"Get Under the Bar" - Dave Tate has a powerful book titled "Under the Bar".

The book is inspiring and truly a must read for all lifters, regardless of your age. The stories are exactly what many need to read today.

I don't care what you get under (Barbell, Sandbags, Strongman Objects), but get under something heavy.

Get your hands dirty, lift it, push it, pull it, drag it, carry it, press it, throw it.....I've seen people develop strength by moving many different kinds of "weights", but, those who made the most progress lifted HEAVY.

There are no two ways around it, you gotta lift heavy weights to develop incredible strength. Strength that you can use in the real world is critical. I've seen some jacked up bodybuilder type fashionistas struggle to move furniture.

If you're used to deadlifting, squatting, power cleaning and flipping tires - carrying furniture won't be a problem. You will not only BE strong, you will LOOK Strong. In a crazy world, criminals look for easy targets. If you look weak, you are a target.

There are some awesome bodybuilding machines out there, and still, nothing beats deadlifts, squats, stone training, strongman work and the like. Still, all of your training must suit your goals and needs.

As we "get older", lifting heavy is relative. Getting strong through calisthenics, kettlebells and sandbags never fails. 

The one thing about the basics is that they will always work. Stick someone in a small room with nothing but a 500 lb barbell and I guarantee they can make tremendous gains in strength, power and muscle development.

Reg Park emphasized the basics to Arnold and was the original 5 x 5 strength training / bodybuilding champion. From there, Bill Starr created his variation of 5 x 5 for college athletes.

I got STRONG AF in my parents garage using a 300 lb barbell set, a utility bench and a pair of 50 and 100 dumbbells - and you can do it if you're willing to chase the work. Most people fear the work. They seek shortcuts, fads and gimmicks. The shortcut is in the consistent work with the basics.

I learned many of these methods from old school gyms and the mentors who I was lucky enough to come across. Read about them in IRON JOURNEYS. 

Have you noticed that in these fancy, high tech gyms there are very few strong guys? Perhaps they are big thanks to "chemical warfare" - but most are not strong. Why? Too much BS pump up work, too much texting and not enough WORK.

Go to an old school hard core gym and you will find an abundance of big, strong guys. Unfortunately, the old school gyms are a dying breed. Today's generation wants a "club" that looks like a night club - this is a social club, NOT Training.

I've been able to transform skinny, weak athletes into incredibly strong, rugged, mentally tough, and thickly muscles athletes....all in a garage. All with the Basics. The frauds out there will tell you that the basics makes you "old school" and now you are NOT "intelligent" - they try to deny results by citing "science".

Weak is weak, no matter how much you talk about science.

With sandbags, barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, kegs and stones, we got the job done and shocked tons of people in the process who told us that we needed a gym to make the powerful gains. That just isn't the facts. The facts lie in the results, and we have more than enough to prove em' wrong.

So remember, if you want to make big gains, if you want to get strong, you better get to work and it better be heavy and challenging.

It worked decades and centuries ago and it will always work. Work WORKS.

Until the next time....

In Strength,

Zach Even - Esh

The Underground Strength Academy 

Over 20 Years of Content for ALL Coaches and Strength Athletes