Sandbag Quickie!

Above, Ross Enamait killing it with his sandbag

While I love being able to spend a good solid hour training - getting my mobility work in, a good 10 minute warm up, and then 45 minutes of gut busting strength work -I have to be honest, sometimes I just have to get in and get it the hell over with.

These sessions might be 25-30 minutes TOPS, but are ultra productive and leave me a sense of accomplishment.

If you've been following this blog, then you know that i'm a big fan of short, condensed sessions that give me a huge bang for my buck. And while most people gripe about not having enough time to train, I find that these "quickies" give me my best results!

But you can't possibly fit EVERYTHING into a 20 or 30 minute workout, right?

Here's you're soultion...I've talked about "chunking" a little before, and its actually a term I stole from Zach Even-Esh, but it allows me to get in everything I need or want to get in without dedicating a big block of time out of my day.

So I might get in a quick 5-6 minute warm up followed by a 20-25 minute strenght session in the morning and then foam roll and get my mobility work in at night or vice versa. Or I might get in the "meat" of my strength session in the morning and then come back in the evening for some mobility work and more accessory stuff.

So here's a quick sandbag complex I'll be doing this morning after a brief gpp warm up with bands and calisthenics:

1. clean and press x 6
2. shoulder + squat x 6 (3 each side)
3. Rotations x 8
4. Bent Over Rows x 8

I might do this for 3 or 4 sets and then I plan on getting in some soft tissue/mobility work in later tonight followed up by some upper and lower body sled dragging and probably some heavy band goodmornings.

Time is on your side...if you know how to use it!

Building Strong Legs With Sandbags!

Many people think that you need to stick with just barbells and dumbbells to build strength, but odd objects such as sandbags certainly have their place - especially concerning lowerbody development.

Using a heavy sandbag, there are many options to consider that will jack up your not only your legs, but also your upperback as well as various core stabilizers!

Yep, sandbags pack quite the punch and are excellent as a single training tool alone or used as accessory movements to improve your squat and deadlift. The synergistic effect of the various sandbag movements will have tremendous carry over to your standard barbell movements.

If you're a combat athlete, then I would say that sandbag training is a MUST HAVE in your arsenal. For isometric strength and energy system development, along with developing insane grip strength, not much else will give you a bigger bang for your buck!

But what we're going to talk about today is how to incorporate sandbags into your lowerbody training program. A method that alot of people have had alot of success with is Joe Defranco's Westside For Skinny Bastards Program. Its concept is simple - get freakin' strong by lifting maximal weights, and then pick 2 or 3 accessory movements to help pack on some muscle mass. What Joe found was that most of his younger athletes were just too weak to be doing dynamic effort work ala the Louie Simmon's Westside program, and that by simply getting stronger and gaining muscle, his athletes made some incredible transformations.

What's the point i'm trying to make? Don't F*ck with a good thing. The principles behind Joe's template WORK and are working for other strength coaches around the world. But, its just a template and you can always play around and experiment so that the program fits your needs and that you can keep making progress.

With that said, one idea using Joe's template is to hit up your max effort or sub max effort (something like 6x3 or 5x5) main lift - a squat or deadlift variation - and then pick 2 or 3 sandbag movements and get in your repetition work with those.

An example would be:
a) Box Squat: sets of 5 up to a 3-5 rep max
b1) Sandbag Zercher Reverse Lunges 4x6-8 each leg
b2) Sandbag Power Cleans 4x6-8

Another idea, thanks to Zach Even-Esh, is to train 3 days per week getting in one upper body day, one lower body day, and then a total body day. You could mix up barbell & dumbbell work with sandbags and really get cranking with various combo drills on the total body day.

Here's a breakdown of some of the different movements that you can do with a moderate to heavy sandbag...

Squat/Lunge Variations:
zercher squats
zercher reverse lunges
zercher walking lunges
zercher step ups
shoulder squats
(not to mention back squats, reverse lunges, walking lunges, step ups, and goodmornings)

Posterior Chain/Hip Extension Movements:
shouldering
power cleans
zercher goodmornings
bear hug pull throughs

Combos:
shoulder + squat
power clean + zercher squat
power clean + zercher reverse lunge
power clean + zercher goodmorning
power clean + zercher squat + zercher reverse lunge
power clean + zercher squat + goodmorning
power clean + zercher reverse lunge + zercher goodmorning
power clean + zercher squat + zercher reverse lunge + zercher goodmorning
shoulder + squat + power clean + ...you get the point

So go ahead and break the "rules" and start getting stronger using a wide array of training tools and leave your competition in the dust!

Components of a Good Training Program (In a Nutshell)

People often ask me to review their training programs or routines and they seem confused when I say that its tough to just give a quick 5 minute answer and I give just a few general bits of information. While most people just want a quick fix and a "do this" explanation, we know that REAL strength training is more in depth than that. However, I got to thinking - what if I had to just give a quick 5 to 10 minute run down of what makes up a good program? What would be my key points and what would I just leave for them to figure out on their own?

So here goes - the most basic elements of a good strength and conditioning program no matter what sport you play or what you're goals are...

1. Soft Tissue and Mobility Work (pre workout)

If you're not doing soft tissue work with a foam roller and lacrosse ball, then number 1, you're in for a whole new world of pain when start and 2, what the hell are you thinking? Guys like Eric Cressey (google him) have tons of information and self myofascial release techniques to get you healthy and feeling good with only 5 minutes of dedication per day. Read his stuff and just do it.

As far as mobility work, we're not Yoga instructors, so do a little research and start implementing the stuff that will give you the biggest bang for your buck. For starters, you're pecs, lats, hips, and ankles are probably tight as hell and are forcing you to compensate big time (and you probably don't even realize it).

2. GPP Warm Ups

You want to establish and maitain some sort of base, and in the words of Dan Gable, "if its important, do it everyday". Not literally EVERYDAY, but stuff like push ups, recline rows, band face pulls, pull aparts, bodyweight squats and lunges, goodmornings, sled dragging, etc is a great way to not only "warm up" but to increase and maintain your work capacity. Over time you can correct imbalances and get a little better at doing the things most people tend to overlook.

3. Strength Training

AH, the meat and potatoes - the good stuff. Basically watch what everyone else does in your gym and do the opposite. Since i'm trying to keep this short, here's a general list to help you keep track...

- Training Economy -
Squats, deadlifts, presses and pulls will always reign supreme. Um, try to get really strong on those movements. You only have so much time and energy to devote to training, so pick the stuff that will give you the best results in the quickest amount of time.

- More Pulls than Pushes
Do lots of rowing, mixed grip pull ups, deadlift variations, etc. For healthy shoulders and good posture, make sure you are doing a minimum of 2 pulls for every 1 push. The back can handle a ton volume, so get to pulling!

- Throw in some Closed Chain Pushing Movements
Some people think that push ups are over rated, but I just think that those people haven't explored all of their options. Push up variations with external resistence from bands, chains, plates or a weighted vest are one of the best upperbody and "core" strengtheners there is! Oh, and the fact that people are OUT OF SHAPE makes it easy to dismiss them and say that they are too easy. Push ups are good for you, so do them.

- Single Leg Work (at least 1x per week)
Besides HAMMERING your glutes, hamstrings, quads, and various stabilizers, single leg work also forces you to work your non dominant side to help correct imbalances. For healthy hips and a lowerback, you can't go wrong with various lunges, bulgarian split squats, step ups and single leg squats. For some reason, people think of single leg work as "sissy" stuff and that's because they've never had 225lb on their back doing reverse lunges off a platform. Get seriously strong on single leg work and watch your athletic performance go through the roof.

- Lots of posterior chain work
I know its cliche, but if you want to run faster, hit harder, gain muscle mass, and have chicks gawk at you, then you need to be doing a shitload of heavy posterior chain work (in addition to your squats and deadlifts). Goodmorning variations, romanian deadlifts, glute ham raises, heavy dumbbell or kettlebell swings, pull throughs and heavy sled dragging is a MUST in everybody's strength program.

