Friday, March 02, 2007

Day 1 at The Arnold is Off the Hook!

Wow!

This was (and still is, since my night is not over:) an awesome day!

I took the elevator down and ran into Jason MacDonald who is fighting Rich Franklin tomorrow night. Jason was super nice and introduced himself and was grateful for my compliements to him.

It's great to see athletes who are very genuine and hold themselves with a high standard, as opposed to other athletes who behave like juveniles and cause problems, talk shit yet never step it up.

Off to the expo hall.....

I took a cab with Randy, his wife and son and we entered through the back doors of the expo hall escorted by Marines so Randy could avoid being attacked by his fans! Why does he have so many fans? Not only is he a great fighter, but he is absolutely down to earth, humble and very nice to everyone.

Randy went to his booth which had hundreds if not over a thousand people lined up to get a picture and autograph.

Steve Cotter and I did the seminar on MMA conditioning w/Randy Couture. It was awesome because not only were we presenting alongside one of the best fighters and well recognized athletes in the world but there was about 2,500 - 3,000 people watching!!

The seats were all packed and the rest of the hall was standing room only, with guys and girls surrounding us from front to back, side to side!

Lots of plyos for upper and lower body were demonstrated by Steve and I and Randy went over his exact conditoning program for himself, his fighters and for the guys on TUF show.

I performed 3 rounds of Randy's barbell complex which gave me a good ass kicking in the third round! It was an 8 exercise, 10 reps each complex. A total of 80 reps. Very tough and I only did 3 rounds. Normally, Randy does 6 rounds!

I also met fellow writer and strength and conditioning editor for TapOuT magazine, Freddy George. Freddy was cracking me up and we talked about the way he trains fighters with bands, dumbbells, med balls, free weights and more - some VERY brutal stuff! Most of all, he was down to earth and cool as all heck, really a hilarious guy!

Now, one of the coolest and most inspirational times was watching the powerlifting meet!

The atmosphere was absolutely electric with loud, hard rock blasting through like a rock concert! The powerlifters, many of whom are team members of http://Elitefts.com, were built like rock hard statues! Six pack abs, shredded muscles everywhere, and strength that was un-freakin' - real!

I hung out with a few guys from the Elite Team and had a blast. I'll be writing an article on my experience of watching the powerlifting for the first time ever. Jim Wendler told me that tomorrow is REALLY wild as the super heavyweights and hevay weights compete. Chuck Vogelpohl looks so intense, it seems as if he is about to eat the bar!

I can't wait!

I may not write until I get back to NJ though.

I also go to the UFC tomorrow night, and then the party with Elite FTS!

Sunday morning I'll have a solid breakfast and drive back to good ol' Soprano's territory!

Train hard till then!

Best,

Zach

Sleepless in Ohio....

Well, not really, I'm not sleepless.

I took a nap when I arrived in Columbus yesterday :)

Been a while since that happened, ha ha!

Plus, I'm wondering how all the wrestlers are doing in Atlantic City as they all qualified for the state tournament!

Later in the evening I met up with Fairfax Hackley, the man who has organized and attracted the UFC happening in conjunction with the Arnold Sports Festival. His unwavering belief allowed this all to come to fruition! Hack is a man with amazing energy and drive! How did we meet?

In short, I'd have to say thanks to the Law of Attraction!

Athletes can learn from this mind set, the mind set of believing with no doubts and always chipping away at the stone until you create your masterpiece!

Who else did I eat dinner with?

Steve Cotter, an amazing athlete and King Fu champion who resides in San Diego but might be coming to an area near you with his seminars. In fact, my first ever Kettlebell seminar was with Steve! It was awesome!

I haven't been to a bodybuilding event in YEARS! I forgot how many people, and, what kind of people come to these events! The Arnold is probably the biggest gathering of physical culture athletes in the world! My bodybuilding days are over (or, are they?) but I did pass by a lot of guys I have known through my years of involvement: Gerard Dente (former Diamond Gym member), Richie Gaspari (also an Edison, NJ native), Frank Sepe, Jimmy Pellechia (freakishy strong guy) and I also saw a few pro bodybuilders who I recognized by face but not name!

Soon, I'll be heading over to the expo hall, meeting Randy Couture and hopping in a cab with him. Steve and I will be assisting him in the presentation of Martial Arts conditioning methods, but more specifically, the methods Randy personally uses to always be in top shape!

I'll try to write more tonight and keep everyone posted!

Stay tuned!

Best,

Zach

PS - Woooops! With my hectic schedule I forgot to raise the price an end the sale of The Ultimate Underground Strength Kit in E Book! I'll do you this favor, I'll raise it when I get back home to NJ.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Diesel Crew, Cosgrove and The Underground together?

Yep, that's what happened during Monday night's conference call!

Alwyn Cosgrove and Smitty the Diesel Man let loose on a power packed 75 minute teleseminar!

There was no muting of anyone, it was pure conversation, no holds barred, allowing Q & A to fly freely. Nothing was held back!

