The older you get, the harder the training gets! It's tougher to make gains and you can forget about that "maintenance" BS program. If you're not getting better, you're getting worse. I NEVER use the word "maintenance" when training anyone, including in season for athletes. Think about it, how weak does it sound when you say I'm just trying to maintain. It sounds like you fear the work. It makes me wonder, how long can my message of hard work and consistency on the basics live on … [Read more...]
Why Bodybuilding Workouts Are GREAT For You
When I made the transition from my bodybuilding workouts I had a bad taste in my mouth. I was wrestling or competing / training in Grappling & BJJ and the 2 simply didn't blend. I was getting injured quite a lot and I wound up ditching a lot of bodybuilding work, mainly because I stopped training in a traditional gym environment and I was now training in my garage. No machines, no cables. Just free weights and odd objects. I began developing a different type of strength. Different than … [Read more...]
Tales of an Unlikely BEAST
Above, Jesse, before The Underground and 2 months after. Below, a compilation of Jesse's progress through the months at The Underground Strength Gym. Tales of an unlikely BEAST..... Dude shows up at The Underground looking to prepare for his future.... classified shiz, NO joke. Former collegiate fencer, pissed off at his physical abilities, motivated like hell to become a BEAST. He changes hit nutrition, gets rid of the crappy carbs and chows down on loads of fruits, veggies, trail mix … [Read more...]
Jersey Shore Workout Goes UNDERGROUND
I was finishing off my workout and wanted to finish with some bodybuilding work.... POWER-Bodybuilding, that is. HEAVY stuff that most Jersey Shore fans would be lifting light and easy, watching themselves in the mirrors and making sure the hair looks good and the sun glasses don't fog up in between text messaging and 5 minute rest periods :) For me, the transformation is ON, time to get rid of the BIG hair and attack the weights, I see no NO other way to attack. Side raises don't need to be … [Read more...]
Power-Bodybuilding Workouts
After being sick through the month of December and chowing down on lots of food lately, I'm gonna put good use to these calories! My appetite is finally back and my motivation is that of a run away freight train. I am psyched to get back to tearing it up again. The more I train, the better I feel. The more I train, the faster my shoulder begins to heal. Injuries are what help you become smarter at what you do, ironically. I'm back to cranking more floor pressing and dumbbell work in favor … [Read more...]
Return of The Golden Era Bodybuilding Workout
Golden Era bodybuilding is a far cry from many of the bodybuilding methods of today. A focus on free weights, heavy lifting, hard work on the basics and no fads. No fad diets or fad workouts. The bodybuilders from the 70s and prior never questioned if the basics of squats, deadlifts, rows and the like were good enough or not. Today, everyone wants the short cut, the new fad and the easy way. F**k that. Easy workouts produce weak minds and weak bodies. … [Read more...]
Gladiator Garage Gym Workouts
It was The Fall of 2002, and I had drawn the line...... I was up to my neck in work as a grad student plus working full time as a teacher. I was also coaching Wrestling and the season was a few short weeks away. My time was pressed to say the least. Sunday mornings I would wake up and work on research papers from 10 AM until 10 PM. It was the first time in 7 or 8 years that I was unable to make the trek to my favorite hardcore gym, Diamond Gym. I was too busy to drive 30 minutes each way, … [Read more...]
How to Get Built Like a Brick House
Once in a blue moon you come across an athlete or a gym rat who, as some of us may have said, is "Built like a Brick S**t House". In my countless years of getting under the bar (Training Since 1989), traveling the world and being in countless gyms I have seen my fair share of lifters who are TRULY built like BEASTS. You know the look I'm talking about if you've seen the lifters who have spent 10+ years consistently lifting heavy. It's that Powerful look, thick, densely built muscles that you … [Read more...]
Ricky Bruch Cranks the Power Bodybuilding
WOW! Lots of emotion heated up from yesterday's video with Ricky Bruch. But, even though some disagreed with what may have been Ricky Burch's past (who can say for fact what he did or did not do and deep down who gives a shit), let's look at what we can learn from his videos. That's how I like to view things: How can I LEARN from X, Y, Z, rather than finding the negative. There is enough negativity on the internet, I ask you to please not bring it here. This light of trying to learn and … [Read more...]
Power-Bodybuilding Workouts
Last night I was so tired when I was done training my athletes at The Underground I was ready to just call it a night and drive home. Certainly, back when I was a teenager or early 20s, training at 9 PM was easy. I had all the energy in the world, granted, I wasn't a family man or running multiple businesses either. But at the end of the night, I knew I just couldn't quit. I had to go hard and dig deep. Times like these reveal and test your character. It's been a LONG week with my son, … [Read more...]