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...]
Minimalist Workout For MAX Muscle Gains
"In any war, you put your back to mine, I put my back to yours, and let's do what we gotta do." - Ray Lewis Here's a lil' inside look at how we roll at The Underground Strength Gym with our adult training crew. YES, we train adults just like we train our athletes. We are ALL athletes. Don't ever forget that! Underground Strength Tip Of The Day: Do ONLY what is needed to pack on strength & muscle and NO more. Pick 2 or 3 exercises, work up to 1 or 2 heavy sets and then move … [Read more...]
How To Train When In Doubt
"Science and experience have taught us that any athlete, even in ultra-endurance sports, who has not built a foundation of strength will fail to reach his or her potential." ~ Pavel, Author of Easy Strength As I work on my book and dig deeper on my philosophy on training, in between text messages with Jason Ferruggia discussing life and lifting, I keep coming back to what got me where I am today, as well as every other strong mofo out there. And that "thing" is the fact that those strong … [Read more...]
Grease The Groove (GTG) For Greater Strength [Training for Life]
![Grease The Groove (GTG) For Greater Strength [Training for Life]](https://zacheven-esh.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Grease-The-Groove-PullUps-300x224.jpg)
Grease The Groove is a technique I learned many years ago when reading a book from Pavel, Power To The People. Essentially, you perform an exercise of choice several times a day, several times a week (4-7 x week), each and every set performed when you are fresh without going to muscular fatigue. Usually, this works best when performing the practice exercise for anywhere from 2 - 4 weeks. There are several ways to apply Grease The groove (GTG) for maximum effect. … [Read more...]
How To Build An AWESOME Home Gym / Garage Gym
There is something PURE about training in your very own home gym - be it the garage, basement, backyard or spare bedroom.... Heck. I've heard of some home gym set ups in people's kitchen's! No matter where, there is magic that happens in a kick ass home gym. I recall reading from Dr. Ken, that even though he owned a large gym (I believe it was Iron Island Gym?) he still did his own workouts in a custom made home gym, where he also trained NFL players and other BEASTS. I've got video footage and … [Read more...]
Top 11 Muscle Building Exercises
Here's a list of the Top 11 Muscle Building Exercises that you simply can't go wrong with (minus if you have any injuries, physical limitations, excuses, etc) if you wanna get jacked AND strong. Check em' out and decide how you can put them to use into your current training regime / workouts. My suggestion is to start with some hard work, mixed in with some heavy weight, sweat & consistency. You'll also a see unique video from one of my workouts this week at The Underground Strength … [Read more...]
Minimalist Training Tips for Full Body Strength
The more I utilize simple dumbbell & bodyweight workouts for myself, the more I realize less is more. Less variety and more focus = greater results in strength and size. I've been around too long and I want to challenge and question what REALLY works. I've seen the results of some of the most popular "programs" out there...... I wanted to see, do these athletes demonstrate greater strength? Greater speed? Greater physicality and more muscle? Well, the program looks impressive on … [Read more...]
Dan John Talks Life & Lifting, Part II
In case you missed Part I of my chat with Dan John, Please Click HERE For Dan's latest book that kicks ass, click HERE Here's how we can keep this video interview series with Dan John rolling: - Drop a question for Dan regarding training and we'll set up another Underground QnA for you guys. Just leave your question in the comments section, I'll collect and compile the questions and when we get enough questions we'll get more gold from Dan John. I SERIOUSLY wish this type of access was … [Read more...]
Simple NEVER Meant Easy
I hear it ALL the time when it comes to Minimalist Workouts. Dudes are confused.... So let me set the bar STRAIGHT. Short workouts doesn't mean EASY. Two exercises doesn't mean EASY. Hard Work is where it's at. Hard work brings you to the point of breaking records. To pack on raw muscle and brute strength you gotta get stronger. But, the tricky part, is combining hard work with smart work, which, for some odd reason, is very tough for MANY of us, including those of us who … [Read more...]
Dan John Interrogation
Check out my interview with Dan John. I gotta say, guys like Dan John, Coach Ethan Reeve - these guys are amazing coaches, but also a bit crazy. I feel related to them - kinda like we're from the same Crazy Strength Tribe. Click HERE to Play The Dan John Audio (be patient as it uploads :) Please feel free to add your Thoughts or comments on the audio, drop a comment below, looking forward to hearing your feedback! Live The Code --Z-- Click HERE to Play The Dan John Audio (be … [Read more...]