Wednesday, March 25, 2009
15 Minute Workout!
"I was in a bit of a rush Friday before clients were heading in and I was finishing up some internet work.
Not to worry, as I knew I could crank out some brutal workout for myself.
Hey, 15 minutes sounds like nothing but when you’re as insanely busy as I am, it works, and, I am still getting stronger and stronger.
Getting stronger is what I love, plus, the side effects of added strength are more muscle and burning fat around the clock.
So, here’s what I did in my Underground Strength Gym, where the heat was hovering slightly above 100 degrees thanks to the good ol’ jersey humidity
1A) DB snatch from the floor 4 x 5 reps each hand
1B) lateral jumps over flat bench 4 x 10
2A) weighted pull ups 4 x 5
2B) handstand push ups 4 x 5
On paper, this workout doesn’t look like much, but give it a shot and I know you’ll be feelin’ it.
Don’t fear going heavy either.
I hit snatches with a 90 lb dumbbell and my pull ups were with 60 lbs of chains."
Not to worry, as I knew I could crank out some brutal workout for myself.
Hey, 15 minutes sounds like nothing but when you’re as insanely busy as I am, it works, and, I am still getting stronger and stronger.
Getting stronger is what I love, plus, the side effects of added strength are more muscle and burning fat around the clock.
So, here’s what I did in my Underground Strength Gym, where the heat was hovering slightly above 100 degrees thanks to the good ol’ jersey humidity
1A) DB snatch from the floor 4 x 5 reps each hand
1B) lateral jumps over flat bench 4 x 10
2A) weighted pull ups 4 x 5
2B) handstand push ups 4 x 5
On paper, this workout doesn’t look like much, but give it a shot and I know you’ll be feelin’ it.
Don’t fear going heavy either.
I hit snatches with a 90 lb dumbbell and my pull ups were with 60 lbs of chains."
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Trap Bar Complex
This is a killer post chain and upperback complex from Zach, but first an explanation from his blog:
"Man, if there is 1 thing engrained into my DNA, it must be that I LOVE to train hard & heavy.
But, lately, I’ve been straying away from the heavy barbell, rocking the dumbbells, kettlebells and bodyweight a lot more.
I’m feeling healthier, and still strong as a mofo.
It doesn’t make me feel good when my back is so f**ked up that it hurts to change diapers.
As I grow, I evolve.
Does this mean I will never touch a barbell again? Hells NO!
I still use them, but I am finding “other” ways.
Check out the video below…"
"The complex above is one I sometimes hit, and often times heavier, like 225 - 275.
Lately, the dumbbells and kettlebells have been getting abused by me
Till the next time, Kill it!"
"Man, if there is 1 thing engrained into my DNA, it must be that I LOVE to train hard & heavy.
But, lately, I’ve been straying away from the heavy barbell, rocking the dumbbells, kettlebells and bodyweight a lot more.
I’m feeling healthier, and still strong as a mofo.
It doesn’t make me feel good when my back is so f**ked up that it hurts to change diapers.
As I grow, I evolve.
Does this mean I will never touch a barbell again? Hells NO!
I still use them, but I am finding “other” ways.
Check out the video below…"
"The complex above is one I sometimes hit, and often times heavier, like 225 - 275.
Lately, the dumbbells and kettlebells have been getting abused by me
Till the next time, Kill it!"
Part 2 Of Zach's Interview w/Vince Delmonte!
I posted part 1 last week, but here's the second part where zach gets into the nitty gritty of his program design!
Vince: What do you mean when you say stuff like, “I’ll help you slap on rugged muscle…”
Zach - Rugged muscles comes from the old school movements that so many people miss out on, especially in these fancy gyms. Look at the bodybuilders from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. They had that rugged, chiseled look that came from an intense focus on the basic lifts with heavy loads. Today’s bodybuilders are puffy and bloated.
Vince:: If I could only train 3-4 x a week for 15 minutes, what would the workout look like?
Zach: Start with a good warm up and then get going with a heavy “core” lift, which simply means a serious compound lift such as the deadlift or the dumbbell clean and press. After a few hard sets in the 3 – 8 rep range, crank out some supersets that are push / pull movements for the upper body or for quads / hamstrings.
So for upper body we could start with the 1 arm dumbbell clean and press, followed by supersets of mixed grip pull ups and weighted push ups non stop for the next 7 – 8 minutes.