The topics truly ran the gammet....

  • Training young athletes
  • Underground training
  • Sandbag training
  • Core training
  • Bodyweight training
  • Benching
  • Plyometrics
  • Repetition Tempo
  • Training Football players
  • The problem with cookie cutter programs for athletes
  • Periodization
  • Fat loss for athletes
  • Outdoor training
  • Decelleration training
  • Training on a budget
  • Getting results

The list still goes on and on!

Smitty and Alwyn are downright great guys who love to contribute.

You'll hear about Alwyn's HUGE project that will be out soon, and it really is HUGE!

I didn't promote this teleseminar, it just hit me over the weekend to GIVE...no opting in, no buying anything, just info to share.

It's called "Pay it forward"


Still, I had whiners and complainers e mail me telling me they wanted to know who the surprise guest would be popping on to the teleseminar. They want to know who it is NOW, they don't want surprises.
Funny, that no matter what you do, there are always complainers and unhappy whiners. My suggestion is to stay away from negative people like that.
For success to be a regular theme for you, understand that negative people are out there, they will try to bring you down, they will put you down, they will try to stifle and sabotage your success.
Instead, focus on what you want, focus on the outcome you want, never allow others to interfere with your goals and dreams.
In addittion, for success to become greater, learn to be grateful for what you have, it is called having an "attitude of gratitude".
As combat athletes, or hard core strength fanatics, we tend to be tough on ourselves, but, if you want to skyrocket your gains in ALL areas of your life, learn to focus on the good and be grateful as often as you can!
And so, the teleseminar turned out to be another awesome call. Smitty was giving his tried and true methods for training WEAK athletes, Alwyn unleashed endless methods that will help you either skyrocket your own performance, of the performance of others.
If you're a member of The Underground you'll get this replay and even if you're not a member you'll also get this replay. Members can SAVE the file, that's where members get the extra bonus :)
Until the next time,
stay focused!
best,
Zach
PS - On March 1 st, 7 AM, the Underground Strength E Book Sale will end. You don't want to miss out on this bad boy. It's my Bible for transforming all athletes into freakishly stronger, faster and more powerful athletes than ever before!

Sunday, February 25, 2007

No BS Training Inspiration



I am inspired to train from within as well as by external factors and other people. One man who has influenced me heavily is Coach Ethan Reeve. I love his stories of when he trained himself as a wrestler and how he trained his team when he coached in Tennessee at the D 1 level!

His workouts developed freakish work capacity and strength. I can only imagine how he transformed and improved his wrestlers through his methods!

In fact, a long time ago, when I first wrote about my influence of Coach Reeve, one of his college wrestlers from Tennessee e mailed me, it said something like this:

'Zach, I used to wrestle under Coach Reeve at the U of Tennessee. Our workouts were brutal and we all feared him. Those of us who were smartest STILL fear him!"

Coach Reeve truly walks the walk. He has been through the intense training and he continues to train to this very day with intensity. He won a state title in high school and still did his routine of 500 push ups the same day he won the state title in Ohio!

Coach Reeves talks of training, as detailed in his interview in the Underground Strength Kit, inspired me to get my new climbing rope in the backyard and now I plan on hitting at least one climb every day! Without a doubt this is my favorite interrogation I ever had with another Strength & Performance Coach!

The climbing is NOT easy for someone over 200 lbs.

But, the challenge it places on the grip, back, shoulders and biceps is freakishly intense. If you're a stud, perform more than a few reps of climbing without stopping, or, add a weighted back pack or weigh vest.

Here's the energy system training we do in the field with our wrestlers that has proven to be very effective, in fact, all of our wrestlers just qualified for the state tournament!


We would either perform 3 - 5 rounds of the workout below (this was only part of the workout) or, they would get as many rounds as possible in a 10 or 15 minute time frame.


As their work capacity improved we added volume, but, we did taper before the season. I am not saying that more is better, it was just one method we used, so, without anymore waiting, here is the work out:


1A) rope climb x 15 ft.

1B) sledge hammer work x 10 across each shoulder (20 reps total)

1C) log or sandbag zercher carry x 80 ft.


** rest was very little between each round,

maybe some quick water and then back to training **


If the rope climbing is too difficult, you can always attach a thick rope to your sled and perform hand over hand pulls. These are very effective, but, I do not feel the challenge as much as the climb. Still, the safety factor, especially if you train others, is there and this makes a great substitute.

If you're a combat athlete or a fan of physical culture and the methods used many decades (or is it centuries) ago, then get some rope work in, one way or another, you gotta start!

Dedicated to your success,

Zach Even - Esh

PS - Don't forget about the FREE Underground Teleseminar I'll be doing tomorrow, Monday night, Feb. 26th at 9 pm EST. I'll be talking about how I started out with no gym, no money and just some free weights off of e bay. You'll learn how you can do the same, plus, I'll open the line up for Q & A. Your call in details are below, in the previous post....