- Lots of rear delt/upperback work
I'll say it again - you need to be doing WAY more pulling than pushing and by throwing in various rear delt and upperback movements such as blast strap scarecrows, face pulls with bands or blast straps, band pull aparts, dumbbell "cleans" and dumbbell rear delt raises, you will go a long way in not only beefing up your upperback, but maintaining strong, healthy shoulders.

- Variations in Training Intensity & Volume
There are lots of books and articles pertaining to periodization and such, but basically you want to learn how to vary your training intensity (in relation to your 1 rep max, not how "hard" you train) and your training volume (how much total work that you do). If you don't, then you are doomed to just running in circles and never making the kind of progress that you should be.


4. Energy System Work

Ok, we know that long boring cardio is out, but alot of people are still confused on when to implement conditioning or energy system work. Here's a really broad answer - it depends. Generally speaking however, throwing in a finisher at the end of your strength sessions or maybe reserving a seperate day or two for GPP work are your best options. Sled dragging, bodyweight circuits, band circuits, sledgehammer swinging, complexes using barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, and sandbags, medball circuits, and good old fashioned hill sprints are great choices. Just stay in shape year round and know when to make adjustments with this stuff.

5. Regeneration

If you're an athlete or just a regular dude, its important to never forget the other aspect of training - RECOVERY. The body doesn't differentiate between stresses whether its from training, your job, money, family, whatever the case may be. Doing daily soft tissue and mobility work is a step in the right direction as is stuff like contrast showers. Most important however, is nutrition, sleep, and general relaxation techniques/meditation/whatever you want to call it. Find your inner chi and try to take a short break from it all everyday.


So that's it in a nutshell, any questions? Really, i'm missing a whole of stuff and a lot of specifics, but this should give you a general idea of where your program should be headed and what you need to fix.

GPP In 10 Minutes A Day

GPP, or general physical preparedness, is a term that has recently been brought into the vocabulary of the strength world, but is still largely misunderstood. Essentially it is exercises or movements to increase our GENERAL level of fitness and the amount of WORK we are capable of doing over time.

There are many ways to increase your GPP, but a favorite of mine that is great for adding muscle and helping out with restoration is through the use of jump stretch bands. Lets face it - most people and youth athletes especially are out of shape, and have a serious lack of muscle on their glutes, hamstrings and upper back - aka the posterior chain.

Between bad coaching, reading muscle rags, and playing video games or spending all day chatting on Facebook, most athletes have terribly weak backsides and horrible posture to boot. While normal training with an emphasis on doing the right stuff in the weight room can certainly help, often times that just isn't enough and this where high rep band work comes into play.

By picking 1, 2 or 3 at the most band movements and doing 100 reps of each movement per day, we are getting added volume to the muscles needed without taxing the system too much as a whole. The added blood flow not only aids in slowly building up the posterior chain, but also in the recovery process by transporting nutrients faster than the athlete had just sat around all day.

The goal of these short training sessions to is to increase our work capacity so that we can train HARDER during our main sessions so that we can keep getting stronger - so don't treat these as 'real' training sessions!

Here are some basic combinations to use aiming for 100 total reps of each movement. Use a band well below your limit at first, and use moderately good form.

1. band goodmornings and band pull aparts
2. band pull throughs and band face pulls
3. band leg curls and band rows
4. band curls and band tricep extensions

You can mix and match these exercises any way you like, but try and keep the sessions ultra short and just break a sweat. Louie Simmons, creator of the Westside Barbell System, can be credited for first introducing GPP to the strength world. His methods have been getting world class results for over 30 years, so if he's not right, then I don't know who is! While most people wait a whole week to recover from training a muscle, Louie has been advocating a different approach - by incorporating these "extra workouts" - and has had phenomenal results.

Another Case For Bodyweight Training

I found this vid over @ Zach Even-Esh's Blog and thought you guys would enjoy it. This is the Polish Olympic Weightlifting team going through some "GPP" training...pretty cool, so check it out and never forget your BASE!

Quick Kettlebell & Band Session

Combining kettlebells and bands is a great way to get the best of both worlds while saving some cashola at the same time (kettlebells can get expensive1). By adding extra resistence via jumpstretch bands, you can get in a powerfull full body workout using just a 24kg kettlebell - which is exactly what I did yesterday.

The guys at the Diesel Crew came up with some pretty cool variations HERE, and I added a few different twists of my own to get in a quick 15 minute session that hit my entire body.

While I usually advocate doing a thourough warm up, I just didn't have the time yesterday and I wanted to get right into it. I began by alternating a single arm push with a single arm pull for 3 sets and then a squat variation alternated with a hip extension. The added tension of the bands literally forced the kettlebells back down, making the eccentric very difficult (and me very sore today haha!).

Here's how it went down:

a1) single arm kb floor press w/mini band 3x12 each arm

a2) single arm kb rows w/light band 3x12 each arm

b1) kb squats (holding w/both hands @ chest level) w/light band 3x15

b2) kb swings w/light band (set up as if I was doing a band goodmorning) 3x20

I did each superset with no or very little rest between exercises for all 3 sets and was done in less than 15 minutes. Not something I would do all the time, but definately great for a change of pace!

3 Sandbag Combos For Fighters!

Besides being great time savers that hit a boatload of muscle mass in a very short amount of time, not to mention great energy system developers, combo drills - using a variety of training equipment - are one of the best ways for athletes to train with a lot of time under tension while still using a decent load.

While complexes can be defined as performing multiple reps of one movement before moving to the next of a particular sequence, combos are typically performed by doing just 1 repetition of a movement before moving on to the next movement. The Clean and Jerk that is performed in Olympic lifting competitions is a great example of a combo - its one explosive pull, followed by one near max front squat, followed by one explosive jerk overhead - a combination of maximal strength, power, speed, and agility. Its no wonder that Olympic weightlifters are some of the strongest and best athletes on the planet!

But for the purpose of most combat athletes, combos can be done using a variety of movements with a variety of equipment. Barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells are fine choices, but with the unique needs of combat athletes, I believe that SANDBAG combos are one of the best tools for the specific strength and energy system development that a fighter needs. In grappling sports like wrestling, jiu jitsu and judo, no movement is every directly linear. You are constantly pushing and pulling, many times isometrically, against a live opponent. I believe that sandbag training is one of the best ways to simulate this. All you need is a bag in the 100-140lb range, and some open space to train.

There are tons of sandbag combos, and I can literally come up with dozens just off the top of my head, but here are 3 super effective combos.

1. Bent Over Row + Clean & Press + Zercher Squat

Perform one explosive bent over row followed by one clean and press followed by one zercher squat. Lower to the ground and repeat.

2. Goodmorning + Shoulder + Squat

With a bear hug grip, do a goodmorning followed by explosively shouldering the bag and then performing one squat. Lower and repeat to the other side. This will crush your posterior chain, and even your upperbody from having to isometrically hold the bag.

3. Power Clean + Zercher Squat + Zercher Reverse Lunge

Rip the sandbag from the floor and "catch" the bag in the zercher position. Perform one deep squat followed by an alternating reverse lunge with each leg. Lower to the floor and repat.

All of these movements can be done for sets and reps, keeping the reps in the 3-6 range (if you have a heavy enough bag) or if you prefer, you can set a timer for 5-10minutes and shoot for total maximum reps. The sandbag, along with some weighted calisthenics, can be used alone for a complete training program, or these combos can incorporated along with your heavy barbell and dumbbell work.

Breaking The Rules

Its time for a change, people.

Its time to step up and start training the way YOU want to train, the way we were MADE to train.

