Deadlifts have been around since the dawn of time. Cavemen lifting heavy objects off the ground. It's so simple, it's complicated. It doesn't have to be complicated, BUT, people nowadays LOVE to complicate things. I don't know why? I assume because it helps people FEEL as if they are accomplishing more by creating more complication. In this video, I encourage you to TEST this yourself. HOW? By lifting the weights. There is NO other way. You can research all you want but until you are … [Read more...]
Iron Roots: York Barbell History & Stories with Jan Dellinger
I had such a blast creating The Iron Roots Podcast with my friends at PLAE. 24 episodes ALL on Video as well as Apple Podcasts so you can listen or watch from anywhere. Iron Roots gave me the opportunity to bring my library collection of old school strength books to life so you can learn and experience what I see every day in my office. The opportunity to interview Jan Dellinger from York Barbell was like stepping into a time machine. The PLAE.PRO app has ALL of the Iron Roots Video … [Read more...]
Ep 228 | Coop from Garage Gym Reviews
STRONG Life Podcast ep. 228 with my friend Coop from Garage Gym Reviews. What a GREAT episode this was as we chatted the History behind the History of Garage Gym Reviews. Did you know Coop's Dad was a powerlifter & gym owner in the 80s? Did you hear the story of a young Mark Rippetoe needing a place to crash the night before a powerlifting meet because he was out of cash after traveling to the meet? Well, we've got MORE crazy and fun stories for you in this STRONG Life … [Read more...]
Iron Roots Podcast Ep. 5 | Strength & Health Magazine
Here we GO! Iron Roots Podcast Episode 5. This is THE magazine that I WISH I had when I began training. For me, it was Muscle & Fitness ad FLEX Magazine. These magazines were all about training for asthetics and appearance. It was very rarely about heavy lifting and performance. I still remember telling my friends, It doesn't matter how heavy you lift, you gotta squeeeeeze the muscle and feeeeeeel the muscle. Hence, why I struggled with my sports performance. Check out the … [Read more...]
173 | Living The STRONG Life, Regardless of Those Who Try to Stop You!
STRONG Life Podcast 173, here we GO! Have you ever felt like you're in a place where you simply do NOT fit in? I've been there before with both training and life / career. This episode brought me back to my early days of training athletes from my garage and eventually my first location. 98% of the people that knew me or knew what I was doing all said You can't do that! I was able to build a 6 figure warehouse gym while teaching full time and running my gym with part time hours. There … [Read more...]
Strong Is STRONG & Training Is TRAINING
Training doesn't need to be complicated to be effective. I will be hammering this home BIG time at my up and coming STRENGTH Seminar with Travis Mash (Details HERE). Growing up in the 80s and 90s gave me insight to the times of YMCA weight rooms filled with York Barbell Equipment. I got to see a state championship Football team crushing the basics while playing The Rocky IV soundtrack day after day. I saw my Wrestling Coach doing 10 sets of squats every time he trained legs, 5 sets of back … [Read more...]
The Story of The Infamous BIG Curl Bar
It was a summer morning in 1990 and I had arrived at my favorite place, The Metuchen YMCA. This wasn't the updated YMCA with their brand new equipment, nicely painted walls and senior citizens aimlessly roaming the gym floor. This was the small basement weight room that was treated like the red headed step child, outfitted with what we call today "old school" York Barbell equipment. Round Head York Dumbbells lined the dumbbell racks while the heavier dumbbells were left scattered on the floor. … [Read more...]
WHY Iron History Is SO Important
I've traveled around the country and have done some crazy things to get my hands on vintage, historical strength training equipment. There is a special history in these older weights, where the men and women were EXTREMELY strong. The passion behind training back in the day for these men was NOT about pumping light weights. Training had a MUCH deeper meaning, as it does for the rare few men of today. Here are some photos and videos - some from my experiences and some from others. Enjoy. … [Read more...]
Episode # 139: Vintage York Barbell Gym Tour, Part II
Woops, almost forgot about this BEAUTY thanks to my insane schedule :) Check out this beautiful vintage gym in a south jersey basement. I snagged about 600 lbs of vintage strength weights from this gentleman. I need to clean them up a tad and my son will be getting 4 or 5 VERY vintage York barbells for him to use. Could there be anything more amazing than some old york weights in your hands? OK, never mind, don't answer that question. Anyway, check this amazing video, and if you love … [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...]