressing over my son's health the past week. I watched a few minutes of First Blood and reminded myself WHY I train.

I don't train for the beach approval.

I train to feel like a BAMF. Strong and Tough. It's not for everyone. It's for me and my family. Simple.

Remember, the Expert understands the power of simplicity, the amateur seeks the fads and gimmicks.

Choose your path.

After warming up I did some cleans and rack holds to warm up the elbows and my shoulder for cleans. I am approx. 9 weeks post shoulder op and this was the 2nd time I have done cleans since surgery.

1A) overhand / underhand bent over row 95 lbs 1 x each 12-15 reps

1B) power clean + hang clean 2 + 2 reps each at 95 lbs

Then, did the same for 2 more rounds at 145 lbs

Felt warmed up and did this:

2) EMOM (Every Minute On The Minute) 145 lbs power clean + hang clean 1 + 1 rep x 10 Minutes

3) Back to the Barbell Rowing

1 set underhand, then overhand at each weight:

145 lbs x 10-12 reps

195 lbs x 10 reps

Again did this at 245 lbs for lower reps, somewhere in the 6-8 range per set.

Then, I did 3 x 3 overhand with 295 lbs.

I did them touch and go so it was a slight deadlift into a power row. I wanted to attack my legs and back and haven't pushed the weights on these so I was inspired to move some weight.

After countless sets of bent over rowing, it was time for Deadlifts. All I have is a total of 295 lbs at the moment. My garage is crammed with everything my kids have. 6 years ago I had more bumper plates, rings and a squat rack.

I will get some rings again for stretches, pull ups and ab work. Perhaps a small squat stand as well but for now, it's just a barbell.

4) After all the rowing and cleans, I did 10 x 1 Deadlift at 295 lbs. Hitting 1 rep every 30 seconds.

Then, I did 2 x 2 touch and go with 295 lbs.

5) As a Finisher, I Took the 26 lb KB and did some stretches, bent over laterals, curls and pump work for a bunch of sets. It was a solid 5 minutes of going from left to right arm and not putting down the Kettlebell.

I went inside and smashed up on the rumble roller.

Here's a screen shot from a week of training from Garage Gym Gladiators.

Through my online coaching group, Garage Gym Gladiators, I've been seeing how simple basement or garage gym set ups from all around the world are getting athletes of ALL ages to improve their performance.

Love getting people fired up! Here's one of our members from www.GarageGymAthletes.com smashing his training & destroying weakness. / #GarageGymGladiators #UndergroundStrengthGym #UndergroundStrengthCoach #RELENTLESS #Gym #Muscle #Hustle #Manasquan #Edison #Metuchen #Belmar

A video posted by Zach Even - Esh (@zevenesh) on Feb 22, 2016 at 4:39pm PST

We use free weights and some simple home made gym equipment.

Many buy their equipment since it's so affordable nowadays.

A dragging sled or make a sled from a tire.

A sandbag or keg filled with water.

Free weights.

I've seen it time and again, the fanciest gym does NOT produce the strongest and fastest athletes.

The best Coaches DO.

Of course, results come through WORK so you gotta do the work.

Keep it simple and Keep it basic. Bust your tail and get Bigger, Stronger & Faster in A Garage Gym.

Post Your Latest Garage Gym Workout in the comments section.

Live The Code 365,

--Z--

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