Its time to stop worrying about all the little so called "rules" of strength and conditioning and start focusing on following a few basic principles and just BUSTING ASS.

If you are not getting stronger, then you're wasting your time. If you add weight to the bar, if you add reps, if you do more work in less time - you are getting stronger.

Its such a simple concept, but often forgotten.

Once upon a time, I was a teenager so focused on my "routine" that I would lose sight on what was really important, on what really mattered.

You know the principles already, you know the templates, the exercises, the set/rep ranges - you know all that. Now apply it and start getting freakin' strong. Maybe you're goals don't revolve around maximal strength - that's fine. Start getting more done in less time - increase your training "density". Try sandbag training, try keg training, do a ton of
Bodyweight Training, flip some heavy tires, drag a heavy sled a bunch of different ways - whatever is you do, don't forget to actually GET stronger in some manner and forget the rules that everyone else is crying over.

11 Best Playground Movements For Real World Strength!

"You will never reach your potential if you stay in the cozy confines of your gym." - Dan John

There is just something about taking some basic, primitive equipment (or no equipment) and heading out to a field or park and just working hard for 30-45 minutes. Even Arnold used to take a barbell set out to the woods and do endless sets of squats, rows, or presses. Too many people get caught up in all of the hype of magazines and the internet, think way too much, and just don't know how to work hard.

You don't need alot of equipment - if any at all! In fact, your best gym might be down the road at your local playground! With various monkey bars, parallel bars, park benches and more - the playground is the ultimate training facility! You can certainly take along a kettle bell or two, or maybe some bands and a sandbag, but for this article I'm going to give away the best body weight only movements that can be done at just about any playground. For improving general physical preparedness and work capacity, the playground should be your new hang out zone. Don't worry about perfect programming or using percentages that don't matter in the real world.

Just go out, have some fun, and sweat buckets! So here they are, the best of the best in playground training...

Monkeying Around:

1) Regular Pull Ups and Chin Ups - using an overhand, underhand, or neutral grips. Close, Wide, Medium - whatever - just do em!

2) Lateral Pull Ups
Starting on one end of the bar, perform one pull up, slide your hands down to the left or right, perform another pull up - stop 1 rep shy of failure

3) Monkey Bar Walks w/Pull Ups
Perform 5-10 pull ups, monkey your down to the other side, perform 5-10 pull ups

4) Hanging Abdominal Work
Windshield wipers, Leg Raises, Scissor Kicks, Knees to Elbows can be done as a complex, by themselves, or in combination with pull ups (1 windshield wiper + 1 pull up = 1 "rep"). Brutal on the core, grip, and lats!


Push Ups Of All Kinds:

5) Incline Push Ups
These can be done with your feet on a park bench, or a harder variation - feet on a picnic table or even higher surface.

6) Lateral Walking Push Ups
For core and upper body strength, these will humble anybody pretty quickly! Begin with your feet on a bench all the way to the right or left, do 1 push up, then "walk" one step, do another push up, and continue for sets of 8-15 (might have to go 3-5 steps to the left, 3-5 to the right with shorter benches)


Parallel Bars

7) Parallel Bar Dips
Dips are a great upper body strength and size builder, everyone should have a goal of being able to do 20 unassisted reps!

8) Parallel Bar Leg Raise + Dip
Pefrom One Leg Raise followed by one dip and repeat for reps

9) Parallel Bar Rotational Leg Raises
Raise your legs up and over one side of the parallel bars and repeat to the other side for reps....these are super tough!


The Lower body:

10) Bulgarian Split Squat Jumps
Set up as if performing a bulgarian split squat with your back foot elevated on a park bench, drop down to a full split squat and explode back up. Repeat for sets of 8 per leg

11) Single Leg Squats
Standing with one leg on a park bench, squat down using your arms to counter balance and stand back up. Sets of 5 are a good start, but once you get the groove down, hit up sets of 15-20 or more!


Bonus:

Some Posterior Chain Pain!

Hip Pops off a Park Bench:
For some hamstring torture, lay on your back with your heels on a park bench and legs bent at 90 degrees. Using your glutes and hamstrings, raise your hips to the sky and pause before lowering back to the ground. Try these with two legs or single leg, or a mix of both! Throw in some long isometric pauses mixed with short, fast timed sets for variety!

There you have it, a bunch of upper body, lower body, and core variations to keep challenging yourself and build some muscle while having some fun outdoors!

Don't Be a Victim!

Here's something to think about today, and its often a question that i'm faced with from mma fighters and strength nuts alike.

You see, there is a fine line in strength training and high level sports performance that most people don't always adhere to and its important to recognize the difference.

What i'm talking about is the fine line between MAXIMAL training and OPTIMAL training. There are always two sides to the fence. One one side you have the die hard "train til you puke" guys and on the other you have the super technical "the CNS is like a delicate flower" guys. Neither guy is completely right, but both guys can add value and insight to your training.

Number one, MOST PEOPLE just don't know how to work hard. Really, if more people just FOCUSED and worked really hard on a few things - they would triple their results. But with most "type A" personality types, that is rarely the case. For us, its important to know when to push it and when to back off...when to go hard and CRUSH IT and when to take a step back. Not just with lifting, but with anything in life.

Where alot of people fail is that they just push, push, push without ever taking a breath and often just fall flat on their face. Don't fall victim like most people, accept that you aren't superman and know when to put on the brakes.

But before you do this - and this is real important - you have to EARN IT. If you're not putting in the work, if you're being - for lack of a better term - a pussy, if you're not straining, hustling, and always attempting to better yourself, then frankly you don't DESERVE to back off.

Energy is either moving forward or backward, but never at a stand still. This is true for getting stronger, building a business, developing relationships - you name it. Try to go forward as much as and as often you can - go for those PR's and make those huge jumps - and then don't afraid to get back to neutral. Rinse and repeat.

Total Body Template Using Sandbags & Bodyweight

A lot of people think that its impossible to build strength and muscle mass using just a simple tool such as the sandbag. They think you need intricate program design and lots of fancy equipment. The fact is that the body only recognizes tension, not what is applying the tension.

While I encourage people to train with alot of different equipment such as barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, bodyweight and the like, its important to know that no matter what you use to train with, as long as you adhere to some sort of template you're gonna be money.

Something i've been using for quite awhile now and originally stole from Underground Strength Coach, Zach Even-Esh is a total body template designed to train the entire body and various planes of motion in one workout.

Its simple, really and all you have to do is plug in whatever piece of equipment you're using with whatever movements are applicable with that training tool.

a) Total body movement
example: sandbag clean and press, sandbag shouldering, sandbag loading

b1) upperbody pressing movement:
example: weighted push up variation or parallel dip variation

b2) upperbody pulling movement:
example: sandbag bent over rows, weighted recline rows, or weighted pull up variation

c1) squat or lunge variation
example: sandbag zercher squat, shoulder squat, zercher lunge or shoulder lunge

c2) posterior chain movement
example: sandbag zercher goodmornings, bear hug goodmornings, sandbag pull throughs

Sets and reps can vary, and you can even work all the movements in a strength circuit (a great way to train if you're short on time). By following this general template you have a vast array of movements to choose from, but each training session will still have some sort of rhyme and reason and keep you progressing forward.

As an example, here's what I did today

warm up w/bodyweight and bands x 2 sets
1. push ups x 15
2. squats x 20
3. reverse lunges x 20
4. iron corss goodmornings x 20

a) sandbag clean and press: max reps in 5 minutes

b1) chain push ups 3 x max reps

b2) sandbag bent over rows 3 x 8-10

c1) sandbag zercher squats 2 x 8

c2) sandbag zercher goodmornings 2x8

This took only 25 minutes or so from start to finish and completely roasted me. My upperback, grip, core, and lowerbody were thrashed from all the sandbag work and the chain push ups blew up my upperbody.

