I was listening to a recent podcast with my friend, John Welbourn. In his podcast he discussed once a week training with his BJJ athletes doing "Density Training". Density Training is what Coach Ethan Reeve began doing in the 70s where he would perform exercises back to back for time. For example, his collegiate daily program was 10 rounds of Power Cleans with his bodyweight supersetted with chin ups / pull ups. All performed in 20 minutes or less. Underground Strength began over 20 years … [Read more...]
STRONG Life ep. 235 | Raph Ruiz on Training Beyond “Strength & Conditioning”
STRONG Life Podcast ep. 235 with Raph Ruiz on Training Beyond "Strength & Conditioning". If you're a die hard performance coach, you're gonna dig into this episode and get fired up. My buddy, John Welbourn sometimes describes Raph as "The Best Coach You've Never Heard of...." My words won't do justice to this episode so you need to dig in and get your learn on. Prepare to listen more than once to this episode. Coaching for many is just sets and reps. But then you begin to learn that … [Read more...]
188 | John Welbourn & Zach Philosophize on LIFE
STRONG Life Podcast ep. 188 with my Dude, John Welbourn from Power Athlete. This episode covers little in the realm of training / strength & conditioning and instead, Johnny & I chat about the meaning of life and lessons we've learned as we "get older". I gotta tell ya, I could talk with Johnny ALL day without stopping, very few guys I connect with who keep it real like Welbourn. In fact, we did chat all night in Philly a few years back and unfortunately, it was no recorded due to … [Read more...]
161 | Life & Lifting with my Bros from Power Athlete
STRONG Life Ep. 161 with my bros from Power Athlete. I love these guys and we are brothers from another mother. We believe in hard work, basics, farm boy strength, thinking for yourself, the relentless pursuit of excellence and training for Life. We also discussing parenting / coaching your own kids, garage gyms and of course, essential movies from the 80s and 90s. What a blast! Dig in and enjoy. You'll be depressed when it's over and begging for part 2. But good news is, I've had John … [Read more...]
143 | Dr. Tom Incledon | Injuries, Cancer, Nutrition & Strength Training
STRONG Life Podcast Ep. 143 with Dr. Tom Incledon. WOW, Mind blown in this episode and a part 2 is already in the making because we have MUCH more to talk about. BIG thanks to my sponsor, https://IntekStrength.com Use Code zach100 for 10% discount! Here's what Dr. Tom and I discuss in this episode: … [Read more...]
Good to GREATNESS | What It Takes for Athletes to Achieve Their OWN Level of Greatness
Last year after a few podcasts together between myself, John Welbourn & Travis Mash, we decided we're done with the BS information regarding athlete performance. Call it what you want; physical preparation, strength & conditioning, etc. - it doesn't matter. I'm not going to get caught up in more nonsense and add to the confusion. We want to transform athletes into HAMMERS. Not every athlete has the God given genetics to become a pro athlete or an Olympia, but, there are MANY … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Ep. 99: 30 + Years Strength & Conditioning Advices w/ Jim Steel
STRONG Life Episode 99 with UPenn Head Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, Jim Steel! This episode is sponsored by Intek Strength. Check them out & get your hands on their functional trap bar. Jim brings 30+ years of strength & conditioning / training knowledge to the table as we talk his early years of training all the way to present day. This episode was inspired after we spent endless hours rambling over training and life with John Welbourn & Tex from Power … [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...]
STRONG Life Ep. 82: Zach & NFL Veteran, John Welbourn Answer Your Questions!
Episode 82 of The STRONG Life Podcast was my favorite episode ever as NFL Veteran, John Welbourn and I work together to crush this QnA episode. Here are just SOME of the topics / questions we crushed in this jam packed 90 minute episode: - What Coaches are the Best Coaches & what traits do they have that makes them so great? - What does the movie 'Dead Poets Society' have to do with living a great life? - What is the best way to develop first step quickness in athletes? - How … [Read more...]
QnA: Daily Calisthenics, When to “Cut” & Defining STRENGTH
Original Photo & Story HERE This was a QnA session BUT heavily prefaced by an explanation of "What It Takes", an expansion of the recent "What It Takes" Blog Post..... I suggest you read that blog post because until you understand "What It Takes" the knowledge you acquire means nothing & will amount to nothing. The BIG missing link that is always swept under the rug is the emphasis on hard work, smart work, dedication, consistency & intensity model of training. I love these … [Read more...]