I got my hands on an old book in the early 2000s and it really pushed home the need & the power for simplicity in life, training and nutrition. In addition, the book also encouraged the need for basics. When I saw the rugged physique on the author, I was inspired beyond my words to say the least. The author was built like a brick sh-t house. Above, George Hackschmidt, Built Like A Brick Shit House George Hackenschmidt's workouts were often in the 30 - 45 minute range yet he trained on … [Read more...]
A Day at DeFranco’s – The Strongman Challenge
Yesterday I made the one hour trek up north to my homeboy Joe D's gym, and damn, what a gym it is, I'm in heaven there. The atmosphere is always high octane and steel is always clanging together or being dropped on the floor. It was our 2nd year competing in Joe D's strongman contest, and this year we brought 1 high school athlete and 5 college athletes. Unfortunately, 2 were unable to attend due to injury and family vacation. I had a wedding to attend yesterday and I was big time pressed … [Read more...]
Power Talk with Jonny Hinds of The Monkey Bar Gym
On my one hand, I can count those who have REALLY influenced me in training AND in life. Without hesitation, Jonny Hinds is one of those people. I connected with Jon maybe 2 or 3 years ago by phone, after Pat Miletich, the MMA Coach and former UFC Champion, sent me his way. I would spend over an hour on the phone talking about physical culture and nutrition every time we chatted. We would philosophize about life and exchange cool training and life stories and experiences, and, I'll admit, … [Read more...]
Kettlebell Night Ops
It was 10 PM at night. The air was cool and my wife was asleep. My daughter fell asleep at 8:30 PM and I just finish cleaning up, massaging my wife to fall asleep and unable to get in my quick workout, I headed around the backyard into the dark to grab an 80 lb Kettlebell. The sky was bright, being it was a full moon, I was able to see better than usual. I had to train, because being strong is what made me successful in the first place. Strength is what gave me grit and toughness to … [Read more...]
BONUS: Jim Wendler Throwback Interview, 2006
This is a STRONG Life BONUS Podcast episode. It's a Throwback, from 2006, so please understand the audio quality back then was NOT what it is today. Instead, enjoy the Information. Jim is 100% through and through a super genuine guy, and although a bit crazy, you want to listen carefully to his methods for building strength without all the complications. NOTE: This audio interview is OLD, long before fancy recording equipment was out. It was recorded on a landline phone! So don't cry … [Read more...]
Apollo’s “TOUGH Gym”
Original Article Date: 4/1/2008 Updated: 2/4/2024 Have you ever seen Rocky III where Apollo takes Rocky back to the old school gym he used to train at where everyone has the "Eye of the Tiger"? TOUGH GYM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peBGvS0VGr4 That gym look liked a dump to others, but when I saw TOUGH GYM, I thought it was perfect and beautiful. It was exactly what I wanted to build for athletes. I took out a notepad, paused the DVD player and started sketching the … [Read more...]
Why I’m The Anti Purist When It Comes To Training Methods & What REALLY Matters?
I'm an anti purist when it comes to strength and performance training. I don't use only one training tool or only one training method. Why? Simple: I am a purist when it comes to training for Results. Results are THE only thing that matters..... … [Read more...]
How The Viking, Jon Pall Sigmarsson Inspires The Underground Strength Gym
I have recently watched the documentary on The Viking, Jon Pall Sigmarsson. It's an amazing tribute to one of the most dominant World's Strongest Man Champions. What a pure beast this man was. He unfortunately passed at the young age of 32. To see Jon Pall's evolution of training and various forms of strength competition was incredibly inspiring, and you can bet that tomorrow, at My Gym, The Underground Strength Gym, I will be attacking some serious strongman work using Stones, Sandbags … [Read more...]
A Barbell and 2 Milk Crates | Minimalist Strength Training Tips
What can you do using a barbell and 2 milk crates? The Answer: A LOT! And, you can get strong as all hell! Trust me, I've been there...it's how I trained in my Dad's garage for a year and I piled on strength and muscle faster than ever before. I loved it. I cranked the music and had barely any equipment: - Pair of 50 & 100 lb dumbbells - 300 lb Barbell set - Squat Stand - Flat Utility Bench It's the training template I included in The Russian Lion Power Course. It's … [Read more...]