Don't make this stuff more complicated than it is and don't be afraid to have some fun with your training! Yes, you have to work hard, but don't limit yourself to one training tool over another. Experiment, find out what works, and don't let the "rules" hold you down!

7 Movements To Crush Your Posterior Chain!

When it comes to knockin' down your 40 time, shooting in for a powerful double leg takedown, or putting on massive amounts of muscle mass to your frame, training the group of muscles known as the posterior chain is an absolute MUST. The upperback, lowerback/spinal erectors, hip complex, glutes, hamstrings, and calves all make up the posterior chain. If you want to run faster, hit harder, get bigger, and stay injury free you need to be HAMMERING them multiple times per week. While there are lots of interesting ways to train the posterior chain, our main objective is to GET STRONGER. And to do this, we need to use heavy weights and use BIG movements that work alot of muscle mass. Leg extensions and leg curls are out, and compound movements are in! Certain activation and pre habilitative movements are fine as a warm up, but we need to be attacking the weights and trying to set personal records on a regular basis.

With that said, here are my top 7 movements for packing on strength and size to your backside...

1) Deadlifts
- rack deadlifts
- from a defecit
- sumo

Grip it and rip it...what could be more simple? Deadlifts are the KING because of the loads used. If you want to get super strong from head to toe, then deadlifts are in top order. Typically deadlifting is best done for lower reps, sets of 5 or less as technique becomes an issue much past that.

2) Snatch Grip Deadlifts
- from rack
- from defecit

Perhaps my favorite pulling movement of all time, snatch grip deadlifts will hammer your glutes, hamstrings and upperback unlike anything else. Hit these from a variety of positions for sets in the 6-12 range for hypertrophy or as a max effort movement for a top set of 1-5.

3) Box Squats

We all know that regular barbell squats are the "king of lifts", but box squats force you to sit back break up the eccentric/concentric chain, forcing your hips, glutes and hamstrings to do all of the work. Sets of 2-5 are generally desired, unless working up to a 1 rep max or once in awhile performing some light higher rep work to promote recovery.

4) Goodmorings
- wide stance
- Anderson (from rack or suspended from chains)
- bands (for higher reps)

Goodmornings get a bad rep by people who do them wrong, but they are an excellenet movement for crushing the post chain. With a barbell, I prefer a low bar setting and use either a close or wide stance being sure to keep my back flat. Doing these from a rack aka Anderson goodmornings are also a great way to build starting strength. Generally sets in the 3-8 rep range are used, but higher reps with jump stretch bands can also be done in the 15-30+ range.

5) Romanian Deadlifts
- dumbbell or barbell

A favorite among the old soviet weightlifters, romanian deadlifts are basically a goodmorning while holding the bar in your hands with the extra benefit being more recruitment from the upperback and of course the grip!

6) Pull Throughs
- sled
- bands

I prefer doing these with bands or a sled over a cable, usually for higher reps at the end of a training session to hammer the glutes, hamstrings and erectors. Doing these with the sled the day after an intensive lowerbody day is also great for recovery purposes.

7) Swings (single arm)

These can be done with a single dumbbell or kettlebell, and usually for reps in the 8+ range. If I am using a heavy dumbbell, I might do 2-3 sets of 8-15 or sometimes I will do timed sets with a lighter (24kg) kettlebell for extra gpp work and conditioning.

So there you have it - 7 hardcore movements, each with their own variations that can be rotated throughout your training program. You'll notice that I didn't include movements such as glute ham raises or 45 degree hyper extensions, and while they are great movements, not many people have access to those pieces of equipment. All the movements I gave can be done with a barbell, dumbbells, bands, or a sled - all affordable pieces of equipment that you can have in your home gym.

Top 14 Partner Bodyweight Exercises For Combat Athletes

For combat athletes, getting "strong" is not just a matter of increasing their squat, deadlift, or any other weightroom number. While barbell and dumbbell training is often necessary for building a great base, fighters and grapplers need a different kind of strength - the kind that doesn't always tell the full story through the weightroom. Combat athletes need a great deal of strength and explosive power, but they need to be able to express that strength and power repeatedly for multiple rounds of 3-5 minutes or for a 6 minute wrestling match against a live opponent that is trying to do the same thing to you. And this is where the confusion for most athletes starts, and why there are more and more of these "mma strength coaches" popping up - most of these guys having never thrown a single punch in their lives - putting athletes through ridiculous circuits, throwing together anything that comes off the top of their heads (or so it seems). But I digress...that could be a 3 part installment article in itself!

But what I want to talk about today is some functional, bare bones, real world strength and conditioning for grapplers and fighters. Here are my TOP 13 partner bodyweight movements that don't require ANY equipment, just a killer instinct and willingness to CRUSH IT. These movements can be used as a "warm up" before skill practices, but they also work great as a finisher (and you don't have to worry about burning yourself out). Oh, and I lied about using zero equipment. You'll need a simple bath or beach towel for some of these (I was close).

Here ya go, in no particular order, the baddest of the bad of partner bodyweight calisthenics:

Total Body:

1. Partner Pick Ups

2. Partner Rotations

3. Partner Carries

Upperbody Pushing:

4. Partner Wheel Barrow Push Ups / Forward Walks / Backward Walks / Lateral Walks / Clapping Push Ups

5. Partner Push Ups

Upperbody Pulling:

6. Partner Recline Pulls / Alternating Recline Pulls

7. Partner Towel Rows / Alternating Towel Rows / One Arm Towel Rows

8. Partner Towel Curls (work great at the end of sessions to fry grip and arms!)

Lowerbody:

9. Partner Drags

10. Partner Squats

11. Partner Lateral Hops

12. Partner Push Lunge / Push Lateral Lunge

Posterior Chain:

13. Partner Glute Ham Raises

14. Partner Hip Pops / Single Leg Hip Pops

So how do we organize these for a training session? Well first of all, you don't need to use all of them every time you train. Secondly, its best to pick one movement from each category and work these movements in a circuit.

Here are two examples, but you can mix and match these any you want - and feel free to come up with your own variations! Repeat each circuit for 2-4 sets, or if you want, do 1-2 sets of circuit 1 and then 1-2 sets of circuit 2 for a complete workout.

Circuit 1:
1. Partner Pick Ups x max reps in 30 seconds
2. Wheel Barrow Push Ups x 12
3. Partner Towel Rows x 12
4. Partner Drags x 50'
5. Partner Single Leg Hip Pops x max reps in 30 seconds per leg

Circuit 2:
1. Partner Rotations x 5 each side
2. Partner Carry x 50'
3. Partner Push Ups aka Partner Bench Press x 10-12
4. Partner Recline Rows x 10-12
5. Parner Squats x 15
6. Partner Glute Ham Raises x 10

Give these a try and watch your "mat strength" and conditioning go through the roof!

P.S. Martin Rooney of Parisi Speed School has an excellent book out called Training For Warriors with detailed descriptions of many of these exercises. I highly reccomend checking out that book and his Training For Warriors You Tube Channel.

8 Things We Can Learn From Louie Simmons!

So last week I did something I hadn't done in years and I was long over due.

I went to the old deepsquatter.com page and to westside-barbell.com and re read all of Louie Simmon's old articles.

Years ago I had these all printed out and in a binder - this became my new training bible.

I studied every word, learned and understood all of the concepts he talked about, and tried to apply them the best I could. I was obscessed, and like the rest of the strength training world, Louie (Mr. Simmons!) had a tremendous impact on my own training and now what I do for a living.

What stands out most, however, is not just Louie's knowledge, but his character. You see, at the end of every article you will find the number to Westside Barbell. He literally invites thousands of people from around the world to call him and ask him questions about his infamous Westside system, or strength training in general. I'll never forget the TWO occassions I called Louie and he answered any question I had and gave me whatever insight he could. I remember both calls being over 30 minutes long. The kicker? I was a 15 year old kid with a 250lb squat! It wasn't like I was some world class lifter or athlete calling him out of the blue. I was just a snot nosed kid and he gave me just as much attention as he would to anyone else. To me, this had a lasting impact and is something I now strive to do today.