Vince: You’re all about getting STRONG STRONG STRONG. Why is this so important? What if I hate lifting heavy weights?
Zach- being strong is a critical way to adding muscle. If you want to add muscle, your muscles must be forced OUT of their comfort zone. You can’t add muscle just with pump weights. If you hate lifting heavy you will not develop that look of a Gladiator, that look of raw power.
In addition, the mental edge it will give you knowing that you are stronger and tougher than the next guy is a BIG plus.
Vince: Quick glimpse of your personal life if you don’t mind - why were you inspired to make Real Man Muscle Building/
Zach: I work a full time job, run a gym and run my internet business. I’m also a husband and a father of two. I MUST represent for my family and children that being a man means being strong, fit, healthy and hard working. I don’t feel “right” if I was the typical weak, soft and flabby Dad. That is embarrassing, plain and simple!
Vince: How your workouts COMPLETELY different than all the other options out there?
Zach: I have removed all the fancy, scientific mumbo jumbo and taken the complications out of these workouts. There are WAY too many overly scientific workout programs that do little to nothing for getting results.
Vince: Who would you disqualify from using your workouts immediately?
Zach: Anyone who doesn’t want to work hard.
Vince: Share some final insights on your philosophy on nutrition and supplements?
Zach: I’m not a big fan of supplements. A great multi vitamin, some extra vitamind C throughout the day and some calcium at night before bed. The rest must come from high quality nutrition. I suggest laying low on milk, breads and dairy. Focus on quality protein from meats and fish and maybe a daily meal replacement shake. 1 salad a day, fruits and veggies scattered throughout the entire day and tons of water.
It looks great on paper, but most people don’t keep their house stocked with enough quality foods, or, they don’t cook in quantity which leads to irrational choices for eating.
Eat 5 meals per day:
1) breakfast
2) lunch
3) mid afternoon meal
4) dinner
5) late evening meal
Vince: What do you mean when you say stuff like, “I’ll help you slap on rugged muscle…”
Zach - Rugged muscles comes from the old school movements that so many people miss out on, especially in these fancy gyms. Look at the bodybuilders from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. They had that rugged, chiseled look that came from an intense focus on the basic lifts with heavy loads. Today’s bodybuilders are puffy and bloated.
Vince:: If I could only train 3-4 x a week for 15 minutes, what would the workout look like?
Zach: Start with a good warm up and then get going with a heavy “core” lift, which simply means a serious compound lift such as the deadlift or the dumbbell clean and press. After a few hard sets in the 3 – 8 rep range, crank out some supersets that are push / pull movements for the upper body or for quads / hamstrings.
So for upper body we could start with the 1 arm dumbbell clean and press, followed by supersets of mixed grip pull ups and weighted push ups non stop for the next 7 – 8 minutes.
Vince: You’re all about getting STRONG STRONG STRONG. Why is this so important? What if I hate lifting heavy weights?
Zach- being strong is a critical way to adding muscle. If you want to add muscle, your muscles must be forced OUT of their comfort zone. You can’t add muscle just with pump weights. If you hate lifting heavy you will not develop that look of a Gladiator, that look of raw power.
In addition, the mental edge it will give you knowing that you are stronger and tougher than the next guy is a BIG plus.
Vince: Quick glimpse of your personal life if you don’t mind - why were you inspired to make Real Man Muscle Building/
Zach: I work a full time job, run a gym and run my internet business. I’m also a husband and a father of two. I MUST represent for my family and children that being a man means being strong, fit, healthy and hard working. I don’t feel “right” if I was the typical weak, soft and flabby Dad. That is embarrassing, plain and simple!
Vince: How your workouts COMPLETELY different than all the other options out there?
Zach: I have removed all the fancy, scientific mumbo jumbo and taken the complications out of these workouts. There are WAY too many overly scientific workout programs that do little to nothing for getting results.
Vince: Who would you disqualify from using your workouts immediately?
Zach: Anyone who doesn’t want to work hard.
Vince: Share some final insights on your philosophy on nutrition and supplements?
Zach: I’m not a big fan of supplements. A great multi vitamin, some extra vitamind C throughout the day and some calcium at night before bed. The rest must come from high quality nutrition. I suggest laying low on milk, breads and dairy. Focus on quality protein from meats and fish and maybe a daily meal replacement shake. 1 salad a day, fruits and veggies scattered throughout the entire day and tons of water.
