STRONG Life Podcast, Ep. 104! This Episode is VERY special for me. After 22 years, I reconnect with 1 of my earliest mentors who helped me turn my life around and start kicking ass & taking names. Meet Captain Joe Mastrangelo, Navy SEAL and hard charger who has forged his mind and body by conquering one tough goal after another. Today, Joe is running Veteran Sailing Association, a non profit to help Veterans learn to Sail, to reconnect with themselves by connecting them to nature … [Read more...]
14 Powerful High School Strength & Conditioning Tips
There's a lot of confusion out there regarding how high school athletes should be training and in this article I'm going to clear a lot of the BS up. For the highly motivated you can and should invest in your knowledge through my Encyclopedia of Underground Strength & Conditioning and through my 16 week online program, High School STRONG. You might be angry already saying, "WTF Zach, first thing you do is tell me to buy something!!!???" My answer: NO. The First thing I tell you to do is … [Read more...]
Why Some Athletes Are NOT Tough!?!?
This blog post will evolve as I evolve but for now, I am standing my ground on something I have picked up on tremendously over the past few years. I've learned this when it comes to understanding why some athletes are tough and competitive while others couldn't care less if they lost / lose over and over again. After working with over 1,000 athletes at The Underground Strength Gym, I've come across kids who simply do NOT care. They will cancel workouts 5 minutes before their schedule, … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Ep. 65: Strength & Muscle Building QnA
In episode 65 of The STRONG Life Podcast I went with the theme of ALL Training QnA. Some of The Questions / Topics covered were: Building muscle for high school athletes Training as you get into your 30s and 40s Recovering from a torn ACL Off Season VS In Season Athlete Training Protocols … [Read more...]
Excellence Is Your ONLY Option
It goes back to my days of getting my knee injury checked out in high school and Dr. Medina would ask me what I was going to do with my life. WHAT was I going to BE? Of course, at age 16, I had NO clue. I answered him as such and he told me that whatever I do, I will do it to be the best. "I'll tell you what you're going to do, Zach....." … [Read more...]
What You Can Learn from Spartan Race HQ, Cornell’s Rob Koll & The Wrestling Lifestyle?
Hill Sprints at #SpartanWrestlingCamp - you don't see hills like these in New Jersey!! #UndergroundStrengthCoach #UndergroundStrengthGym #Edison #Manasquan #Pittsfield #Vermont #Stronger #Tougher #Faster #LiveTheCode365 A photo posted by Zach Even - Esh (@zevenesh) on Apr 17, 2015 at 5:06am PDT During the first ever Spartan Intensive Wrestling Camp I captured a lot of video footage, some going to the blog and some to The Underground Inner Circle. Why would I share a "wrestling" video to … [Read more...]
Lessons From Weightlifters & Weightlifting Inspiration
If you read my Encyclopedia of Underground Strength & Conditioning you KNOW I have a HUGE regret, which is that of NOT knowing what weightlifting was back in 1989 when "Andre The Giant" made me cry. I could have had the opportunity to learn weightlifting from 1 of the best from that time. Andre did his own thing while everyone else did a circuit of lat pulldowns, leg extensions, tricep push downs, etc. Andre was in the corner with his squat rack, attacking his barbell with a ferocious … [Read more...]
1 BIG Life Lesson I Learned From 2 STRONG Men
I was recently asked on The Super Strength Show for a favorite quote (shared above by Ohio State Wrestling Coach, Tom Ryan) and it brought me back to a memory of 2 guys who showed up to NJ after flying across the country, 1 of them who had JUST lost his brother. Talk about fighting the way you NEED to vs the way you want to. If you're reading this, you're into lifting weights and being strong, not just under the bar but also in life. Perhaps you're a Coach, an athlete, a parent or someone … [Read more...]
How & Why You Must Train Your INNER Warrior
Even the nicest guy / gal has an inner Warrior spirit. And even if you live in a town as nice and safe as where The Brady Bunch lived, you must train the mind, body and spirit to not only handle tough times, but to THRIVE in those times. Tough times are coming. They are always right around the corner in some shape or form. Training in a manner that connects you to your Inner Warrior is not going to be your typical workout. There has to be a sense of discomfort. Furthermore, you must LOVE the … [Read more...]
5 Simple Steps For A Stronger Life
To live is to learn. To learn is to evolve. If you remain stagnant you are not truly living, you are merely existing. Here are 5 simple steps I've begun implementing more aggressively to live a Stronger Life. Follow these 5 steps yourself and you'll become stronger in mind, body and spirit. The ultimate way to feel stressed out is to remain stagnant. Here we go. Onward and Upward. … [Read more...]