So enough blabbering, here are 8 things that we can learn from Louie Simmons that we can apply to our everyday lives and find our own personal paths to success.

1) Have PASSION for what you do. Find what makes you most happy in life and GO AFTER IT! Louie is over 60 years old and still trains with the young guns at his gym, doing dynamic effort and max effort workouts weekly.

2) Give Back. The law of reciprocity is very real, and as revealed through my 2 phone conversations with Louie, he genuinely cares and gives back as much as he can. Do this and the return will be ten fold.

3) Never stop learning. Louie is THE innovator in the world of strength training and powerlifting, and he is always learning, always growing, and always searching for a better way. If you want to become the best at what you do, then education is an ongoing process.

4) Take a stand. How many people just go through life without any definate opinions? Louie has STRONG opinions on strength and conditioning and is not afraid to share them. Some people don't agree, but A LOT do. Stand by your beliefs, but don't be afraid to admit when you're wrong.

5) Surround yourself with positive people. Or people you wish to emulate. Louie is 60+ years old, but still trains with guys in their 20's and 30's and he doesn't give a fuck. The strong hang around the strong, not just in the weight room, but in all walks of life. Don't associate with people who drag you down or waste your time.

6) Walk the Walk. If you're going to have a strong opinion about something, then you had better be prepared to back it up. Louie is not only strong as hell himself, but he has had hundreds of lifters come through his Westside gym and become world class.

7) Dream Big. If you have a goal, nothing should ever EVER stop you. It doesn't matter if its squatting the house, or owning a successfull business - you need to approach life with a do or die mentality. To do this, you need to have high expectations and only be around people who support your dream. A 600lb bench press at Westside is just average. Huge to me and you, but just average in Louie's world. You need to attack your dreams and don't stop.

8) It all boils down to PASSION. This needs to be repeated, because their no reason to walk through life doing stuff you hate. Louie has an UNDYING passion for strength training. He eats, sleeps and breathes this stuff. It is his life. Period. Find what you love to do and pursue your goals with everything that you have.

15 Things You Can Do This Week To Get Stronger!

In no particular order, here are some useful tips you can start implementing THIS WEEK to get stronger, put on muscle, and increase your conditioning.

1. Train your posterior chain. Squat variations, deadlift variations, heavy goodmornings, romanian deadlifts, glute ham raises, 45 degree hyperextensions, pull throughs, high rep band goodmornings, dumbbell swings, kettlebell swings, etc. Work your posterior chain HARD 1-3 times per week.

2. Master the pull up. Learn as many variations as you can and get really, really good at them. Do them weighted, do them unweighted, do high reps, do low reps. Just do them...and OFTEN!

3. Quit doing crunches and other boring ab work in favor of stuff like tire chops, sledgehammer swinging, single arm overhead work, barbell rollouts, band woodchoppers, and medicine ball throws.

4. Warm up! Before diving into your first exercise of the day, be sure to get in a good general warm up using calisthenics, band work, light barbell complexes, kettlebells, movement prep drills, and the like. Not only will you be better preparing yourself for the workout ahead, but you'll also increase work capacity and gpp.

5. Think outside the box. Throw in some "strongman" training in the way of sandbags, kegs, and various other odd objects for some sick strength and conditioning workouts. Mixed in with heavy barbell work and bodyweight calisthenics, you will have one kick ass training program.

6. Buy a pair of rings or get some tow straps. And use them for a variety of upperbody movements. Push ups, dips, recline rows, face pulls, and scarecrows should be a part of everyone's program and will help pack on some serious upperbody size.

7. Buy or make a sled and start dragging! For lower and upperbody gpp work, and even strength work, the sled is awesome tool. The lack of eccentric will negate any soreness (well, for the most part), allowing you to get in a ton of volume without loading your spine.

8. Train outdoors. At least once in awhile. Its good to break away from the "routine" and just focus on working hard while getting some fresh air. Take a dumbbell or sandbag outside or go to a playground and just kill it for 30-45 minutes.

9. Do Push ups. I know, too easy, right? Well first, do them CORRECTLY. Second, throw them in warm ups or do them with extra resistence via bands and chains (or a weighted vest). Third, there are a zillion variations - try em all! For upperbody and core strength, the push up reigns supreme!

10. Train your grip. I prefer doing this with stuff like towel chins, thick bar work, or sandbag training. This is a no brainer for combat athletes, but everyone should want a strong grip so that they can handle more weight in their pulling movements such as deadlifts and rows.

11. Keep your workouts under 45 minutes, sometimes much less. If you're TRULY working hard, I find it very difficult to believe that anyone needs to spend more than that (an hour TOPS depending on the type of training session) in the gym.

12. Read all of Louie Simmon's old articles. This stuff is a goldmine and everyone who has an interest in strength and conditioning should look at his work like its the bible.

13. Finish Strong. Add some sort of finisher to your workout. Whether it be a timed set of kettlebell snatches, sandbag loading for reps, or sled dragging for max distance in a set time, finishers are great tests of conditioning and mental toughness. I know, so not cool to talk about things like mental toughness (the nerds hate that), but it matters and it needs to trained!

14. Do some active restoration work. Play a game of basketball, hit up some gpp minute drills, do some light calisthenics...whatever you do, pick something to aid in recovery and conditioning. Throw in some foam rolling, activation work, and some stretching and you're golden.

15. Keep checking out my blog! Haha, ok, I know this is lame, but look forward to some of my workouts i'll be posting that you can use for yourself. Not to mention guest articles and blog posts. Thanks to everyone who checks this thing out everyday and the people who show their support in Twitter!

Getting Stronger With Kettlebells and Sandbags!

If you're a combat athlete, there are many ways to get stronger.

Using kettlebells and sandbags may seem too 'simplistic', but these tools have been used to make men into monsters for years.

Its hard work, yeah, but that's the price you pay if you want to improve - get stronger,put on muscle mass, and sky rocket your gpp.

Here's a quick session I just cranked out, using a 24kg kettlebell, and a 130lb sandbag.

warm up: kettlebell combat complex x 2 sets

I did the following 7 movement complex w/out putting the kettlebell down for 2 sets w/approx 1 minute between each set. Maybe not "typical" for a warm up, but it got the job done and was a great start to the session.

1. snatch x 5
2. clean and press x 5
3. squats x 10
4. reverse lunges x 10 (5 ea)
5. high pulls x 5
6. rows x 5
7. two handed swings x 10

Next, I went through a 4 movement sandbag complex for 3 sets, attempting to finish all the sets as quickly as possible. For total body strength and power endurance, sandbag complexes will bust you up. Perfect for grapplers!

1. clean and press x 6
2. shouldering x 6 (3 ea)
3. zercher squats x 6
4. bent over rows x 6

Lastly, I finished with some weighted pull up - strapping on a couple of heavy chains and performing a quick descending set of 5/4/3/2/1 and calling it a day.

This just goes to show that you don't need a lot of equipment or a lot of time to get strong (maybe in a different way than "gym" strength) and be in awesome shape for your sport.

More Busy Guy Training: Underground Style!

So as you know, I'm a big believer in short, intense workouts. I like getting the biggest bang for my buck, and taking no prisoners.

With 15-30 minute workouts, that's the only attitude you can have.

There is no wasted no movements, no wasted effort. And it gets RESULTS. If you're not getting stronger, in some way or another, then you're wasting your time.

Let's take a glimpse into Zach Even-Esh's Underground Gym - where he and a couple of Canadian Pro Strongman bust out a 15 minute training session.