It looks great on paper, but most people don’t keep their house stocked with enough quality foods, or, they don’t cook in quantity which leads to irrational choices for eating.
Eat 5 meals per day:
1) breakfast
2) lunch
3) mid afternoon meal
4) dinner
5) late evening meal
Strongman Training For All Around Strength and Conditioning!
This is an older video from Zach - back when he used to train athletes out of his parents house, a tire yard and local playground! Nothin' fancy goin on here!
Power Bodybuilding For Strength and Size Gains!
Check out this highlight vid featuring Zach's Underground Gym along with Joe Defranco's athletes CRUSHING it!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Do What Works!
by Zach Even-Esh
Training, in my opinion, has become too scientific and too complicated. This might be why we see so many fancy training facilities and methods yet today, more than ever, people are struggling to get results.
The basics coupled with hard work and consistency always works. They might require adjustments to meet your individual needs, but in a nut shell, they’ll always work.
I have a few favorites that I’d like to share with you and that I suggest you try them on your own.
They require Kettlebells, A Pull Up Bar and if you’re able to, a Tractor Tire.
Many people think tractor tires are impossible to find. Not true, there are tire yards everywhere willing to deliver and give away used tractor tires, or you can rent a Home Depot truck and get one yourself.
The benefits behind tire flipping are immense. This is a simple yet extremely effective movement for the entire body. One that delivers in terms of improving performance and appearance. This movement adds muscle to your posterior and works the forearms and hands intensely as well.
The tire flip is very similar to the barbell power clean. You are ripping a “weight” from the ground to a vertical position. The tire flip allows you to lean into the weight and allows more force to be demonstrated from your legs.
Tire Flips – excellent for developing raw power, strength, adding muscle and improving athleticism!
If you have a garage or a backyard, you can get yourself a tire, no excuses.
Tire flips coupled with the 1 arm or double Kettlebell clean and press, another full body movement, are great. The double clean and press develops full body strength and power. In addition, I favor this movement because it is ground based, which forces your entire body to work overtime compared to typical seated movements that you’ll find many people in a gym performing.
The clean and press will develop a powerful back side, strong shoulders and a solid core. Holding the bells overhead requires stability and strength. Back in the day, overhead lifts were the main lifts that demonstrated your ability of strength.
I suggest switching between one handed and double overhead work. The one handed forces the opposing side of your body to stabilize while the two handed loads the body more intensely. Both are great and have equal benefits.
You can also vary between strict presses, push presses and the jerk. I tend to favor the push press and jerk because they involve more of the body and are more athletic type lifts.
Double and Single Arm Kettlebell movements BOTH serve their merit and should be mixed into your workouts equally.
I have been motivated to use the jerk now more than ever before after seeing Valery Fedorenko jerk a 150 lb dumbbell at my gym. No easy feat when you weigh 180 lbs! In addition, his mastery in the jerk had a great carry over to the tire flip. His first time flipping a tire he cranked out an easy 2 reps with a 600 lb tire.
The jerk teaches you to be explosive, strengthens the entire body and is an all around athletic lift.
Last on my list of top movements is the pull up. The pull up has countless variations and we use them all. We mix our grips on every set as well as use different bars, handles, ropes, towels and add weight via weight belts, back packs, chains, weight vests and even use bands to pull us down or to help pull up.
Rolling Thunder Pull Ups
These 3 exercises are super basic yet very effective. The magic bullet that everyone is looking for can be found with basic lifts and regular progression. If you think it’s unrealistic to get yourself a tractor tire think again. There are countless basement, garage and backyard lifters who have better equipped training compounds than the fancy gyms of today. Where there’s a will there’s a way.
Training, in my opinion, has become too scientific and too complicated. This might be why we see so many fancy training facilities and methods yet today, more than ever, people are struggling to get results.
The basics coupled with hard work and consistency always works. They might require adjustments to meet your individual needs, but in a nut shell, they’ll always work.
I have a few favorites that I’d like to share with you and that I suggest you try them on your own.
They require Kettlebells, A Pull Up Bar and if you’re able to, a Tractor Tire.
Many people think tractor tires are impossible to find. Not true, there are tire yards everywhere willing to deliver and give away used tractor tires, or you can rent a Home Depot truck and get one yourself.
