Here's an excerpt from my updated version of The Underground Strength & Performance Manual (Almost Finished!).

Make The Rep or Die…..

I never saw anyone miss a rep in the squat until the internet came around. Not once in the gym did I see a guy bail out on a squat and we’re talking age 13 until my late 20s, guys squatting 4, 5 and 6 plates per side.

Spotters knew how to spot and lifters were focused. It’s hard to focus when you kinda think you can or maybe you can’t. Check that phone in between every set? How does your phone psyche you up to squat heavy?

I would grind my last rep of Squats and had NO plans of ever stopping until I locked out the bar and racked it. On the internet, I have seen MANY people Squat and give up mid way up, dump the bar as soon as the struggle began. When the struggle begins is when you have only just begun. Make the Rep or Die! Get your head right before every training session and every set.

None of this I think I can do this BS. Go ALL in, ALL the time. When you’re training or coaching, you must find a way to control the mindset. As a Coach, teach your athletes how to harness the power of the mind to achieve greater strength both in the gym AND in life.

You can’t teach what you don’t do yourself. Live The Code 365, Success takes NO vacations. Get under the bar and do the work yourself before you try to coach others. My training today is a blend of training in my own gym, my garage, outdoors and anything I can do physically, any place.

My friend Jim Steel, who I’ve interviewed on my STRONG Life Podcast often, always says, Training is Training.

What this means is we have gotten to a point where we’re not just chasing numbers on the bar. We are training the mind and the training is our therapy, Iron Therapy. I’ve seen Jim training and it was a blend of free weights and punching a heavy bag. He just attacked.

It’s a mindset first & foremost. Sometimes, those gym walls control you, especially in your early stages of training, you’re so concerned with the rules and science of training that you conform and don’t understand the ART of training. Sometimes, you must break the rules to transform your mind and body.

And since it's Spring Time and the High School Football Players are in training, I felt the need to post a photo or 2 of some FULL range Squats.

With my reading and studying of the bodybuilders and lifters of the 50s through the 70s, many of them were STRONG, explosive, athletic.....

Powerlifting with Bodybuilding Circuits, all free weights and calisthenics.

Then Gymnastics and swimming at the beach.

I think about today......

Too many athletes have a big squat yet get tired if they run 400 mtr.

Too many athletes doing power cleans that look like a jumping jack back bend.

I also read how many of the bodybuilders from the 60s competed in multiple sports, from wrestling to swimming to Olympic Weightlifting.

Man, I can only hope my videos, podcast and blog can reach the right people who can help inspire change.

Till the next time.

Live The Code 365,

--Z--

Online Training with Zach