The Gladiators, an Inside Look

Every Friday at 5 PM we have a packed house of guys training together. It is getting insane, but we organize the groups very tightly and there is little to no down time. This is a mix of high school Football players, College Football Players and a few guys from a adult Football League.

The workout pace is furious as we almost always perform 2 movements back to back. If they feel like they're waiting too long they know to work in abs and pull ups. you can't go wrong with rock solid abs and a powerful upper body developed through countless pull ups. And yes, even our 250 + lb. guys are required to hit pull ups.

 We work in recline rows as well using a 2" thick rope to aggressively work their hands, forearms and grip strength.

I highly reccomend the focus on ground based lifts. I encouraged this BIG time when I spoke last Friday at the NJSIAA Coaches Annual Seminar. Ground Based vs typical training, Ground Based movements will always give a better return in results. The typical movements let you sit down or lay down waaaaaay too frequently.

I'd rather see athletes working on tire flips, power cleans, overhead presses, deadlifts, etc.

Now, I know MANY people know how to do these movements. But guess what, doesn't EVERYONE know how to bench press and squat? Yet we know how many people who can bench over 600 and squat over 1,000 lbs?

Catch my drift? It ALL boils down to the magic in the program design. Those who understand the science behind program design get phenomenal results.

So when an arrogant idiot e mails me, "We all know how to lift barbells and sandbags, it's not rocket science" - I must give the response, "Then why the hell aren't you transforming athletes into Beasts?"

There is a science behind developing optimal training programs which develop phenomenal results in strength, speed, power and work capacity.

The arrogant people who already know it all will ignorantly state that "It's not rocket science", and this is likely why he is not training any athletes or, able to get himself any viable results.

My methods have come about through hands on experimentation and LOTS OF LISTENING to highly experienced Coaches.

This is why The Gladiators are increasing strength, speed and work capacity every single week.

I'll be getting into the details of how, when and why we implement the things we do when I present in NJ, on April 5th w/my buddies Jason C. Brown, Pamela MacElree and John McKenna. These are three Coaches who are training countless people day in and day out, and truly getting their hands dirty.

This seminar is for everyone - Coaches, athletes, parents, etc.

If you're in the tri state area I hope to see you there!

Info is here: http://www.crossfitphilly.com/Events.html

In Strength,

Zach Even - Esh

P.S. - As always, we have an early bird registration so get in before time runs out.