I must admit, it breaks my heart when I see a “strength coach“ having a 12-year-old kid maxing out on the deadlift or maxing out on the back squat. I'm seeing kids who weigh under 100 lbs performing round back deadlifts, crashing onto a bench for a "box squat", benching while hip thrusting the heavens. This kind of dangerous training gives us ALL a bad name. Parents do NOT know the difference between the Coach who is training a young kid in the same manner of an adult powerlifter. In … [Read more...]
Training for When the SHTF: Building Athleticism vs Building Toughness?
STRONG Life Insider Training for When The SHTF: Building Athleticism VS Building Toughness? The Correct answer is you must do BOTH. If you're reading this article you're likely not that guy who just reads about it and never actually gets your hands dirty. But there are PLENTY of guys getting caught up and duped with doing things like: Barbell Cleans on 1 Leg with band suspended kettlebells hanging from the bar Training with eyes closed, standing on one leg on a balance disc, … [Read more...]
STRONGER In Mind, Body & Spirit with Mark “Smelly” Bell
I am fired up to bring you episode 125 of The STRONG Life Podcast with a long time friend, Mark "Smelly" Bell. In this episode, Smelly and I dig into what I like to call the intangibles of training, the things that you can not truly measure yet they are the things that inspire us and change our lives the most. Also, make sure you listen fully to this episode as Mark gives a discount code for you to use at http://HowMuchYaBench.net I've been regularly using the knee sleeves and the belt … [Read more...]
The “Crowd” Wants Sets & Reps But Coaching MUST Go BEYOND Sets & Reps
Above, The Crew at The Underground Strength Gym (Middlesex, NJ) Whenever I speak at a conference I tend to not speak about the exercise specifics, the sets, the reps..... First off, the majority of the speakers ARE going to speak on this. Secondly, you will find a GREAT deal of carry over in what we do when you organize a bunch of speakers. Why? Because what works will continue to work for many decades and centuries to come. The fads and gimmicks work on instagram or youtube, in the weight … [Read more...]
Deadlifts, Westside Barbell & REFUSING TO BE AVERAGE
There's running a business and then there's the fire in your heart that has NOTHING to do with your business. Here's some intense thoughts on: The athletes I train / don't want to train The influence Louie Simmons has had on me Inspiration from the upcoming documentary, Westside vs The World Finding a Way to Run a Business Doing ONLY What You Love Would I still train athletes if I won the lottery? … [Read more...]
12 Lessons From A Never Ending Podcast with John Welbourn & Jim Steel
What a day..... What a night..... I left the house at 2:30 PM to drive to Philly to meet up with John Welbourn & Tex from Power Athlete HQ. The original plan was for the guys to finish their seminar at 4 PM but like any passionate coach, you can't stop the freight train of passion when you're on a roll. I believe things came to a close around 5:15 PM. From there, we headed to U Penn to meet up with Jim Steel, the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach. I had spoken with Jim many times … [Read more...]
The 7 BEST Exercises to OWN Your Training
Above, Photo of Navy SEAL, Jocko Willink's Garage Gym Aftermath. Here I am, the day after an emotional fundraiser for The Navy SEAL Foundation. After the fundraiser ended I was hit with a TON of emotion. Sharing the reason WHY I support Military so much and my memory of 9-11 and my gratitude for my families safety, it chokes me Up BIG time. I woke up and my mind is racing. Again. Perhaps it's age. Perhaps it is regret. Perhaps the only thing I can do about it is to keep on keeping on. The … [Read more...]
Why You Need To Get Punched In The Face
Sometimes you need a hardcore wake up call. A proverbial "punch in the face". Your coasting through life, your training is easy and you're not moving onward or upward, just standing still. The ultimate way to stress yourself out is to stand still. I learned this from Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach (Give credit where credit is due). Training athletes day in and day out and trying to work with sport coaches I learn that no one wants to get out of their comfort zone. Excuses run rampant and … [Read more...]
Deadlifts, Morning Rituals & Mother Nature
I was busier than I anticipated yesterday and it's amazing how sometimes I allow time to get away form me and that always pisses me off. I like, scratch that, LOVE, getting shyt done. But sometimes, the day doesn't always go according to plan. So, when in doubt, I recommend you give yourself a few "go to" exercises that allow you to get the most bang for your buck. I'll list a few below and you can certainly add to the list. … [Read more...]
Training Log, Flow & Where Are My Training Videos?
So, where have my training videos gone? Why don't I record all my workouts? What gives? Let me explain while I crushed a weekend training session.... … [Read more...]