It was 1990, The Summer after freshman year and I was finishing up my days traveling to the Metuchen YMCA. At the time, the weight room was down stairs, a small dungeon filled with York Barbell Weights, a York Isometric rack and a small radio where the big guys allowed me to bring in my cassette tape to play hard rock music. I knew these were my last days at The Y as construction was in full swing and a new weight room was coming. The few who trained at The Y were big guys. It was a small … [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...]
Back To My Roots: Kettlebell & Bodyweight Workouts
I remember about 6 years ago or so my body was aching constantly. I would walk down the stairs in the morning and my knees would hurt, my feet hurt. My mind was asking WTF is going on here!?! I was sore after training sessions for longer than normal and I felt that my body was sending me signals to STOP lifting weights. That alone was freaking me out as training is how I identify with myself and unleash my emotions. Luckily, I came across some inspiring videos of a few guys working … [Read more...]
Power Cleans for Athletes: The How & Why with Zach & Travis Mash
To power clean or not? THAT is the question. The answer of yes or no as well as HOW to Power Clean will vary depending on MANY scenarios that I discuss below in the videos on my own & with Travis Mash. SOME of those factors that will influence the how & why behind the Power Clean Are: College / High School setting where you KNOW you are with those kids for years or long term for the majority of the training Independent Strength Coach where athletes come / go for countless … [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...]
Bigger, Stronger & Faster In A Garage Gym
When schools or individuals are worried about turf instead of their grass field, a beautiful weight room instead of the old dungeon weight room and sophisticated X, Y, Z ........ They are worried about the WRONG things. The TRUTH is that fancy and pretty equipment don't mean a thing unless the training and technique is dialed in. GREAT Coaches & a GREAT Environment Builds GREAT athletes, it's NOT the equipment. This journey began for me in my early teenage years. I quickly learned … [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...]
You Can’t Fake STRONG
I'm coming off a high after last weekend's USC Cert + Travis Mash's Learn 2 Lift Seminar. We blend our 2 methods together because it all blends perfectly. It's a combination of our almost 60 years of combined training knowledge. I think that makes us Senior Citizens of STRENGTH.... kinda. The Blending of.... Olympic Weightlifting Powerlifting Old School Bodybuilding Bodyweight Training Odd Objects & Strongman Training Speed & Explosive Training Methods Program … [Read more...]
Learning The Olympic Lifts, Part II
One of the toughest Olympic Lifting exercises for me to learn (STILL learning, ALWAYS learning!) was the power clean. Some of my problems were common problems for other aspiring Olympic Lifters as well: - My wrists were extremely tight - My shoulders and lats lacked mobility - I wasn't using a grip that was conducive for my own physical capabilities AND faults You see, back in the day.... … [Read more...]
Lessons From Golden Era Bodyweight Bodybuilding Workouts
This post was inspired from my time spent reading the old books of bodybuilding where the greats from the 50s, 60s and 70s spoke often about all the high rep bodyweight training they did. Hundreds of sit ups and crunches. 100 Pull Ups on back day / back workouts. 100 Push Ups for the warm up. These men from back in the day had physiques that were carved from stone. They had what many call today as "functional strength". Many of these men worked manual labor jobs by day so they trained at 5 … [Read more...]