Yesterday I was so fired up from reading a newspaper article about Karate Legend, Gary Alexander training harder than most people half his age at age 81, so of course, I HAD to try it myself. Gary Alexander was a Karate instructor where I grew up in Edison, NJ in the 70s, 80s and early 90s. Today, he is in his 80s, STILL training like a madman. Here's his current regime: With scuba fins on his feet, Alexander does 100 laps, mostly on his back, alternating with freestyle strokes. The … [Read more...]
RAW with Marty Gallagher: Strength Endurance, Minimalist Training & Fighting the Fads & Gimmicks of Strength & Conditioning
In this BONUS episode of The STRONG Life Podcast I join my friends of Iron Company on their podcast. We've got JP Brice, Marty Gallagher and Jim Steel. Marty's podcast is called RAW, and once you hear his unfiltered ways of conversing with me you'll understand exactly why! We discuss the following topics: - How my background in training began, from hardcore gyms to current days of The Underground Strength Gym - How some of the Powerlifters of the 60s, 70s and 80s trained for world … [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...]
Comfort is The Enemy (In Training)
If you've been following me for some time, you've likely heard me use the phrase, Comfort is the Enemy. But...... Let me expand on this. Comfort is the Enemy..... IN TRAINING. But, what about Life? Should life always be a struggle? Should life always be uncomfortable? It depends (of course!). Some people, like my friend Joe DeSena, find happiness when pushing and being uncomfortable. Others, need more flow and more happiness in life. So it depends, very much like … [Read more...]
Iron Roots Ep. 10 – Wrestling Physical Conditioning Encyclopedia by John Jesse
This book was gifted to me in the early 2000s by Josh Henkin, creator of The Ultimate Sandbag. I will never forget how grateful I was and still am that Josh shared this book with me! This book was written in 1974, before I was even born! Coach John Jesse was WELL ahead of his time, in fact, this was a time period in athletics where many Coaches were warning against weightlifting because You'll become muscle bound or Your muscles will turn to fat if you stop training. If you're ready to … [Read more...]
Iron Roots Ep. 9 | George Hackenschmidt aka The Russian Lion
MANY years ago I got my hands on a book titled The Way to Live. I loved the book. It was so simple yet so powerful. I was training athletes from my garage back then and I was already tired of the poser, fake BS in the "fitness industry". I read this book about George Hackenschmidt aka The Russian Lion and damn, he was an animal. He was using basic dumbbell and barbell lifts, his nutrition and sleep / lifestyle habits were also basic. But his results were world class. … [Read more...]
192 | Destroy Your Excuses, Advance & Conquer
Well I'll be damned, I am hearing more excuses from people of ALL ages who must be infected with some sort of an excuse virus. From teenagers to parents of athletes. From adults in their 20s all the way into their 60s. You either want it or you don't. I can sense it from a mile away, your actions tell me everything about how badly you really want something. I've heard these weak excuses, way too often..... It's too expensive I'm too busy It's too far away I'm waiting … [Read more...]
184 | QnA: Underground Strength Seminars, Wrestling Strength & Gladiator STRONG Origins
Here we go, STRONG Life Podcast ep.184, QnA style! I had a blast crushing this podcast and talking about: - The next Underground Strength seminars and how I plan to run them. - How I train wrestlers in season and what I recommend with regards to nutrition for wrestlers. - How I operate my podcast in terms of business, sponsorship, use for my Underground Strength Gym and more thoughts on podcasting. - How did my Gladiator STRONG program get started and why I love the NO BS, … [Read more...]
How I Train Athletes & The Fight Against Strength & Conditioning Fads
Strong is STRONG. You can't fake strong. Some athletes / people might LOOK strong but when it's time to perform, they can not perform. How do I know? I was there myself in my high school years as a wrestler - I followed too much bodybuilding work and I LOOKED strong, but I was NOT able to perform with dominating power. When I began getting heavily into strength & conditioning, the industry was really pushing the "functional training" craze. Back in the early 2000s, this meant you had … [Read more...]
Training In Your 40s VS Training High School & College Athletes
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...]