Dumbbell training is one of the most under utilized training tools for athletes and even bodybuilders. I explain to athletes on the regular, if someone uses dumbbells instead of a barbell, the use of the barbell does NOT guarantee the athlete will be a better athlete. Strong is Strong. Period. End of Story. At the time of this article, I am 3 weeks into training the high school Football Team with about 40 freshman. None of them have touched a barbell yet. It's been ALL bodyweight and … [Read more...]
6 Random Thoughts on Bill Starr, Consistency, Being ‘Too Busy”, Strength vs Speed, What It Takes & The Future of Gyms
Image belongs to http://StartingStrength.com Here we go. A brain dump of some random topics and thoughts running through my head that I wanted to share with you. 6 Random Thoughts on Bill Starr, Consistency, Being 'Too Busy", Strength vs Speed, What It Takes & The Future of Gyms. I've been writing every morning, waking up at 5 AM as I upgrade and update The Original Underground Strength Manual. The next version is going to be The Underground Strength & Sports Performance … [Read more...]
1 Exercise Per Workout & Being AWESOME
It was New Year's Eve... well, just about. It was 3 PM on New Year's Eve and the dedicated crew of athletes & lifters rolled up to The Underground Strength Gym in Edison, NJ. Some had traveled as far as 1 hr to drive here & I let the thought enter my mind.... "Where are the kids who live 5 - 10 minutes away from here who keep telling me they're too busy during the season?" Instead of getting disappointed I get fired up by reminding myself to have ZERO expectations of people. I get … [Read more...]
3 Ways To Improve Your Tire Flip & Strongman Lifts
Training the strongman lifts, I always tell others, must be earned. If you're a Strength Coach, seriously, stop letting everyone and their Mom flip tires. It leads to injuries and leads to a lack of respect for what it takes to be strong. We shouldn't have tires every 50 lbs separated so everyone can flip a tire. That's like saying everyone wins, it's always a tie! We shouldn't have Sandbags every 10 lbs so everyone can comfortably increase poundages. Odd objects are supposed to be … [Read more...]
Underground Strength QnA: Tire Flips & Training With Injuries
Got some cool questions that I wanna crank out via the Blog. Check em' below as these questions come in often. Enjoy! Q: Hi Zach! My Name is Mark and I live on Cape Cod. If you have a minute I wanted to ask you about tire flipping. 4 of us from my affiliate competed in a Crossfit Competition today and there was a 1000 pound tire-at least that's what they told us it weighed. Any way no one from my team has flipped the tire before and we couldn't even get the thing off the ground. … [Read more...]
The ONE Exercise You MUST DO
Wanna get strong as Hell? Or, in Dan John's words, "this one exercise will make you awesome" Watch this short video. That's me, throwing around a 130 lb dumbbell. The movement: The 1 Arm Dumbbell Clean & Press. Equally awesome with a barbell. I suggest you do it. And do it often. Remember, for REAL world results, you gotta train with intensity, passion, a plan and you need to move weight. Be a BEAST. Become the Hunter, NOT the hunted. Till the next time.... --Z-- … [Read more...]
The Busy Man Bodybuilding Workout
Time is something I have TRULY began to respect, for 2 BIG reasons: 1) My kids 2) Being an entrepreneur In fact most people are today are more time conscious than ever before. Think about it. We barely call people in comparison to texting them. Technology has tricked many into being busy vs being productive UNLESS you know how to CONTROL your time. As a Parent, I see just how fast time goes. And, the ONE thing about time, something many do not grasp is the fact that you can NEVER … [Read more...]
REAL Man Muscle Building Ain’t No Joke!
At the end of a LONG day at The Underground Strength Gym, Canada's Pro Strongman, Paul Vaillancourt, stopped by the gym today with his entourage. With plans of stopping by for 5 PM they got lost in the Dirty Jerzee and enjoyed some scenery in what some call the ghetto, others call the projects - not a fun place to be driving through with a mini van, a fauly GPS and not a clue as to where the heck you're going! We talked biz and training for 10 minutes and I was itching to train. Before … [Read more...]