Heavy dumbbell snatching, clean and pressing, along with a variety of weighted pull ups. Simple. To the point, and clearly very effective.

These guys are throwing around 150lb dumbbells like its their job. And cranking out weighted pull ups from all different angles, and they all weigh well over 200lb.

2, maybe 3 movements are all you need for an effective workout. Sometimes less, but rarely ever more. Lets take a look at some other short workout variations...

deadlifts, weighted dips, and recline rows

box squats, bent over rows, weighted push ups

sandbag shouldering, pull ups, sled dragging

sandbag clean and press, dumbbell rows, sledgehammer strikes on a tractor tire

These are just a few examples, but you can see how it doesn't take much to get in a great workout.

Fighters, in season athletes, and busy guys in general who want to kill it, should start looking into these short 15-30 minute sessions. Start charting your progress and see what's working for you, and what needs to cut out.

If you're ready to committ and pay the price, Zach's Real Man Muscle Building Course (Busy Guy Fitness) is a step in the right direction. Stop using the excuse of being busy, and start busting ass in the gym.

Welcome To The Gun Show - Building Massive Arms Quickly

Here's an article from Jim Smith aka Smitty on how to jack your arms up QUICK. Jim's new muscle building course,
Accelerated Muscular Development (AMD), has been touted as one of THE BEST training programs of its kind and is putting muscle on busy guys and athletes LIKE CRAZY. Check out this article and you can see why...


Welcome to The Gun Show! No, I do not mean the one where you see a lot of Battle Dress Uniform’s or old men with beards down to their chest, looking at a Luger that Rommel had strapped around his ankle. I mean The Gun Show were the armory consists of your GUNS! That’s right, your biceps and your triceps!

When you fist started to lift weights, chances are the first exercises you did where:

1. Barbell Curls
2. Barbell Triceps Extensions.

While these are fine exercises, there is much more to building huge guns. Read on and I will tell you how to turn your .22’s in to .50 caliber Desert Eagles.

1. Train Compound Movements: I don’t know if I can say anything else that hasn’t already been said about compound movements. They use a ton of muscle and they get you thick and strong. You train your legs and upper body with compound movements, so your arm training should be no different. Also, before we get on a roll here, remember that the triceps account for about 2/3 of all of your upper arm size, so prioritize accordingly. For the biceps I like to use chin ups. When you do curls (barbell or dumbbell) it is a single joint movement. We kick this up a notch when we do chins, especially close grip chins. Action is taking place at the elbow joint (elbow flexion) as well as the shoulder joint (shoulder flexion). Few biceps movements allow this to occur. Also, when doing chins you are using your body weight which is probably more than you could ever curl with a barbell or a dumbbell. Added to that, you can externally load the movement to increase it’s difficulty. For triceps, I have found that close grip 3 or 4 Board presses are excellent strength and mass builders. For big triceps just press and extended and do it heavy!

2. PUMP IT UP!: After you blast your biceps and triceps with heavy compound movements, get some blood pumping through the muscles with some basic single joint movement exercises. DB curls, DB hammer curls, Incline DB Curls, triceps push downs, DB extensions, single arm cable extensions etc., all work well to get blood rushing into your muscles. This helps with growth and recovery. By getting blood moving through the muscle you promote recovery via oxygen and nutrient rich blood, and you also promote growth via cross sectional increases to the muscle fibers. Think high rep stuff here.

3. Form is everything: Just like any other exercise, form is everything when doing Gun Show work. One of the reasons I like doing chins for the biceps is that it is impossible to cheat. You cannot hyperextend your back to get extra reps. It’s either you get it or you don’t. Either way, when doing bicep and tricep work, make sure to pinch your shoulders together and keep your wrists and elbows in-line. Do not cheat for the sake of handling more weight. Remember, you can’t get big Guns if you are injured.

I hope this gives you some insight on how to train your arms for the Gun Show. Follow the sample below and watch your Guns become something that will make Dirty Harry’s Day.

Sample Vanity Work Day:
1. Chins: 5 sets of max reps (2 min rest)
2. Close Grip 3 Board Press: 5 x 5
3. DB Incline Curls: 3 x 12
4. Band Triceps Pushdown: 3 x 20

Jim Smith, CSCS is a highly sought after lecturer, author and renowned strength coach. Jim is an expert for Men’s Fitness and a member of the Elite Fitness Q/A staff. He speaks regularly at clinics, conferences and seminars about the Diesel Method. His distinctive and comprehensive training approach has helped athletes and fitness enthusiasts of all skill levels attain their goals and "Achieve Beyond Potential". Jim is an active student of strength athletics and is always seeking new ways to innovate and provide a unique perspective for gaining muscle, rehabbing injuries, improving performance and building better athletics.

A Fighter's Number One Priority

When preparing for a fight its important to remember your NUMBER ONE GOAL as a fighter...

And that is to take your current skill level and be able to best translate your abilities under the intense pressure of a FIGHT. The ABSOLUTE BEST WAY to do that is through actual sparring - hard sparring - with various scenarios, being put in awful positions and best simulating the type of PRESSURE you are going to feel during a fight. In other words, you gotta practice your sport and everything involved to the upmost degree, and become as efficient as possible in all facets of the game. This should all be a no brainer, but some people for lack of a better term, get it twisted.

So we now know that everything else (namely your strength and conditioning) is SECONDARY, but still largely important. It does not matter HOW MUCH you do, but rather its WHAT you do. Remember, you're already training takedowns,grappling, and striking maybe several hours per day - you don't have much left in your reserves! And while everyone freaks out about their conditioning before a fight, you should be getting MOST OF THAT from your actual fight training.

Leading up to a fight, your main goals are maintain your strength and power while getting in condition. Its important to remember the phrase "All Else Equal.." ...meaning, all else equal, the better technician will win, all else equal the better conditioned fighter will win, all else equal the stronger fighter will win, etc, etc. In other words, don't neglect one thing for the other.

Throw in some strength work - using a HEAVY sandbag, or some HEAVY dumbbells or barbells, or some WEIGHTED calisthenics.

Keep your lactic acid tolerance through the roof by mixing in some SHORT energy system finishers to your strength sessions.

2-3 strength & conditioning sessions are all a fighter needs.

And above all, your skill practices COME FIRST and FOREMOST. Get strong, get in condition, and never be the guy with less technical skill.

Quadzilla - Massive Muscle Building For Your Legs

Hey guys, here's another guest article from Jim Smith, who's brand new product, Accelerated Muscular Devlopment, was just launched on Memorial Day.

Massive Muscle Building For Your Legs
by Jim Smith
Accelerated Muscular Devlopment

You enter the gym, mind made up that you are going to have the training session of a lifetime. You have your camo Chuck’s on, your Affliction t-shirt two sizes too small, and your head phones blasting DMX. Then you see him. Standing over by the curl rack (squat rack); the inverted triangle of manhood, the one, the only, Captain Upper Body. Pecs pumped, shoulders rippling, back wide as the day is long. Then you look down to see two toothpicks known as legs poking out of the bottom of his shorts. “That just ain’t right”, you think to yourself and get to work.

Seriously, how many of us have seen the scenario go down at our training centers? More often than not right? What many people fail to realize is that the human body, just like trees, grow from the roots up (or legs up in our case). Many people neglect to train legs for various reasons, but the truth is this-you can tell who is serious and who is not in the gym by seeing if they are training legs. So get serious with these three tips and make like a tree and grow!

1. You gotta squat and deadlift:
Sorry, but you MUST squat and you must deadlift. No, leg press is not acceptable (unless you have an injury that prevents you from squatting and/or deadlifting). These two movements utilize a TON of muscle and really work your body from head to toe. Not to mention the insane amount of growth hormone they dump into your blood. Try any and all variations of these two lifts. Box squats, rack pulls, zercher squats, deficit deadlifts. The point is this-SQUAT AND DEADLIFT.

