Saturday, December 16, 2006

A Conversation at The Underground




Take a look at what goes on at our Undergound discussion forum.


This is seriously amazing stuff, day in and day out. Ego free and highly informative.


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Posted Dec 15,2006 7:06 PM

Jason C Brown


I'm amazed!




My respect for wrestlers keeps growing by the day. I'm much more of a BJJ/Judo guy but this is just a sweet art form.So let's talk training. How would you prepare your guy those demands?


Jason C. Brown




Posted Dec 15,2006 7:59 PM

JHenkin

Jason,Is it really that different from any other athlete? You would obviously need to perform a

needs analysis upon the sport and the specific athelte. This is still a speed and power sport and should be treated as such. I think this sport is somewhat unique in that you may optimize some isometric training a little more since this is a large part of the sport.


However, when you look at the movement patterns they are largely made up of strong and powerful hips, a trunk that can rotate not only quickly, but under high loads, and strength in extreme ranges of motion.
Depending upon the time of the meet I would focus on more strength concentrated work earlier on as they will be getting a lot of conditioning during their technique work and practice sessions.


I might add a 1-2 days of sprint work starting with more 400 meter work to develop leg power and work capacity. I think such training is highly underutilized and applicable to most speed and power sports.


Then would use many of the same compound lifts that would be in most sports training. Depending also on equipment availability, time, etc. you could use various implements and strategies, but I don't think you need much more than a barbell and a tough attitude. Wrestlers are amazing athletes, but have similarities to a lot of other sports.


What do you think?


Josh Henkin






Posted Dec 16,2006 7:14 AM

Mike Stehle

The strength training should be kept basic due to the high volume, hard core conditioning and skill work year round. These athletes are already strong and powerful from liftng and throwing other human beings.


I've rolled with some of the strongest humans that I've ever seen who have never touched a weight in their lives. My BJJ/ Judo insrtuctor, a Brazilian National Judo Champ, used to toss me around like a rag doll, while laughing at me.


He once tapped me out by squeezing me until it felt like my head was going to pop off. He did no supplemental training, just lifting, pulling, squeezing and throwing other humans. Like in bjj/judo and other combat sports, supplemental training should be simple and conservative to prevent overuse.


Inseason strength training should be kept to a minumum (2x/week) including prehab/rehab. Like Josh said, work the low volume compound lifts DL, some type of press, pullup variations, and cycle in some kb swings and other complexes in the offseason/preseason. Wrestlers are a unique animal, we also have to factor in nutrition issues.


Some of these guys are not getting enough calories in, so any strength training they attempt is useless. I see this everyday in my high school.


JMO







Posted Dec 16,2006 6:29 PM

ZEvenEsh


Mike


your statement of your judo instructor goes back to the guy who kicked my a** in high school


he did NO extra work except some calis, still, this is not to dismiss what we do as performance coachesi have a senior, who never made out of districts as a sophomore, junior year he went 1 - 2 in states, this year he is gonna be ranked anywhere from 1 - 3 in the state!


we did it all w/basic workouts and listening to what he needed, attacking weak areas nothing fancy


he beat a kid 11 - 1 in the fall who took 2nd in the state 2 yrs ago


the 1 point was because he cut him lose :)


--z--



Posted Dec 16,2006 6:49 PM

Jason C Brown


Awesome discussion guys.


Josh,I do think they're different from other athletes for several reasons:


1. The amount of trunk rotation coupled with extension, under load.You mentioned that already but the only other sport that has that amount of both rotation-extension is Judo.


2. Round back lifting from very low positions.


3. Isometrics, which you mentioned.


4. A very high need for cervical prehab/strength etc...


5. Weight classes.


I agree with everyone, very low volume concentrating on the basics.


I suprised you picked 400m Josh. I assumed you would have picked DB complexes.


Jason C. Brown





Posted Dec 16,2006 8:06 PM

ZEvenEsh

maybe we can say they are similar for other sports, but, regarding training, all of these guys can do very basic lifting allow their wrestling training itself to take care of the rotational training, isometrics, etc.


case in point: I trained 2 x at an intensive camp under a 2 x gold medalist.


He took us into the wt room every other evening and I watched him train, it was horrible, at best.cable cross overs where he was getting thrown around with the weights, totally out of control, rope push downs where he was moving his body all over to press the ropes down


it was insanely horrible...but, I watched him drill...if you saw this drilling, it was freakishly amazing!


He had 2 partners who alternated because he was so intense!he drilled so aggressively and intensely that if you didn't know they were drilling, you would think it was a match!his drilling was done for 20 minutes at an extreme pace!so, despite his horrible strength work, he won the olympics twice and countless world titles.


And, this man was NOT an exceptional athlete - I am tlaking barely any muscle on his frame - he was extremely driven, aggressive and an angry man when he wrestled. It was freaky.


john smith is the man, he is now coach of Oklahoma who has been winning ncaa national wrestling titles regularly since his coaching


--z--


+++++++++++



Dedicated to your success,


Zach Even - Esh




PS - If you would like to become part of The Underground Strength Community then visit us HERE.

Thanks from someone, but I thank YOU

I started creating my business (in my mind at least) when I was laying in the hospital bed after my ACL repair.