The benefits behind tire flipping are immense. This is a simple yet extremely effective movement for the entire body. One that delivers in terms of improving performance and appearance. This movement adds muscle to your posterior and works the forearms and hands intensely as well.
The tire flip is very similar to the barbell power clean. You are ripping a “weight” from the ground to a vertical position. The tire flip allows you to lean into the weight and allows more force to be demonstrated from your legs.
Tire Flips – excellent for developing raw power, strength, adding muscle and improving athleticism!
If you have a garage or a backyard, you can get yourself a tire, no excuses.
Tire flips coupled with the 1 arm or double Kettlebell clean and press, another full body movement, are great. The double clean and press develops full body strength and power. In addition, I favor this movement because it is ground based, which forces your entire body to work overtime compared to typical seated movements that you’ll find many people in a gym performing.
The clean and press will develop a powerful back side, strong shoulders and a solid core. Holding the bells overhead requires stability and strength. Back in the day, overhead lifts were the main lifts that demonstrated your ability of strength.
I suggest switching between one handed and double overhead work. The one handed forces the opposing side of your body to stabilize while the two handed loads the body more intensely. Both are great and have equal benefits.
You can also vary between strict presses, push presses and the jerk. I tend to favor the push press and jerk because they involve more of the body and are more athletic type lifts.
Double and Single Arm Kettlebell movements BOTH serve their merit and should be mixed into your workouts equally.
I have been motivated to use the jerk now more than ever before after seeing Valery Fedorenko jerk a 150 lb dumbbell at my gym. No easy feat when you weigh 180 lbs! In addition, his mastery in the jerk had a great carry over to the tire flip. His first time flipping a tire he cranked out an easy 2 reps with a 600 lb tire.
The jerk teaches you to be explosive, strengthens the entire body and is an all around athletic lift.
Last on my list of top movements is the pull up. The pull up has countless variations and we use them all. We mix our grips on every set as well as use different bars, handles, ropes, towels and add weight via weight belts, back packs, chains, weight vests and even use bands to pull us down or to help pull up.
Rolling Thunder Pull Ups
These 3 exercises are super basic yet very effective. The magic bullet that everyone is looking for can be found with basic lifts and regular progression. If you think it’s unrealistic to get yourself a tractor tire think again. There are countless basement, garage and backyard lifters who have better equipped training compounds than the fancy gyms of today. Where there’s a will there’s a way.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Underground Strength Show #119
Gridiron Gladiatiors, Defranco's NFL Crew & Prison Strength Training!
Get Underground Strength Manual Now... Click Here!
Get Underground Strength Manual Now... Click Here!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Muscle Building Exercises + Interview w/Zach Even-Esh
Check out this vid Zach recently did with Vince Delmonte using some of his time crunched underground methods!
Check out this interview Zach did for Vince and his readers:
Vince: Tell us how you got into training?
Zach: I used to read bodybuilding magazines before I began lifting. My older brother was a real jock and was always buying the magazines, the weights, the dumbbells, the weider arm blaster…. I was impressed with being HUGE. I used to watch the original Incredible Hulk w/Lou Ferrigno.
I thought I was the Hulk, so I always wore green! I would wear swimmies in the pool because I really thought they were MY muscles! Ha Ha, I guess you can say I was addicted to the iron before I even touched it!
Vince: What were you workouts like in the teen age days and how did you get into competitive bodybuilding?
Zach: These workouts were totally off the wall as I would often train 30 days straight without rest days! I often did 1 body part a day so I could do tons of volume. I would 25 – 30 sets per muscle, NO kidding. It wasn’t odd for me to do squats for max sets for 1 hour, then leg press for max sets for an hour. Or for chest I would do the flat bench, incline bench, incline flys, pec deck flys, cable cross over and then dips, 5 sets of each. These were insane, but I had so much passion for lifting that I believed in “the more the better”.
Competitive Bodybuilding happened after high school and I finished wrestling. I competed my sophomore year in college in a natural show to stop the accusations of me doing steroids. I trained so hard and so often that people accused me of being on drugs. To me, this was passion. I loved the movie ‘Pumping Iron’ and when I saw them training for competition and battling on stage I envisioned this as me!
Vince: How did you transition into the strength and conditioning world as a coach?
