"All the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to think. The trouble is that men very often resort to all sorts of devices in order not to think, because thinking is such hard work." ~ Thomas J. Watson Wow, look what I dug up! Years ago, I had the opportunity to e mail Coach Ethan Reeve, one of my mentors, and he dished out some of the most insanely powerful training information. Here it is, once again, for your reading pleasure. Grab some coffee … [Read more...]
Blasting the Iron with Passion!
The gym is the place where I lose myself and find myself. If I can start or finish my day in the gym, it's a way to know I did what others dared not do. I want to train and get after it when I'm in there alone. No excuses, No interruptions, No phone... NO bull shit. No matter what else is going on in this world and in my life, when I'm in the gym, everything goes right. Rusty iron feels best in my hands. Sandbags and stones show love as well. Time to attack training and … [Read more...]
Underground Strength Show # 62 & 63: Rusty Iron, NO Rules Workouts & Mental Toughness
Training doesn't have to be perfect for it to work. Often times, the imperfections are better because they train the mind AND the body as one. They force you to cope with the "resistance" that is more than just the weights. My methods are NOT perfect, they have flaws, but guess what, so does every program. The flaws are beautiful. The challenges are to be wished for. Be grateful for the tough times for anything worth achieving is worth fighting for. Sometimes you just gotta attack your … [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...]
Purposeful Primitive Book Review
Above, Kirk Karwoski, world record powerlifter trained under Marty Gallagher, Author of The Purposeful Primitive. One week ago I got a new training book I ordered in the mail, 'The Purposeful Primitive'. It's been a while since I got excited about a book that was published in today's day and age. Most of the info I tend to find accurate, effective and awe inspiring is at least a few decades old but this book has shocked me! All I can say is this: Holy s**t is this book rockin' my world! … [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...]
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...]