"When you finally decide how successful you really want to be, you’ve got to set priorities. Then, each and every day, you’ve got to take care of the top ones. The lower ones may fall behind, but you can’t let the top ones slip. You don’t forget about the lower ones though because they can add up to hurt you. Just take care of the top ones first. In 25 years as a head coach and assistant, I think I might have missed one practice. Why? Because practice is my top priority. A day doesn’t go by … [Read more...]
Proper Lifting Technique VS Intensity
There's a time where you can loosen up your technique and push for greater intensity. BUT..... Before we move onward & upward, let me preface that "time" with this: This is NOT a beginner or even an intermediate technique. You see, there is a BIG difference between being sloppy on technique and NOT working the muscle VS loosening the technique a bit to work the muscles AND the mind even harder. I'm not going to tell you that you're a beginner with 6 months of experience or an intermediate … [Read more...]
Running For Mental Toughness
Yesterday, I saw this video and it REALLY motivated me to RUN. You see, in high school, back when I weighed 160 or 170 lbs or less, I ran on the regular. In season wrestling runs were 4 - 5 miles every other day regardless of the freezing temps or snow. I hauled ass..... It wasn't a slow, easy jog.... it was an all out WAR, running hard through the cold night while Metallica blared through my head phones in my Sony Walkman, circa 91', 92' and 93'. After getting heavier, bigger and bigger, … [Read more...]
Weak or Strong – The Choice Is Yours
I still remember that short yet powerful poem staring at me in front of the squat rack at Diamond Gym. It reminded me to add weight, get an extra rep and do what others would NOT want to do. I first saw that poem when I was 17, over half my lifetime ago yet I still remember that poem like it was this morning. There are those that will and those that won't Those that do and those that don't I remember going through some extremely hellish workouts, especially on leg day, back when I was a … [Read more...]
Underground Bodyweight Workout Challenge
I've been to a LOT of wrestling clubs and worked with a LOT of wrestling teams. I used to be shocked and even angered seeing how wrestlers were NOT performing ONE good push up: full range of motion, neck and entire body aligned, tight abs.... How the hell can a wrestler be unable to perform the bread and butter basic exercise that EVERY athlete should be cranking? The Great Dan Gable would lose his mind if he saw this. Bodyweight Training is extremely powerful when implemented properly. … [Read more...]
Underground Playground Assault + Building Bad MFers
It was a Friday morning and I was supposed to train 4 wrestlers inside a wrestling club where I've got a small Underground Strength Club going down. The doors were locked. It was time for Plan B. This is what I thrive on: shitty conditions, no equipment, no gym..... this is how I began and this is where I was, all over again, 8 years later. I was in my element and a day like this brought me back to my roots. You gotta go back to your roots no matter what you do or where you are in life. … [Read more...]
Homemade Bulgarian Bag Training
Check out Underground Strength Coach, Matty Wichlinski, making a homemade Sandbag. I'm gonna crank a few of these myself and get our athletes squatting, lunging, jumping and throwing them. Check it & let me know your thoughts below :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il8rU0H-9ps You know I love sandbag training and sandbags were actually my first substitute for a barbell. I didn't have the cash for a barbell and making a sandbag ran me under $30, so I made a 50 and a 100 lb bag and … [Read more...]
Coach Ethan Reeve Interview
"All the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to think. The trouble is that men very often resort to all sorts of devices in order not to think, because thinking is such hard work." ~ Thomas J. Watson Wow, look what I dug up! MANY Years ago, I had the opportunity to e mail Coach Ethan Reeve, one of my mentors, and he dished out some of the most powerful training information as exchanged emails. Here it is, once again, for your reading … [Read more...]
How to Use HEAVY Bodyweight Training & Pulling Power for Brute Strength
I recall having a phone call with Joe DeFranco and he was telling me how one of his Coaches / former athletes, Mike Guadango, was regularly doing heavy, HEAVY 1 rep sets for pull ups. Mike was also performing heavy recline rows with over 100 lbs on a weight vest for sets of 1 - 3 reps. It got me thinking differently about my Bodyweight training and I began looking to turn my Bodyweight training into a system, just like Westside Barbell implements the Conjugate System, with days focused on … [Read more...]
How 2 Wrestlers & George Hackenschmidt Changed My Way Of Training
I got my hands on an old book in the early 2000s and it really pushed home the need & the power for simplicity in life, training and nutrition. In addition, the book also encouraged the need for basics. When I saw the rugged physique on the author, I was inspired beyond my words to say the least. The author was built like a brick sh-t house. Above, George Hackschmidt, Built Like A Brick Shit House George Hackenschmidt's workouts were often in the 30 - 45 minute range yet he trained on … [Read more...]