Last Friday an athlete I train pulled 500 on the trap bar. He is a 15 yr old high school Football player & LAX player. He was fired up that day and he said he wanted to go for it. On days when someone is ready emotionally AND physically to go hard, you Go for it. As long as the timing is right and safe, you go for it. In this Video I explain some context behind why I program the way I do for MOST athletes. Again, it depends on many factors and I never paint a broad brush, because times … [Read more...]
BONUS: Early Days Underground Strength Gym, Strength Coach Influences & Success Tips
I had a great time going on The Rugby Renegade Podcast. In this BONUS of The STRONG Life Podcast we tackle some awesome topics: - Early days Underground Strength Gym / Warehouse Gym Start Up Days from the early 2000s - Influences from Louie Simmons and Dan John - Timeless books that I recommend to all Coaches - The type of work ethic I want to see in Younger Coaches - Special Strengths training methods for combat athletes Enjoy the show! … [Read more...]
Max Effort Training Tips for Athletes & Sports Performance
Athletes need to be strong, there is NO question about it. With all the fads and gimmicks, some athletes think they need a program of all speed or all agility, and they believe they are “strong enough”. This is not the case. Heavy lifting and struggling take guts. It is HARD. It requires a strong mindset and being ready to fight and never give up. Speed work does NOT require this ‘never say quit’ attitude. Don’t fool yourself, you are NOT strong enough. It's NEVER a case of JUST speed … [Read more...]
5 Reasons Why You Need Circuit Training
Almost every Friday and anytime I am busy and fighting the clock, I have a Go To system for my training. I often do this on Fridays as a way of "Earning my Weekend". However, I usually get in a Saturday morning training session but sometimes I take the entire weekend off. Below I will outline how to design these circuits and you can perform them with heavy or light weights, or, blend it all together depending on your goals. … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Insider: The Development of Muscular Bulk & Power
From Anthony Ditillo's Book, The Development of Muscular Bulk and Power There is something about bulk and power training that invades your very soul. It is extremely hard to put into words. The exercise movements themselves are quite simple to perform. The routines one must utilize in order to gain rapidly that much sought after strength are not especially interesting or dynamic in appearance. All in all, powerlifting and bulk training is a rather mechanical robot like procedure, which is … [Read more...]
4 Tips on How to Build Strength Endurance aka “Performance Muscles”
Strength Endurance or as my friend, Marty Gallagher calls it, Sustained Strength. STRENGTH ENDURANCE - This is simply strength that keeps on keeping on. Strength that ENDURES. Not just physically, but also Mentally. This is a crucial "special strength" that is beneficial to many athletes and adults as well. Just a few sports & careers: - Lacrosse - Football - Wrestling - BJJ - MMA - Military - Law Enforcement - Hunting Tip # 1: To acquire Strength … [Read more...]
Program Design Tips with Zach & Matt Wenning
There are MANY program design methods and variations that fall under each category of specific styles of program design and program organization. For example, we have the conjugate method, which is essentially an endless array of variations and options. We have progressive overload, aka linear periodization which many people talk down upon yet I have found this to work GREAT with athletes and even for myself. You can use linear progression with conjugate exercise selection. In the … [Read more...]
RAW with Marty Gallagher: Strength Endurance, Minimalist Training & Fighting the Fads & Gimmicks of Strength & Conditioning
In this BONUS episode of The STRONG Life Podcast I join my friends of Iron Company on their podcast. We've got JP Brice, Marty Gallagher and Jim Steel. Marty's podcast is called RAW, and once you hear his unfiltered ways of conversing with me you'll understand exactly why! We discuss the following topics: - How my background in training began, from hardcore gyms to current days of The Underground Strength Gym - How some of the Powerlifters of the 60s, 70s and 80s trained for world … [Read more...]
Why You Need Squats & Deadlifts to Strengthen the Mind AND Body
Sometimes you gotta clear your head. And for "normal folk", that means getting a few beers, maybe drink some wine. For people like Us, that means squats and deads. Yes, we're organized and planning our training. We've got a goal set, whether it's your first time squatting 315, deadlifting 500 or more, you've got goals. But it goes deeper than that. It's not solely about the numbers. It's about clearing your mind and experiencing what we call Iron Therapy. … [Read more...]
201: NFL Strength Coach, Jesse Ackerman | “The Work is the Reward”
STRONG Life Podcast ep. 201 with my man, Jesse Ackerman who is currently the Strength Coach for The Atlanta Falcons. We had a GREAT chat about training (both the physical and mental aspects) as well as life. Jesse shares his early history as a high school athlete and the powerful lessons he learned from those coaches and how it has shaped his philosophy today. We also get into Jesse's vast experience coaching at a variety of colleges and how those experiences shaped his coaching … [Read more...]
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