2. Overload to Overcome:
You cannot rep 185 for months on end and expect either your squat or deadlift to go up. It won’t happen. The human body is the most efficient machine at adapting the world has ever known. Coach Buddy Morris has said that it takes the body two-three weeks to adapt to a new training stimulus. With this knowledge plan your workouts wisely. By using progressive overload, you can disrupt this adaptation so that you continue to get stronger and build more muscle. Simply put, add 5-10 pounds to the weights you are using and try to set rep PR’s. Once progress stalls, drop the weights down a little bit and start the same process over again.

3. Single Leg Work:
Make sure to include single leg work into your routine. Not only does it stabilize the knee, it also activates the quads and helps to eliminate any imbalances you may have. Try lunges, step ups, split squats, anything that requires one of your legs to be the prime mover without the aid of the other leg. In addition, it requires tremendous core musculature recruitment to stabilize yourself when doing these lifts so you have the added benefit of getting in a good “core” workout as well.

If you are sleeping on your lower body training you need to wake up and get to work. As your lower body grows so to will the rest of your body. Leg training, the Kryptonite of Captain Upper Body-get on it NOW!

Sample Low body Workout:
1. Squat 5 x 5
2. Rack Pull work up to a 3 rep max
3. Romanian Deadlift: 3 x 8 @ 65% of DL max
4. DB Split Squat 3 x 10
5. Weighted Crunches 3 x 10

Act NOW and get this kick ass, a-z muscle builing course TODAY! CLICK HERE FOR AMD!

Jim Smith, CSCS is a highly sought after lecturer, author and renowned strength coach. Jim is an expert for Men’s Fitness and a member of the Elite Fitness Q/A staff. He speaks regularly at clinics, conferences and seminars about the Diesel Method. His distinctive and comprehensive training approach has helped athletes and fitness enthusiasts of all skill levels attain their goals and "Achieve Beyond Potential". Jim is an active student of strength athletics and is always seeking new ways to innovate and provide a unique perspective for gaining muscle, rehabbing injuries, improving performance and building better athletics.

The Ultimate Home Gym: 10 MUST HAVE Pieces of Equipment

So you're sick of working out in a commercial gym, and you have space in your garage or basement for a your own "mini" hardcore training facility and a few hundred dollars to spare on training equipment. Lots of the training I prescribe can be done with single pieces of equipment, with most if it being very cheap if not 100% FREE! However, if you have some cash to spend on building an ultimate, kick butt iron dungeon of you're very own, you can still get great equipment without going completely "all out". Its just a matter of cutting out the crap you don't need, and starting off with the absolute BARE ESSENTIALS. The freedom of being able to train when you want, listen to whatever music you want to listen to, and not have a bunch of people practically breathing down your neck is PRICELESS and is well worth whatever you would spend.

Here is a list of the most basic pieces of equipment, and why you need them.

1) Olympic Barbell with at least 300lb of plates
From all of the various deadlift variations to olympic pulls to rows to overhead presses to various squats, lunges and goodmornings, the barbell with plenty if iron to spare is THE MOST necessary piece of equipment for any home gym.

2) Power Rack with a Chinning Bar and attachable Parallel Bars
Listen, lots of people will try and sell you on power racks that are over a grand, but i've had my power rack for almost 10 years and its gone through as much use and abuse as anything could possibly ever handle...and it cost $250. For heavy squats, rack deadlifts, goodmorning variations, zercher deadlifts, super heavy shrugs, benching, incline benching and the like, a power rack is A MUST HAVE. Most power racks already come with a chin up bar, and the attachable parallel bars that I have were like 30 bucks and are solid as hell. Dips and chins are THE upperbody movements, and should be included in everyone's training program.

3) Adjustable Dumbbells
Ok, I guess depending on your space, these COULD go before a barbell, but it really doesn't matter. Get a solid pair of adjustable dumbbells (you can get them welded if you need to) that are loadable to at least 100lb. For heavy overhead work, to various lunges and single leg work, heavy one arm and two arms rows, shrugs, snatches and swings, a good pair of adjustable dumbbells will add endless variety to your program.

4) Tow Straps or Gymnastic Rings
There are various "suspension" products out there from Rings to Elitefts' blast straps to the TRX to Jon Hinds' Jungle Gym - they're all good, but can run you $50-150. I personally just use my tow straps from my elitefts dragging sled for various recline rows, scarecrows, facepulls, push ups, dips, muscle ups, tricep extensions, and curls. For upperbody training, ring training (we'll just generalize it) is an awesome addition and will rock you unlike anything else. Get em, make em, whatever - just use 'em!

5) Sandbags
Go to your local Army-Navy Surplus store, pick up a duffell bag, then go to home depot and buy 2-3 50lb bags of sand, some contractor bags, and gorilla tape. Make 4-6 mini contractor sandbags - double or triple them up, and duct tape the hell out of them. Throw those guys into the duffell bag and duct tape the duffell bag shut. Bam! You're very own sandbag. Great for clean and presses, shouldering, squats, lunges, goodmornings, carries, loading drills and a whole bunch of other painful variations. They're super cheap and easy to make. Get one.

6) Kegs
Acquire empty keg. Fill with 70-150lb of water. Dirt cheap or free, so why not just have one? Great for a variety of movements, and a completely different feel from sandbags.

7) Kettlebells.
As much as I love kettlebell training, its towards the bottom of the list, because these suckers ARE expensive. However, once you have one, you'll have it for life, and can use it for a variety of movements. I reccomend most guys get a 24kg and use it primarily as a GPP tool, doing tons of high rep swings, snatches, clean and presses, and complexes with it. If money is no concern, then definately pick up a pair or get some heavier kettlebells as well.

8) Dragging Sled
You can buy one, or if you want, make one using a large tire, an eye hook and some tow straps. Sled dragging is a MUST HAVE for lowerbody leg strength, conditioning and mental toughness. Also great for upperbody work like rows, scarecrows, facepulls, and various presses/flyes.

9) Jump Stretch Bands
Besides adding them for accomodating resistence to your squats, deadlifts or bench presses, bands are a great way to get in extra workouts for upperbody, core and posterior chain. High rep band circuits for the upperbody are great as a warm up or as gpp work, and high rep band goodmornings along with pull throughs are an excellent way to bring up lowerback, glute and hamstring strength.

10) Heavy Chains
Again, great for accomodating resistence when added to various squats, deadlifts and presses, the chains also act as an easy way to add weight to various upperbody movements like dips, chins, push ups, recline rows and facepulls. Get 2-4 of these from elitefts (they weigh 20lb each) and you'll have a "weighted vest" that will last you for life.

Interview With Creator Of AMD!

Prior to the release of his new muscle building product, I was able to talk with my friend and strength coach Jim Smith.

1. Smitty, what’s this latest product you’ve been working on?

Jim: First off, let me say thank you for allowing me to talk to you and your readers.My new product is called Accelerated Muscular Development and as the name implies it is as muscle building program. But it is unlike any program on the net right now. It shows people not only why muscle is built but how muscle is built. Everyone will be in for a big surprise if they think it is a program with tons of volume. I actually shouldn’t say program, because it is much more than that. It is a complete system.

2. Complete system? Tell me more about that.

Jim: When I was formulating the AMD Accelerated Muscular Development system, I didn’t want it to be like everyone else’s program and be just a bunch of workouts. When you go through a product like that and finish the workouts, you’re stuck. You don’t know what to do next. You don’t know what exercises, what sets or what reps you should be doing according to your specific goals or individual needs. Also, you don’t gain the knowledge of how to design your own programs.