The bottom line was to help other wrestlers avoid my mistakes.

This passion grew and so did my business, and now I not only help wrestlers, but all combat athletes and serious strength fanatics :)

Here's a great "Thank You" I got from Dan Powell of Pa. - he has been training his nephew for high school wrestling using our Underground Methods with Great success!

If you know wrestling, Pa. has some of the best wrestling in the United States, not just for high school, but at the collegiate level as well.

Here is the thanks I received, but, in essence, my thanks goes to all of you who read my information and support my methods.

It's not about me, it's all about YOU :)

Here's what Dan had to say and I am so very grateful for these words:

Hi Zach

A few weeks ago in early November I was relaxing late in the eveningreading my email, specifically " www.UndergroundStrengthKit.com " about discovering the worlds most lethal underground training secrets.

I can't tell you how excited and pumped I was to read my testimonial and see the pictures I sent you of my nephew Eric on your Web site.

I was showered and ready to hit the sack for the night until I read that and I actually was so fired up that I went down my basement and worked out!

As I told you this summer- I started training Eric in July using your philosophy and awesome training methods. He stuck with it all summer and fall and we continue to train now even though wrestling practice takes much of his time.

He made unbelievable strength gains especiallyhis leg strength over the past 5 months.He had his first tournament of the season on Saturday I couldn't wait to see how this hard work of strength training would help him -and I knew it would!!

He weighed in at 119lbs. but his coach bumped him up to 125 lbs.

Zach -- it was awesome-- He went 4-1-- he completely dominated his first 4 opponents - shooting in and lifting them (as if they were that sandbag we've been beating the heck out of for 5 months) and turning them to their back and finishing them with incredible power and control.

He had 4 1st period pins and lost oneclose one . He's just a sophomore and most if not all 5 opponents weregood seniors. The kid he lost to took 4th last year at N. East PA Regional's but I believe Eric would win if they meet again even though Eric is a weight class below him.

So I wanted to say THANKS ZACH- Your methods really do work!!!!

I'm "Paying it Forward"! - brother

Dan Powell / Pa.

+++++

"Pay it forward" - my good friend and mentor, Alwyn Cosgrove emphasized this to me from day 1. If you can help others, then please take a moment and pay it forward!

There's enough slices of Pie for everyone :)

Dedicated to your success,

Zach Even - Esh

PS - Our members at USC are getting a FREE teleseminar Tuesday, all about creating / designing ass kicking programs to develop superior strength, power, speed and conditioning! Hope to hear you on the call Tuesday night!

Can you explode like these freaks?

Are these guys Freaks, or have they committed to a powerful performance program which improves their strength, speed, conditioning and overall poerformance?

I KNOW you can answer that question yourself :)

My partner in crime from http://KettlebellsforCombat.com, Jason C Brown, posted this video at http://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com where we are discussing the training of wrestlers.

As popular as BJJ and other combative sports are becoming, I am always a wrestler at heart and plan to do my best to get back to more wrestling training!

I seriously miss all the takedowns, the high paced drilling, the endless throws and takedown moves and set ups that go hand to hand, I really do miss it!

As you know, being a combat athlete just can not leave one's blood! No matter how old or how long it's been since you have been on the mat, you'll always want to step foot back on the mat!

Check out this video and join us at The Underground for more discussions on trianing combat athletes



Also, when you get to The Underground, you can take advantage of the special discounts offered in our store! Our Powerful E Book has a saving of $ 20 for members, you gotta check it out and truly can't afford to miss out on such monstrous savings!

See you at The Underground!

Dedicated to your success,

Zach Even - Esh

PS - Best of luck to all the wrestlers on board here who just began their wrestling season!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

"He's as strong as a Silver Back"....

This is how Erik Paulson described Jon Hinds, owner of Monkey Bar Gym, back when he met Jon.

Jon is someone who believes in "Natural" training, and after you chat with Jon a few times you will open up your mind to a new world of training ideas!

I am a lover of bodyweight movements, but speaking with Jon makes me realize that I should truly emphasizing the "moving" part of training.

I feel free and in a clear state of mind when I get outdoors and move like an animal.

Climbing up and down stairs in the bear crawl position (especially down) is awesome for the full body work, especially the shoulders and upper back.

Using monkey bars for hand and grip strength, pull ups, hand walking, inverted sit ups, hanging leg raises and endless pull up - leg raise combos.

This is completely different than rowing a barbell or dumbbell and is a great (I personally feel it is a must have) addittion to your overall program.

Working these styles of training together will improve conditioning and overall athleticism.

Just watch what kids do at the playground and soon you'll be armed with an outdoor workout suited to challenge you big time: various pulls on monkey bars, tons of jumping and landings, pole climbing, sprints and more!

Get out of the weight room and onto the playground to get moving like an animal. You won't get ''Animal" strength without it!

dedicated to your success,

zach even - esh

PS - Cold weather or not, get outdoors and breathe in the fresh air!

PPS - on Tuesday, we are hosting the first ever, members only USC Teleseminar. Only the first 98 will get on this call but members will also get the replay. Hope to hear you on the line next Tuesday!

http://undergroundstrengthcoach.com