I've been harping on a topic I call "Always Be Ready" for many years now. I began hearing the phrase I have to get ready from people who were interested in training at The Underground Strength Gym many years ago. They would come in with a friend or do a trial and then I'd hear that weak phrase, I have to get ready...... I was thinking to myself, who the hell says that? Why not just be relentless and attack NOW!!?? Who shows up for a trial workout and then doesn't want to ATTACK NOW? … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Podcast Ep 127: From 560 lbs to 260 lbs, Student of Strength & Life | Mike Cupples
STRONG Life Podcast ep. 127 with Mike Cupples. Mike used to weigh 560 lbs at age 17 and is now down to the 260-270 lb range! Think about that for a few seconds..... Listen to Mike and I discuss how he lost 250+lbs, how / why his mindset changed, and how he has grown his own Training Business! This is an inspiring podcast and Mike opens up about the deeper intangibles that have changed his life as a Student of Strength & Life. Here's some of what we discuss: … [Read more...]
Farmer Carries Are Great, But…..
Before I even owned my gym I met up with some guys who were competitive strongmen. I was training out of my garage mostly, here and there going to the local tire yard for some tire flips..... It was Saturday and it was their day of training events. I remember getting destroyed with their 220 lb farmer walks and some of their guys jogged with the weight. I was fired up and got chatting with these guys about their programming and made my adjustments. At the time, my lower body t … [Read more...]
Strong Is STRONG & Training Is TRAINING
Training doesn't need to be complicated to be effective. I will be hammering this home BIG time at my up and coming STRENGTH Seminar with Travis Mash (Details HERE). Growing up in the 80s and 90s gave me insight to the times of YMCA weight rooms filled with York Barbell Equipment. I got to see a state championship Football team crushing the basics while playing The Rocky IV soundtrack day after day. I saw my Wrestling Coach doing 10 sets of squats every time he trained legs, 5 sets of back … [Read more...]
Age Doesn’t Matter: STRONGER, Faster, Tougher STRENGTH Tips
In a world filled with entitlement, excuses and complainers, NOW more than ever is the time to spread the word on being STRONGER both in and out of the gym. Every time I hear someone complaining about something trivial, something that has ZERO effect on their own life, I feel like I need to drag them to the gym for some Squats and Deadlifts. Or they need to carry groceries home for a few miles rather than driving in their air conditioned car. Too Much Comfort = Too Many Complainers. Manual … [Read more...]
Talking Smart VS BUILDING Agile, Mobile & Hostile Athletes
Your training program can look the fanciest, have the most precise percentages listed and look awesome on paper, but..... If the program is NOT followed with: Technique Intensity Aggression Passion Then it doesn't matter how Bulgarian, Russian or whatever your program is. I've seen this way too often, Coaches and lifters obsessing over what the program looks like on paper. Don't show me how this looks on paper, show me what you DO in the weight room and how it has carry … [Read more...]
How To Improve The Current State Of Youth Sports / Youth Strength & Conditioning
More and more I begin to question if we can make a change to our youth sports programs and most of all, our youth Physical Education programs. My own answer to this dilemma? YES, change CAN be made. It is being made inside many Strength & Conditioning Facilities BUT there are flaws to this because parents must pay for their kids to train at these independent gyms such as my own gym. When parents have to pay for a service you quickly lose 85+ percent of kids you can potentially impact. This … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Ep 88: SPARTAN FIT with Joe DeSena
In episode 88 of The STRONG Life Podcast, Joe DeSena & I discuss some AWESOME topics centering around: - Life & Business Lessons learned running Spartan Race Business as it keeps growing and evolving - The standard of Excellence & why we need to stop apologizing for having high expectations of others and ourselves - Having a Purpose In Life & how this will Drive you out of your darkest, toughest times! … [Read more...]
Strength Coach Finances, BEST Exercise for Teens & Workout Variety
Another QnA episode of The STRONG Life is UP. This is Episode 73. The more you learn the more empowered you are to kick ass and take names in BOTH Life and Lifting. These questions were pulled from the private forum of Certified Underground Strength Coaches. Check out the Questions I cover in this episode, listed below: … [Read more...]
Animal Warm Ups & Upper Body Training for Wrestling Strength (Bodyweight & Kettlebell Workout)
Anytime you think you're too busy to warm up, think again. Regardless of your age, it never pays to be "too busy" for a proper warm up. Give yourself 5 minutes to hit a warm up specific to your workout and mobilize 1 or 2 areas of your body that need attention. The "I'm too busy" excuse is never acceptable. Even for myself. When I say this BS excuse in my own mind or to others, I deserve a punch in the face. Whether or not you wrestle is also irrelevant. Although the Video below shows some of … [Read more...]