It was The Fall of 2002, and I had drawn the line......
I was up to my neck in work as a grad student plus working full time as a teacher. I was also coaching Wrestling and the season was a few short weeks away. My time was pressed to say the least.
Sunday mornings I would wake up and work on research papers from 10 AM until 10 PM.
It was the first time in 7 or 8 years that I was unable to make the trek to my favorite hardcore gym, Diamond Gym. I was too busy to drive 30 minutes each way, and, with the risk of hitting traffic on week day, you never know how long the commute will take.
I had to find a way to train without depressing myself inside the strange culture of globo gyms that blasted depressing music through the airwaves and management complained anytime you dared to drop a weight or grunt.
I recalled how Dave Draper trained in "The Dungeon" which was a hardcore gym in the basement of a bar which had free weights, a few light bulbs, dumbbells up to 150 and some of the strongest men around. I knew that fancy was the enemy when it came to getting stronger and jacked.
I started checking classified ads like a Hawk and I got lucky. A few gems were found, as a few men (lucky for me, NOT for them) had some gym equipment to sell after their gym business went under.
I snagged a 300 lb barbell from CostCo. It was a piece of crap but what the heck, it was all I needed and it was only $99, perfect for a young guy piled high in debt.
I bought a flat utility bench, a pair of 50 & 100 lb dumbbells and a gun rack so I could squat. I got these from a classified ad in Newark and I remember stashing money on my socks, underwear and pocket in case my first deal in a not so nice area went south!
If I wanted to do incline dumbbell benching, I placed a heavy duty tool box underneath the flat bench. Worked like a charm. NO excuses.
I trained 2 - 3 x week in the freezing garage of my parents home.
My typical Garage Gym routine was this:
- Tuesday + Thursday in the Garage
- Saturday morning at a Commercial Gym
Tuesday would be lower body in the garage.
Since I only had 300 lbs of weights, I was often squatting for sets of 10-20 reps.
After squats I did deadlifts, then RDLs and then some form of lunges or step ups using my 50 lb dumbbells.
Those basic leg workouts thrashed me! The high reps were NO joke.
Upper Body Day was Thursday in The Garage.
I had a set of 50 & 100 lb dumbbells, a dip bar, a bench and the utility bench.
After warming up with calisthenics, I would dumbbell bench the flat and incline supersetted with barbell rows, dumbbell rows and shrugs.
No training partner or spotter. Just me VS the weights.
The shoulder work was heavy side raises using a controlled "cheat" on the way up for side raises.
I also did barbell muscle cleans as I was not at all versed in weightlifting. Those muscle cleans added muscle, strength and size to my back and shoulders like nothing else.
I had read about Arnold doing them when he trained in a simple gym which required him to power clean the weight before laying back on a high incline bench.
To say the garage space in my parents house was crammed would be an understatement.
These garage gym workouts were a blend of powerlifting and bodybuilding. I was most influenced by the stories of guys like Dave Draper, Arnold, Franco and Mike Mentzer as they trained heavy and attacked the basics with supersets.
A steady diet of benching, rowing, squatting and heavy accessory work is what worked in the 50's, 60's and 70's and those guys looked better and actually WERE strong compared to the bodybuilders of today who mostly look strong and not much else.
The Gladiator Project - Details HERE
On the weekend I would go to a different commercial gym as my garage had NO heat.
I locked on my headphones and went to town. The headphones were the precursor to the iPod for you youngsters out there. I would attach my Sony Walkman (cassette tape) to my weight belt. The headphones serves as a barrier keeping the talkers away from me as I did my training.
The Commercial Gym Workout was often full body training and I had the simple goal of destroying every machine in that gym.
If it had a weight stack, I wanted to load it to the max.
Here was a list of some of those exercises:
- Leg Press
- Seated Cable Rows
- Hammer Strength Rowing / Pulldowns
I also did high rep arm work with cables like curls and pushdowns of various types.
I would load up the trap bar that was always stuck in a corner somewhere and work up to some heavy triples. Back then, people stared at me like a man from mars when they saw the trap bar getting utilized.