Zach: In my mid 20’s I began to get the itch to compete in the combat arena again. So, I began training in jiu jitsu and shoot fighting. I was training like a bodybuilder and still getting beaten by those who skinnier and looked much weaker then me. I wound up tearing my ACL and this fired me up BIG time. I had torn my shoulder 2 years earlier while wrestling, and in high school injured my knee. It made me a bit bitter with the relation between bodybuilding and wrestling / combat sports. So I sought out the best of the best to help me teach others in wrestling and combat sports how to avoid the injuries that I experienced.
Vince: What is your training philosophy for building muscle?
Zach: Train heavy, train hard, use the basic lifts and constantly seek to break records and improve these lifts. Eat tons of clean, high quality food and get tons of rest. Back to basics!
Vince: What are the most important rules you must follow to build steel-solid muscle?
Zach: Never to stray from the basic lifts such as the squat, deadlift, bench press, military press, bent over rows, lunges, dips and pull ups. Get plenty of rest and lots of high quality food.
Vince: You work with lots of teenagers - any specific advice for teens on getting strong and big?
Zach: Don’t overtrain! Train 3 x week using an upper / lower split and focus on getting REALLY strong with the basic lifts.
Don’t just focus on the “beach muscles” – get your legs strong as hell from squats, work your back and every muscle you can’t see in the mirror intensely. These are large muscles that contribute to muscle mass and even hyping the metabolism helping you to burn fat around the clock!
Stay tuned for part II plus another kick ass video!
Check out this interview Zach did for Vince and his readers:
Vince: Tell us how you got into training?
Zach: I used to read bodybuilding magazines before I began lifting. My older brother was a real jock and was always buying the magazines, the weights, the dumbbells, the weider arm blaster…. I was impressed with being HUGE. I used to watch the original Incredible Hulk w/Lou Ferrigno.
I thought I was the Hulk, so I always wore green! I would wear swimmies in the pool because I really thought they were MY muscles! Ha Ha, I guess you can say I was addicted to the iron before I even touched it!
Vince: What were you workouts like in the teen age days and how did you get into competitive bodybuilding?
Zach: These workouts were totally off the wall as I would often train 30 days straight without rest days! I often did 1 body part a day so I could do tons of volume. I would 25 – 30 sets per muscle, NO kidding. It wasn’t odd for me to do squats for max sets for 1 hour, then leg press for max sets for an hour. Or for chest I would do the flat bench, incline bench, incline flys, pec deck flys, cable cross over and then dips, 5 sets of each. These were insane, but I had so much passion for lifting that I believed in “the more the better”.
Competitive Bodybuilding happened after high school and I finished wrestling. I competed my sophomore year in college in a natural show to stop the accusations of me doing steroids. I trained so hard and so often that people accused me of being on drugs. To me, this was passion. I loved the movie ‘Pumping Iron’ and when I saw them training for competition and battling on stage I envisioned this as me!
Vince: How did you transition into the strength and conditioning world as a coach?
Zach: In my mid 20’s I began to get the itch to compete in the combat arena again. So, I began training in jiu jitsu and shoot fighting. I was training like a bodybuilder and still getting beaten by those who skinnier and looked much weaker then me. I wound up tearing my ACL and this fired me up BIG time. I had torn my shoulder 2 years earlier while wrestling, and in high school injured my knee. It made me a bit bitter with the relation between bodybuilding and wrestling / combat sports. So I sought out the best of the best to help me teach others in wrestling and combat sports how to avoid the injuries that I experienced.
Vince: What is your training philosophy for building muscle?
Zach: Train heavy, train hard, use the basic lifts and constantly seek to break records and improve these lifts. Eat tons of clean, high quality food and get tons of rest. Back to basics!
Vince: What are the most important rules you must follow to build steel-solid muscle?
Zach: Never to stray from the basic lifts such as the squat, deadlift, bench press, military press, bent over rows, lunges, dips and pull ups. Get plenty of rest and lots of high quality food.
Vince: You work with lots of teenagers - any specific advice for teens on getting strong and big?
Zach: Don’t overtrain! Train 3 x week using an upper / lower split and focus on getting REALLY strong with the basic lifts.
Don’t just focus on the “beach muscles” – get your legs strong as hell from squats, work your back and every muscle you can’t see in the mirror intensely. These are large muscles that contribute to muscle mass and even hyping the metabolism helping you to burn fat around the clock!
Stay tuned for part II plus another kick ass video!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Underground Strength Show 117!
