I was in my early teens and training at my first "Hardcore Gym". This gym was 7,500 sq ft. NO AC, just a bunch of stand up industrial fans. ALL the plates were deep dish Ivanko plates and there was rumbling throughout the entire gym, blended with some old rock cassette tapes that blasted through the gym. Usually AC/DC or Metallica, sometimes Def Leppard. The back 1/3 of the gym was lined up with leg equipment. Plenty of squat racks, 2 leg presses, 2 hack squats, 2 leg extensions, 2 leg … [Read more...]
9 Training Tips for Re-Building Athletes Post COVID
Photo Cred HuskerMax.com In mid June in NJ the Governor granted permission for "gyms" to train outdoors. I always say, The Underground Strength Gym is a Private club, but the government and governor don't really understand this. When mid June came around, I knew that I would have to start at 50 or 60%. The plan was to add 10% of work / intensity each week so that by the 4th week, we would be almost at "normal". Which nowadays, I really do not enjoy that word, "normal". With 3 months of … [Read more...]
How to Build BEAST Athletes Who Dominate, From Youth to D1 to Olympians
When the beginning of COVID locked us all down, I was helping friends near and far with interviews, workouts and support for their gyms. My buddy Jim Kelly reached out to me. Jim is in Iowa operating Citadel BJJ and Eastern Iowa Wrestling Club but we've known one another since the early 2000s when I was starting to put out content and Jim was competing heavily in BJJ / Grappling. This Video was an Awesome QnA loaded with training questions and mindset to help Jim's students. It's great for … [Read more...]
7 Tips on Developing Superior Physical Conditioning + 19 Sample Underground Strength Workouts
I wrote about “Strong & Useless” in my Encyclopedia of Underground Strength & Conditioning. It’s when an athlete can move big weights on the barbell but can’t do basic bodyweight exercises such as lunges, pull ups, pushups, sprints, and jumps. I always say, Strong is Strong. This is why I don’t chase the 1 RM testing you see so often in high school weight rooms. The first athlete who demonstrated Strong & Useless to me held all the weight room records for his high school … [Read more...]
Can Deadlifts Cure Your Back Pain?
My back was going into spasms on the craziest things: doing dishes, warm ups with DB side raises, bent over row with a light barbell. It felt like a shot of lightning was hitting me in the back. I spoke to some "experts" and they all insisted I was having disc issues. I got tired of hearing how the world was going to end with my "bad back" and decided to go back to something I did in 1996 after my first knee surgery. What is that very thing? Listening to my OWN body & figuring it out on … [Read more...]
240 | Coach JP Mikhael, From Prison to Growing a Gym that Changes Lives
Here we go! STRONG Life Podcast ep. 240 with Strength Coach & Gym owner, JP Mikhael. This is a POWERFUL, inspiring story about overcoming tough times and doing GREAT in this world. Listen to the podcast first and then see the videos of JP's gym in action, M3 Strength & Conditioning. We talk about training and life as always, so prepare to be fired up. … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Podcast ep. 239 with Jake Tuura | Strength & Conditioning, Knee Rehab & The Art of Coaching
STRONG Life Podcast ep. 239 with Strength & Conditioning Coach, Jake Tuura. This episode is a powerful deep dive into training athletes, from the mindset to the technical aspect. We also discuss Jake's research on knee pain / knee rehab and how he rehabbed himself from years of patellar tendon pain to being able to dunk a basketball every week. I highly recommend you dig into Jake's work, from his YouTube Videos to his Training ebooks. BIG thank you for supporting The STRONG Life … [Read more...]
The Warrior Who Trained & Lived by His OWN Rules
He was a quiet man. He got away from the busy streets and found himself some land and built a cabin with a few old friends. He told me he paid them with the game he hunted but it was not work for he and his friends. He said they loved the time together and it was a "friends helping friends" gig. Friends that help each other yet don't ask for anything in return. I thought to myself how perfect it sounded. He didn't pay much mind to the news or what "other people" thought of him. He felt … [Read more...]
Deadlifts + Isometrics: OLD Training for NEW Results
Deadlifts have been around since the dawn of time. Cavemen lifting heavy objects off the ground. It's so simple, it's complicated. It doesn't have to be complicated, BUT, people nowadays LOVE to complicate things. I don't know why? I assume because it helps people FEEL as if they are accomplishing more by creating more complication. In this video, I encourage you to TEST this yourself. HOW? By lifting the weights. There is NO other way. You can research all you want but until you are … [Read more...]
Why Coaches Must STOP Training Athletes with Stupid, Dangerous “Workouts”
I am always in shock with how abundant information is, both good and bad, yet still, when left to their own devices, sport coaches are implementing crazy, stupid, BS "workouts" for their athletes. I know this article and video will hit a nerve with coaches. In fact, I know of Coaches who threaten their players that if they DO train at The Underground Strength Gym, they will be reprimanded. How's that for caring about the kids? It doesn't take much work to research what is safe and … [Read more...]
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