My workouts were always supersets and circuits. Heavy weights & high intensity. I LOVED pushing heavy weight while my heart was racing due to the fast paced training. The challenge to train harder than everyone else in the gym inspired me!
Now that I no longer train at commercial gyms, my high rep work will come from using:
- bodyweight bodybuilding exercises
- Kettlebell training
- CMBs / Center Mass Bells
- Band Work (replacing cables / nachines)
I still push my truck and sprint. I use rings for pull ups and ab work.
Training in my garage 2 x week and once a week at a commercial gym, I was getting stronger than ever before and also developed a muscle thickness and maturity that I had never developed before.
Not having access to machines, cables and all the other "pump up" bull shit was GREAT.
Every day I ran at night a hard 1 mile with my Dog, Arnold. It was a balls to the wall run as he would sprint and pull me until I could no longer maintain his pace and then I would get him to show mercy and walk for 15 seconds.
The hard running was great and ramped up my overall work capacity. Running short distances at aggressive speed is something I highly recommend to all of you as long as you don't have any injuries or conditions stopping you. ALL sprints are good sprints. Do them.
Those garage days marked the beginning of an era for me, a new life actually, as I NEVER went back to a regular gym since those days. I drew a line in the sand and never looked back.
I fell in love with training without all the fancy equipment that was never necessary. I cherished having awesome music being played loud as hell and I sure as heck didn't miss seeing guys on their cell phones right before a set of squats, or checking their hair in the mirror, or reading the paper in between sets!
Life was good as it was the first time I began to go against the grain of "normal workouts" back when everyone was pumping light weights at the commercial gyms. I hated that scene and craved the intensity and challenge of a tough, garage gym workout.
The gains I made in such a short time with the minimal equipment was shocking to myself and others. People kept telling me how big I looked and they were right. I gained big time when I started my garage gym workouts.
I felt like a Gladiator. I felt like I was one of the crew from The Golden Era.
Not only did I make tremendous physical gains, but mentally, I developed a new edge of mental toughness. Training basic and simple.
Garage Gyms are Golden. Those who know.... KNOW!
In Strength,
--Z--
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Garage Gym Gladiators
24 Responses
What about us peeps that have been getting your journal?? How can we get this info?? I’m loading myself with sooo much info it’s scary!!!
Great story,I remember few of my friends back home in Croatia many years ago,they never had ant fancy stuff,for working out yet they developed really great body just by doing simple stuff,old ways,working hard with what they had,at a time,which wasn’t much.Steve Hawks become movie actor,he did Tarzan in several movies,he is stil alive live in Califirnia with his tigers,amazing guy.keep up good work.
Ivan
Looks like a sick manual. It’s an awesome idea because most people think all the crap machine are necessary. Haha no Way!
I am interested in THE GLADIATOR PROGRAM
Braddah Zach..Looking forward to your Gladiator Project..Keep those strength training tips comin..Go Get it…Strength Warrior!
Great post, Zach. I don’t have the tunes cranked to 11, but I have them, my stuff and my space to work in now. I love it, never going back to a regular gym. I just think back to the obnoxious trainers in that gym, the people doing curls in the squat rack … and I just am glad I’m not there anymore.
Happy belated thanksgiving ! Greatr to hear yuor feeling better .
GARAGE GYMS ROCK aka Brutus
goggle – brutusplac for a REAL 1` car garage gym
peaceeeeeeeeeeeeee
Zach,
Love your site and what you do. Couple years ago I decided to just buy a squat rack from ebay, a few houndred pounds of plates and a barbell and train in my garage. I may no be strong or faster, but I’m stronger and faster a”l while having fun. Thanks for everything you bring to the table.
-greh
Ps, sorry for the spelling mistakes, my thumbs are to fat to type on my phone.
Great website! Since I ditched the gym for my garage with kettlebells and sandbags I’ve made great gains. I feel stronger, more explosive and have become a cardio machine.