Yesterday I posted Episode 118 of the underground strength show and you saw some Underground Coaches going through the paces, well here's how that particular session started!
Get Underground Strength Manual Now... Click Here!
Get Underground Strength Manual Now... Click Here!
Some Underground Q&A W/Zach Even-Esh!
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Underground Strength Show #118: Overhead and HEAVY!
from Zach Even-Esh via his blog
"Onward and upward we go bruddahs….
The next part of the workout was a couplet or superset:
1 arm dumbbell push press for 3 -5 reps per set
scare crow - face pull combo using rings or blast straps (these can even be done with the climbing ropes I have hanging in the gym)
Check out the previous videos to see how the workout started and progresses.
Heavy overhead work was actually a mainstay in the programs of bodybuilders and lifters alike from the 1960’s and prior. The bench press gained popularity once the golden era of bodybuilding came into life during the 1970’s.
Our overhead work usually is in the lower rep range of 1 - 5 reps, most often 3 - 5 reps.
Check out the beasts, many of them worked up to 85 lb dumbbells and heavier.
Scarey Matt Wichlinski rocked the 150 and 130! That’s SERIOUS STRENGTH!"
"These guys went through some serious program design strategies and methods.
It doesn’t matter so much what you do, as many of us do certain movements, but it’s HOW you put it all together!
Kill it!"
Do You Want The Body of a Gladiator?
Get "Underground Muscle"
Untold Training Secrets of a Renegade NJ Strength Coach
The Underground Strength Manual
"Onward and upward we go bruddahs….
The next part of the workout was a couplet or superset:
1 arm dumbbell push press for 3 -5 reps per set
scare crow - face pull combo using rings or blast straps (these can even be done with the climbing ropes I have hanging in the gym)
Check out the previous videos to see how the workout started and progresses.
Heavy overhead work was actually a mainstay in the programs of bodybuilders and lifters alike from the 1960’s and prior. The bench press gained popularity once the golden era of bodybuilding came into life during the 1970’s.
Our overhead work usually is in the lower rep range of 1 - 5 reps, most often 3 - 5 reps.
Check out the beasts, many of them worked up to 85 lb dumbbells and heavier.
Scarey Matt Wichlinski rocked the 150 and 130! That’s SERIOUS STRENGTH!"
"These guys went through some serious program design strategies and methods.
It doesn’t matter so much what you do, as many of us do certain movements, but it’s HOW you put it all together!
Kill it!"
Do You Want The Body of a Gladiator?
Get "Underground Muscle"
Untold Training Secrets of a Renegade NJ Strength Coach
The Underground Strength Manual
Sunday, March 1, 2009
15 Minute Workouts to Burn Fat and Build Muscle!
From CriticalBench.com, by Zach Even-Esh
Don’t give me that lame excuse, “I don’t have the time to exercise!”
That excuse only works for the weak minded and lazy man. But men have an obligation, or at least they used to have an obligation. Once upon a time, men were obligated to be strong, tough and rugged! Men were not supposed to be fat, flabby, weak and fragile.
In my opinion, a REAL man should be strong and tough. If he isn’t strong, then he needs to do something about it!
If you are reading this article feeling you need to do something about the way you look, think and feel, or maybe you want to improve yourself physically and mentally, then read on my friend. You’re about to discover how short workouts can help you build muscle and burn fat faster than ever before!
Why is the emphasis on short workouts? It’s all about training economics. Time is such as commodity nowadays, everyone is always in a rush, everyone complains about no time, yet we all have the same amount of time, each and every day.
I have no problems relating to the busy guy. I own my own business, work a full time job, I’m married and have a daughter. Although time truly is “free”, I don’t have a whole lot of spare time so I decided to eliminate time wasters in my day. Driving to and from the gym, waiting for equipment at the gym, getting stuck talking to “that guy” again at the gym are all time wasters and if you eliminate these time wasters you can easily add a good hour of extra time to your day to do with as you wish!
In addition, creating your own gym, training in your back yard or at a near by playground allows you the pleasure of getting away from the negative atmosphere found at most gyms and health clubs. You can listen to your own style of music, or no music at all, you never have to wait for equipment and you can dress however you want!
Personally, I make the time to look great and stay in shape, even though I’m married, this doesn’t mean I am going to let myself go (like many other married men) and look like a sack of potatoes. What girl wants to go to the beach with their husband or boyfriend who looks flabby and weak? No need to answer this question, we all KNOW the answer already!
