I had such a blast creating The Iron Roots Podcast with my friends at PLAE. 24 episodes ALL on Video as well as Apple Podcasts so you can listen or watch from anywhere. Iron Roots gave me the opportunity to bring my library collection of old school strength books to life so you can learn and experience what I see every day in my office. The opportunity to interview Jan Dellinger from York Barbell was like stepping into a time machine. The PLAE.PRO app has ALL of the Iron Roots Video … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Insider Ep. 37 | How to Use Golden Era Bodybuilding Methods / Volume Training to Gain Size & Strength
Volume training was a BIG deal back in the 70s and then it made a comeback in the past 5-8 years. What's old is new again but the truth is, there is a time and place for everything. Who needs volume training and when should volume work be applied? When is the best time to implement volume training and who is best suited for volume work? How can you still train smart when applying volume training compared to the mistakes I made in my younger years by incorrectly applying volume … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Insider: The Development of Muscular Bulk & Power
From Anthony Ditillo's Book, The Development of Muscular Bulk and Power There is something about bulk and power training that invades your very soul. It is extremely hard to put into words. The exercise movements themselves are quite simple to perform. The routines one must utilize in order to gain rapidly that much sought after strength are not especially interesting or dynamic in appearance. All in all, powerlifting and bulk training is a rather mechanical robot like procedure, which is … [Read more...]
Safety Squat Bar VS The Straight Bar Squat for Athletes: Strength & Shoulder Health + 3 Week Squat Cycle
Above, Mark Chaillet Squats - Photo from Purposeful Primitive / Marty Gallagher After a recent squat workout with the athletes at The Underground Strength Gym, I began having a more serious conversation in my own mind regarding the use of the conjugate method, more specifically, how often to switch the safety squat bar vs the straight bar for squats with athletes, specifically, high school athletes. I share my thoughts in the videos below and in conversation form which you can also see … [Read more...]
Iron Roots Ep. 12 | Dinosaur Training
It was the mid 90s and bodybuilding was starting to go from 220 lb competitors to 275 lb competitors. On the other end of the spectrum, Fitness magazines began to get popular along with body pump and spin classes inside gyms. The hardcore gyms began closing or tried to change to appeal to the masses. There was not much opportunity for those who wanted to lift heavy and hard and feel part of a community. IF you were lucky, you came across THE book that took a stand against ALL the fads … [Read more...]
Iron Roots – Ep. 11 – Mike Mentzer aka Mr. Heavy Duty
I was 12 years old, maybe 13 when I first came across the training of Mike Mentzer aka Mr. Heavy Duty. I remember thinking to myself, Holy s--t, this guy looks like he's been carved from stone! Mike had a different physique than the others and the photos of him in training were INTENSE. He looked like he was destroying the gym along with his training partners Casey Viator and Ray Mentzer (his brother). With The Iron Roots Podcast, it's important for me to bring back and share many of … [Read more...]
Iron Roots Ep. 10 – Wrestling Physical Conditioning Encyclopedia by John Jesse
This book was gifted to me in the early 2000s by Josh Henkin, creator of The Ultimate Sandbag. I will never forget how grateful I was and still am that Josh shared this book with me! This book was written in 1974, before I was even born! Coach John Jesse was WELL ahead of his time, in fact, this was a time period in athletics where many Coaches were warning against weightlifting because You'll become muscle bound or Your muscles will turn to fat if you stop training. If you're ready to … [Read more...]
Iron Roots Ep. 9 | George Hackenschmidt aka The Russian Lion
MANY years ago I got my hands on a book titled The Way to Live. I loved the book. It was so simple yet so powerful. I was training athletes from my garage back then and I was already tired of the poser, fake BS in the "fitness industry". I read this book about George Hackenschmidt aka The Russian Lion and damn, he was an animal. He was using basic dumbbell and barbell lifts, his nutrition and sleep / lifestyle habits were also basic. But his results were world class. … [Read more...]
Iron Roots Ep. 8 – Göerner the Mighty
Iron Roots Podcast ep. 8. In this episode, I talk about a BEAST of a man, Hermann Goerner. The Mighty Goerner was known for his tremendous feats of strength such as wrestling an elephant and Deadlifting almost 800 lbs with a hook grip. Take a step back in time and learn from 1 of the most impressive circus strongmen to ever walk the earth! … [Read more...]
Iron Roots Podcast Ep. 7 | The History Behind The Box Squat
In this episode of The Iron Roots Podcast, I get into the History behind the box squat. I also share how we use the box squat at The Underground Strength Gym along with proper application of the box squat. I see a LOT of mistakes with the use of the box squat, including when I see footage from D1 University weight rooms. That is NO good. My first exposure to the box squat was from watching Louie Simmons' Westside Barbell VHS tapes. Louie learned how to Box Squat from these original … [Read more...]