Last week I got the news that one of my old wrestling teammates had passed away. I moved out of my old hometown almost 11 years ago. That town shaped me and molded me, as it did for many others. If you didn't fight back in that town, you got your a-- handed to you. Thinking of my old teammate, Joe, it reminded me of the tough times we had been through and what we experienced together on the wrestling team. Joe was a tough SOB. He had to be. Our Wrestling Coaches; Coach Scott … [Read more...]
How to Build BEAST High School & College Athletes
I am amazed at times when an athlete feels he needs "another program" when he can't even squat 225, let alone bench 225. Or when a Sport Coach insists his athletes can Squat, Bench and Deadlift yet they struggle with push ups and a full range of motion bodyweight squat. What "special program" do you need if you can't perform light weights with the barbell basics and calisthenics? The answer is, you do NOT need a special program. You need to MASTER the bodyweight basics. Still arguing … [Read more...]
Safety Squat Bar VS The Straight Bar Squat for Athletes: Strength & Shoulder Health + 3 Week Squat Cycle
Above, Mark Chaillet Squats - Photo from Purposeful Primitive / Marty Gallagher After a recent squat workout with the athletes at The Underground Strength Gym, I began having a more serious conversation in my own mind regarding the use of the conjugate method, more specifically, how often to switch the safety squat bar vs the straight bar for squats with athletes, specifically, high school athletes. I share my thoughts in the videos below and in conversation form which you can also see … [Read more...]
Josh Bryant & Al Vermeil: Cutting Though the Fads & Gimmicks of Strength & Conditioning
As of this article / podcast being posted, I have listened to this Bonus podcast with Al Vermeil and Josh Bryant 4 times! Yes, it is THAT GOOD! This STRONG Life Bonus was given to me by Josh Bryant who interviews Al Vermeil and I gotta say, this interview was not only inspiring and educational, it was refreshing! There are MANY times where I am just fed up with the BS of the fitness industry and the strength coach industry. Too many people worried about likes and reposts instead of … [Read more...]
Program Design Tips for Athletes / Coaches & How We Train Youth to D1 Athletes at The Underground Strength Gym
With the release of The Underground Strength & Sports Performance Course, I wanted to give you a taste of what you'll be learning as you begin your journey towards becoming a Certified Underground Strength Coach. How do we run things at The Underground Strength Gym and how can you take these methods and apply to your existing sports performance program? Well, things have certainly changed since 2002 and guess what? Things change here on the regular. A BIG reason why is of course … [Read more...]
5 SIMPLE (NOT Easy!) Wrestling Strength Training Tips
3 days a week I work with the college wrestlers and man, we thrash that weight room! The energy is through the roof and that is an understatement. The culture of what happens with your team is a HUGE key to their success. A dialed in, consistent off season training program is a make or break factor for a wrestling team's success. Unfortunately, most teams don't have Coaches who organize a team plan be it in wrestling or strength & conditioning. The Coach who organizes this aspect of … [Read more...]
A Letter to My YOUNGER (Athlete) Self With 17 Strength Training & Life Tips
This letter isn't about holding on to the past or living in the past. Knowing and learning from mistakes is crucial. The opportunity to share with others to help them achieve more Success, to avoid my mistakes & to be inspired to improve themselves is the goal. It's a simple hope that a middle or high school athletes comes across this post, sees my mistakes, my tips on life and lifting and ultimately, puts these tips to use. Heck, I hope a college athlete sees this. Maybe a college … [Read more...]
STRONG Life 95: Muscle Building VS Fat Loss, Fatherhood & Strength Coach Advices
STRONG Life Episode 95 is jam packed with Awesome information thanks to your Awesome Questions. I pulled your questions from This Instagram Post. #STRONGLife #Podcast questions can be posted below, tomorrow morning I will record and post on iTunes. / #UndergroundStrengthCoach #UndergroundStrengthGym #Muscle #Hustle #Entrepreneur #Relentless A video posted by Zach Even - Esh (@zevenesh) on Sep 19, 2016 at 10:58am PDT Here are the Questions / Topics I covered: … [Read more...]
STRONG Life Ep. 87: How I Organize The Business & Training Operations at The Underground Strength Gym
Episode 87 of The STRONG Life Podcast was a loaded QnA covering the many facets of how I started, grew and currently run The Underground Strength Gym. As of now, I have 2 locations in NJ and a 3rd location in the works. It's NOT easy but nothing in life truly worth having is easy! Some of the topics / questions I answer In STRONG Life 87 include: … [Read more...]
Training Large Groups of Athletes, Squat Every Day, Motivation to Lift Heavier & Football Workouts
STRONG Life Podcast Episode 72 is a QnA session pulled from the private forum of Certified Underground Strength Coaches. This will be a 2 or 3 part series and the focus is mostly training questions, although some business and lifestyle questions are snuck in. In this episode, I answer the following questions: … [Read more...]