The current program you’re about to see is very powerful but it requires serious effort. The challenges you face with these workouts will not only sculpt your body into a rock hard specimen, but the workouts will also develop your mental toughness and you will carry this “edge” with you everywhere you go. I have seen men improve their relationships, business success and more after only 1 week of these 15 minute muscle building, fat burning workouts! The success you are about to experience goes far beyond the physical realm!
Start with a short warm up to prepare your mind and body consisting of calisthenics for the upper body, lower body and the core. This takes approximately 3 minutes at most and looks like this:
1A) squats x 12 reps
1B) push ups x 12 reps
1C) pull ups x 12 reps
1D) v ups x 15 reps
1E) jumping jacks x 15 reps
1F) mountain climbers x 15 reps
Perform the warm up straight through as a circuit which will also elevates your heart rate. Once the warm up is complete you will be feeling physically and mentally ready to rock n’ roll and train hard! Yes, I did say ‘train hard!”
Intensity is critical if you want results, I will not beat around the bush and tell you that these workouts are easy. They are not easy, in fact, they are tough workouts and will require mental and physical toughness, sweat and perseverance! Building muscle and slicing away unwanted body fat requires effort but the results, as you’re about to experience, are very well worth the sweat and effort!
Most people simply don’t train hard enough to get the results they want. There are no secret exercises and the basics always get the job done. You won’t find special exercises that have never been seen before in the REAL Man workout plan, instead, everything you need to do will be the basic compound exercises which allow you to use heavy weights and work many muscles at once. This is what we call “training economics.”
The workout is performed as a circuit to enable you to keep the pace high and leverage your time. In addition, these workouts will keep your metabolism racing for hours on end after your workout, literally transforming you into a fat burning machine around the clock! All you need to do is choose a few basic movements that work your core, your lower body, and the upper body pushing and pulling muscles.
Don’t worry, your arms will get plenty pumped up for the ladies and the beach if you work the upper body movements with heavy weights, basic exercises and intensity. Movements like parallel bar dips, pull ups / chin ups, push ups, dumbbell benching and dumbbell rows all work the “guns” heavily and will transform those skinny arms into muscular, shirt stretching “guns”! Isolation movements are not as effective for adding muscle or leveraging your time so keep these movements to a minimum.
Try the following workout after your warm up:
1A) mixed grip pull ups (vary grip EVERY set) 2 x max reps
1B) feet elevated push ups 2 x max reps
2A) dumbbell reverse lunges 2 x 8 each leg
2B) standing dumbbell military press 2 x 6 – 8 reps
If you are a beginner, rest 30 seconds after exercise A, then perform exercise B, rest another 30 seconds and keep repeating until the prescribed sets are completed.
If you are more advanced, perform exercises A and B back to back and rest 60 seconds after exercise B. Three days a week should be your target goal for working out, and when you have more time it is perfectly fine to get in a fourth workout of the week. Your fourth workout of the week can be a bodyweight only workout performed for high reps. These short workouts are especially great for Friday’s when you’re in a rush to get home and get ready for a night out on the town or to see your family.
Short workouts also make it more motivating to get in there and workout as opposed to dreading your 60 minute workout that you will be more likely to skip, especially on Fridays!
These powerful, 15 minute workouts solve the all too often excuse, “I don’t have the time to exercise.” Well, now you have the knowledge and you KNOW you have the time, so get busy with it.
Maybe you can help motivate other men into looking the way men are supposed to look!
Get Underground Strength Manual Now... Click Here!
Don’t give me that lame excuse, “I don’t have the time to exercise!”
That excuse only works for the weak minded and lazy man. But men have an obligation, or at least they used to have an obligation. Once upon a time, men were obligated to be strong, tough and rugged! Men were not supposed to be fat, flabby, weak and fragile.
In my opinion, a REAL man should be strong and tough. If he isn’t strong, then he needs to do something about it!
If you are reading this article feeling you need to do something about the way you look, think and feel, or maybe you want to improve yourself physically and mentally, then read on my friend. You’re about to discover how short workouts can help you build muscle and burn fat faster than ever before!
Why is the emphasis on short workouts? It’s all about training economics. Time is such as commodity nowadays, everyone is always in a rush, everyone complains about no time, yet we all have the same amount of time, each and every day.