Dr. Z , sorry bro I gotta call ya that your site is flawless it’s loaded with a plethora of useful info that is helping lean out yet not lose and of my precious muscle. I must admit I haven’t found anything to match your info. I love the fact that I use MAN work to get strong I do mix of powerlifting some bodybuilding and favorite sandbags. My wife has noticed how wide and thick my back and have become. She loves how strong I am. Aside from that I gotta let ya know your workouts are great for my work in the jails. Inmates think twice before trying me. Well, Doc gotta run time for some deadlifts , sandbags and burpees. Too much turkey Haha! Take care brutha !
Added to my last post….
From one Garage Gorilla to the next stay strong!!!
Zach, I have been hittin the big basics for a good while now an I feel awesome. BIG WEIGHTS + BIG MOVEMENTS= BIG MUSCLES. I’ve been slappin in bodyweight moves to keep the ol metabolisim up while packin on slabs of steel plated muscle an shootin my strength up. What is that “Gladiator Project” book, is it something new you just came out with.?
having minimalist equipment doesn’t limit us, it unleashes the f’ing fury
You guys rock 4 the comments!
Yep, if you are aready subscribed to the e mails, you’ll get the word monday or tuesday.
It’s ASS kickin time my friends!
–z–
Zach, I am back (I’m the Francisco dude from the Russian Lion webpage)….this new Gladiator training is making me drool! The Russian Lion course is top notch (my wife is checking me out more than usual..lol) and I highly recommend it! Can’t wait for Gladiator training! Bring it on!
The only limitation is that of your mind and your commitment, every day offers a new opportunity to learn and test yourself. Thanks Zach for reminding me of the reality that you don’t need fancy this and that to achieve and learn. Happy Thanksgiving to our US brothers in arms ‘Semper Fi”.
The freedom you get from a garage gym is unparalleld. There’s something about lifting in an atmosphere without perfume and no restrictions on sweating, yelling and loud music. Respect the iron but never stop kickin’ it’s ass.
That’s awesome! And it goes to show – you can always make time for achieving your goals. Just think outside the box a little!
Great stuff as usual Zach keep up the great work.
Zach I’m with you brother, there’s absolutely no need for fancy equipment, cable machines and the like. I’ve been in the game a long time and nothing works better than the basic compound movements. Everybody wants to know the secret to getting big and strong and they overlook it because of the simplicity. Pick up a barbell, load it up and press it overhead, pick it from the ground, squat it, and do some good old fashioned weight training. Keep preaching the gospel my friend.-Shane
HOLA Z!!! Great stuff as usual but PLEASE! tell me (better yet;tell us)how can i got my hands on this GLADIATOR PROGRAM since im already getting your emails,i been suscribe for a while n’ have use a ton of your info not just for my own good but also for others
Great stuff as always.
I have been training like this for years, and haven’t stepped inside a commercial gym since the late 90’s. That is one reason that I enjoy your site so much, its about true strength training and conditioning, not the fluff. Free weights and body weight training. The classic movements that all functional strength training and power training is based upon.
Thanks
It is funny that you posted this picture of Columbu. I always liked to picture myself pumping iron like him, Zane, and Arnold when I was 12. Can’t say I ever looked as pumped as Columbu. He is a chiropractor now. And Arnold is one of the biggest supporters of chiropractic as well.
When it comes down to training, it is a mindset first. You need to visualize and know in your mind that you have already accomplished the workout before it starts.Your mind and heart are the two most imporatnt pieces of equipment you need in order to train because with those two things you will be creative enough to accomplish the goals with anything you can get your hands on. It is not about all the fancy bells and whistles machines you see at 24 hr Fitness.
You and Smitty did an excellent job with the Diesel Combat Seminar. Most people never pay enough attention to technique and every little detail that goes into a movement but you guys do, and that was the first thing I observed when I started watching the DVD’s. Many of the other videos you see out there don’t make the effort to be this thorough, but you guys do. I have studied the first disc, and started implementing with some patients already. I recommend everyone to get, the first 25 minutes of the seminar in itself are worth the price of the Program.