Underground Strength Training Q & A

Here's some Q&A that Zach did @ Elitefts detailing some of his
Brutually Effective Underground Methods!

Can you give readers a general idea of how to structure a kettlebell/bodyweight program for two consecutive days? I also have a sled with some chains and bands, so how could I utilize those, as well? Also, what DVD of yours would you suggest for kettlebell conditioning and bodyweight training?

Two days of training in a row is tough, but what we can do is split up your days into either:

Day 1: lower body
Day 2: upper body

or

Day 1: full body strength / power - low rep work
Day 2: complexes, lighter weight, higher reps

Or, what I would likely do for myself because I know what works best, is this:

Day 1: heavy KB work and heavy BW training
Day 2: sleds, bands and BW only, NO KB's

This is something you'll need to play with, because everyone responds differently to two days in a row with various stimuli.

Try this:

Day 1: KB's and Heavy BW

1) Turkish get-up 3 x 3 reps each side

2) double KB front squat - press combo 4 x 5 reps

3A) double KB bent over row 3 x 6 - 8 reps
3B) double KB high pulls 3 x 6 - 8 reps

4A) weighted pull ups 3 x 3 - 5 reps
4B) 1 arm KB floor press 3 x 5 reps each

Day 2: bands, sled, bw: max rounds in 15 minutes

1A) forward sled drag x 200 ft.

1B) 15 push-ups (change push-up variation every set)

1C) backwards sled drag x 200 ft

1D) 15 push-ups (change push-up variation every set)

1E) mixed grip pull-ups / recline rowing x max reps

1F) sled rows x 6 reps

1G) sled chest presses x 6 reps

** If you want, you can add some band work such as snap downs, face pulls, resisted running, etc. Basically, your second day will keep you away from extra loading and you will load yourself via the sled and your own BW.

But, like I said, these are just a few options. You really must test what works for you and see what you're feeling for your second day of training. This "feeling" can change daily / weekly, etc, so be prepared to adjust accordingly to optimize your training to the response your body will give in return.

Kettlebell product: Definitely Kettlebells for Combat.

For BW, I have nothing that is ONLY BW, but inside my Kit there is one manual that is very much focused on BW movements, especially partner BW movements.

If I wanted to try your style of training, starting from scratch with no materials, what do I need?



First use bodyweight, then barbells and dumbbells. People get confused and think all I use are odd objects. I started out this way because I had no money to buy equipment. Since this was my situation, I MADE equipment.

You need a heavy barbell set and a few dumbbells. After that, you can easily get yourself some free tractor tires, which are awesome for flipping and partner pushing drills.

Most people don’t know that when I finally quit going to traditional gyms, I had a setup in my Dad’s garage:

300 lb barbell set
gun rack
50 and 100 lb dumbbells
utility bench ( I placed a tool box under it for incline presses)



Nothing fancy, but damned good results!

How old – or “trained” – would you want a young athlete (beginning at 12 or so) to be before they start loading their jumps using medicine balls or with light Vertimax resistance? Also, what sort of rep ranges would you use?

At that age, I wouldn’t load the jumps, because it would alter their technique in a fashion not likely to improve performance. Stick with any variation of jumping to improve athleticism:


- jump rope

- box jumps

- jumps over benches - over 1 bench, or multiple benches

- jumps over various sized obstacles

- skipping for height

- jumping for height

Rep ranges would not go higher than 10, and would be as low as 3-5 for some types of jumps. This would depend on the intensity of the jumps, and how close they are to maximal exertion. I’m no expert in plyos, but I know that using moderate intensity jumps is great for developing power and work capacity.

What kind of sled workouts and rest intervals do you use with your beginner athletes?



The sled work I do for my young guys changes depending on whether we’re on grass or cement. It’s very basic – lots of forward dragging, some backward dragging, Prowler pushing (high and low), and if we’re on grass we’ll do bear crawls with the sled. The low prowler push comes close to the bear crawl.

With the young guys I probably do 75% or so forward dragging or pushing, with 25% backward drags. Depending on their physical preparation level, I may add some rowing and lateral drags, but for the most part we just drag away.

Don’t forget that you can also perform upper body work for young athletes – hand over hand pulls are a perfect example. We do this with a 20’ rope, or we attach a bunch of 10’ tow straps together to get 20’-30’ in length.

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