I have no problems relating to the busy guy. I own my own business, work a full time job, I’m married and have a daughter. Although time truly is “free”, I don’t have a whole lot of spare time so I decided to eliminate time wasters in my day. Driving to and from the gym, waiting for equipment at the gym, getting stuck talking to “that guy” again at the gym are all time wasters and if you eliminate these time wasters you can easily add a good hour of extra time to your day to do with as you wish!
In addition, creating your own gym, training in your back yard or at a near by playground allows you the pleasure of getting away from the negative atmosphere found at most gyms and health clubs. You can listen to your own style of music, or no music at all, you never have to wait for equipment and you can dress however you want!
Personally, I make the time to look great and stay in shape, even though I’m married, this doesn’t mean I am going to let myself go (like many other married men) and look like a sack of potatoes. What girl wants to go to the beach with their husband or boyfriend who looks flabby and weak? No need to answer this question, we all KNOW the answer already!
The current program you’re about to see is very powerful but it requires serious effort. The challenges you face with these workouts will not only sculpt your body into a rock hard specimen, but the workouts will also develop your mental toughness and you will carry this “edge” with you everywhere you go. I have seen men improve their relationships, business success and more after only 1 week of these 15 minute muscle building, fat burning workouts! The success you are about to experience goes far beyond the physical realm!
Start with a short warm up to prepare your mind and body consisting of calisthenics for the upper body, lower body and the core. This takes approximately 3 minutes at most and looks like this:
1A) squats x 12 reps
1B) push ups x 12 reps
1C) pull ups x 12 reps
1D) v ups x 15 reps
1E) jumping jacks x 15 reps
1F) mountain climbers x 15 reps
Perform the warm up straight through as a circuit which will also elevates your heart rate. Once the warm up is complete you will be feeling physically and mentally ready to rock n’ roll and train hard! Yes, I did say ‘train hard!”
Intensity is critical if you want results, I will not beat around the bush and tell you that these workouts are easy. They are not easy, in fact, they are tough workouts and will require mental and physical toughness, sweat and perseverance! Building muscle and slicing away unwanted body fat requires effort but the results, as you’re about to experience, are very well worth the sweat and effort!
Most people simply don’t train hard enough to get the results they want. There are no secret exercises and the basics always get the job done. You won’t find special exercises that have never been seen before in the REAL Man workout plan, instead, everything you need to do will be the basic compound exercises which allow you to use heavy weights and work many muscles at once. This is what we call “training economics.”
The workout is performed as a circuit to enable you to keep the pace high and leverage your time. In addition, these workouts will keep your metabolism racing for hours on end after your workout, literally transforming you into a fat burning machine around the clock! All you need to do is choose a few basic movements that work your core, your lower body, and the upper body pushing and pulling muscles.
Don’t worry, your arms will get plenty pumped up for the ladies and the beach if you work the upper body movements with heavy weights, basic exercises and intensity. Movements like parallel bar dips, pull ups / chin ups, push ups, dumbbell benching and dumbbell rows all work the “guns” heavily and will transform those skinny arms into muscular, shirt stretching “guns”! Isolation movements are not as effective for adding muscle or leveraging your time so keep these movements to a minimum.
Try the following workout after your warm up:
1A) mixed grip pull ups (vary grip EVERY set) 2 x max reps
1B) feet elevated push ups 2 x max reps
2A) dumbbell reverse lunges 2 x 8 each leg
2B) standing dumbbell military press 2 x 6 – 8 reps
If you are a beginner, rest 30 seconds after exercise A, then perform exercise B, rest another 30 seconds and keep repeating until the prescribed sets are completed.
If you are more advanced, perform exercises A and B back to back and rest 60 seconds after exercise B. Three days a week should be your target goal for working out, and when you have more time it is perfectly fine to get in a fourth workout of the week. Your fourth workout of the week can be a bodyweight only workout performed for high reps. These short workouts are especially great for Friday’s when you’re in a rush to get home and get ready for a night out on the town or to see your family.
Short workouts also make it more motivating to get in there and workout as opposed to dreading your 60 minute workout that you will be more likely to skip, especially on Fridays!
These powerful, 15 minute workouts solve the all too often excuse, “I don’t have the time to exercise.” Well, now you have the knowledge and you KNOW you have the time, so get busy with it.
Maybe you can help motivate other men into looking the way men are supposed to look!
Get Underground Strength Manual Now... Click Here!
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