3. So how is AMD different?
Jim: First of all, everything in Accelerated Muscular Developmentis backed by science. Scientific studies that support why I set up the system the way I did. So, it is not my opinion, it is proven. And the results of the people in the AMD testimonials are proof positive as well.
Now, I call AMD a complete system because it not only teaches why you’re doing what you’re doing, but it also provides a step-by-step protocol of what you should do from the time you step into the gym or your garage or where ever you train, until you leave.
Most programs, like I said, give you your workouts with the sets and reps and that is it. What about the dynamic warm-up, what about the soft-tissue work, what about the activation exercises and what about the rehab component; they’re all missing. AMD covers all of these and shows you how to put it together in a simple, easy-to-modify template.

4. One of the biggest problems I see is that when some people buy a muscle building product they get real excited and go to the gym to get started. But they end up doing the exercises with horrible form.

Jim: Let me cut you off there. Not only did I provide you with the step-by-step sequential pictures that show you have to do the exercises in the AMD exercise index, I created a whole Youtube channel dedicated to the system. I am currently loading it up with all of the exercises in AMD and I will show you the right way to do each one. There is no more need to go and search Youtube to find how to do an exercise correctly (plus you have to be very careful what you find). Now you have a video library showing you the right way each exercise should be performed.
If you want to see more of Smitty’s new program, go to Accelerated Muscular Development the AMD site and check out this killer exclusive look at the site.

Dustin Lebel
Accelerated Muscular Development

Just go here....
Accelerated Muscular Development

Thanks,

PS: For an exclusive first look at AMD and the exercises in the program, check out this video


PPS: Get ready for this innovative new product Accelerated Muscular Development

Underground Leg Training Secrets!

For strong, powerful legs there are multiple ways to train, but really it boils down to hard work. For a strong lower body and posterior chain, sandbag training can certainly help you reach your goals. For maximal strength, barbell squatting and deadlift are obvious choices, but for general strength and conditioning purposes, various sandbag squats, lunges and goodmornings will do the trick (and then some!).

So today I wanted to get in a great workout, and I decided to use a routine from Zach Even-Esh, owner of the Underground Strength Gymnasium and author of
The Underground Strength Manual and Real Man Muscle Building Course (Busy Guy Fitness). It was a pretty simple and one of those that looked easy on paper. Boy was I mistaken! After a warm up of push ups, reverse lunge + band pull aparts,and kettlebell swings, I hit up Zach's "easy" leg routine using my 130lb sandbag...

a1) sandbag zercher squats 3x5
a2) sandbag zercher goodmornings 3x5
b1) sandbag zercher reverse lunges 3x5 (each leg)
b2) sandbag power cleans 3x5

This turned out to be one TOUGH workout - not only on the lowerbody, but the core and upperbody as well from isometrically holding the bag.

After my leg workout, I wanted to get in some upperbody work, so I did some heavy single arm kettlebell overhead presses and some single arm kettlebell rows with extra resistence using a jump stretch band.

For more strength training secrets, you gotta check out Zach's training courses...

Underground Strength Manual

Real Man Muscle Building Course

Back Off! Massive Muscle Building For Your Back!

Here's a guest article from Jim Smith aka Smitty about building a big, strong back using basic movements. Jim just put out his new training manual, Accelerated Muscular Development(AMD), where he fasts tracks you to packing on muscle and getting stronger like never before!

How To Build Muscle and Get a Big Back With This Effective Workout
by Jim Smith

Having a strong back is critical for success in athletics, in staying healthy during training and for overall well-being. With that said, what does it take to get a strong back? Read on and find out how to build a back side that will make everybody take notice.

1. Pull Ups and Chins Ups form the foundation:
Pull ups and chin ups are to your back as squatting is to your legs. You need to do them and do them often. Not only do they use a tremendous amount of muscle, but they also get you BRUTE STRONG. All the connective tissues of your shoulders and back get noticeably stronger when you perform these exercises. Many people get bogged down with trying to do max reps on pull ups and chin ups. If you have ever read the Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding, Arnold recommends that you pick a goal number of reps you want to achieve and do as many sets as it takes you to reach your goal number. I feel that this is one of the best ways to increase your pull up and chin up strength.

2. Go heavy on big lifts:
By this I mean go heavy on the deadlifts, the barbell shrugs, barbell rows, back extensions etc. All of these lifts require the back musculature to work overtime in a big way to engage and lockout the movement. You will be hard pressed to find a single exercise that does not require the back musculature to be engaged to some degree to help with the execution of the lift.

3. Balance you back budget:
Make sure you train your back with a sense of balance. Make sure to hit a horizontal row (seated rows, DB rows, barbell rows), a vertical pulling motion (shrugs, pull ups, chin ups), also make sure to get your external rotators with some band external rotation, DB external rotations, or cable external rotations. Lastly hit some retractions before or after your work out.

If you follow these three steps, in no time at all you will have a back that legends are made of. Imagine going to the beach and hitting a lat spread and making people wonder if a solar eclipse is occurring. Now tell me that doesn’t sound cool.

Sample Back Workout:

Warm Up:
A. Plate Halos 2 x 15
B. DB Retractions 2 x 20
C. Static Pec Stretch 3 x 10 s (each side)

Strength Training Workout:
1. Chins Ups: 10 x 3
2. Barbell Rows 5 x 8
3. DB Shrugs 3 x 10
4. Seated Low Row 3 x 12
5. Band External Rotations 2 x 20

Jim Smith, CSCS is a highly sought after lecturer, author and renowned strength coach. Jim is an expert for Men’s Fitness and a member of the Elite Fitness Q/A staff. He speaks regularly at clinics, conferences and seminars about the Diesel Method. His distinctive and comprehensive training approach has helped athletes and fitness enthusiasts of all skill levels attain their goals and "Achieve Beyond Potential". Jim is an active student of strength athletics and is always seeking new ways to innovate and provide a unique perspective for gaining muscle, rehabbing injuries, improving performance and building better athletics.

P.S. For a ton more info on getting stronger and gaining muscle from Jim, go here: Accelerated Muscular Development(AMD)

Find Out What Most Programs Are Missing!

If you remember, I told you that most muscle building products show you a bunch of exercises and give you a 12 week program AND THAT'S IT! They don't show you how to CREATE YOUR OWN STRENGTH ROUTINES, so you can learn and educate yourself on what it takes to add muscle and get stronger.

Accelerated Muscular Development(AMD), from Jim Smith, gives you the knowledge and structure about strength training, so that you can make informed decisions according to your own needs.

And he has had some amazing results. A busy Dad on the program added 9 lbs of muscle in only 8 weeks, while working, being active in the Army and taking care of a new infant at home.

Gone are the days where you have to spend endless hours of unproductive training just to see mediocre results.

Jim has setup the program where you can get in and out of the gym in 30 minutes or less.

Check out this vid to see what most programs are missing



Get Accelerated Muscular Development Today!

50 Reps To Getting In Fight Shape

Hope everyone is recovery after the long weekend! Here's a FREE article I recently wrote for ezine articles that hasn't been published yet (you guys are the first to see it!). Enjoy...

When it comes to training for combat sports or getting in "fight shape" as we call it, there are many variables to take into consideration. You want to be super strong - no doubt about it - strength is the MOTHER of all skills. You also want to be in great condition, but for our purpose, there's no reason to be running for miles on end hanging out on an elliptical for hours a week. Even if you're just a dude looking to get in shape and be as strong as you look, these things still don't make any sense. You want to do activities that will turn your metabolism into a fat burning machine and preserve the precious muscle that you have, not waste it away with the likes of long, drawn out "cardio" sessions.Can you say boring and not to mention, unmanly? I mean, what guy wants to say he does the same thing as the cardio bunny 3 treadmills over as part of his training routine? Its time that men take a stand and actually start training like men! But that's a whole different topic for another article.

The problem with most fighters and gym rats alike, is that when it comes to their strength & conditioning program they are generally doing too much. Not necessarily too much volume, but just too much bull sh#t in general. Between what you see in various magazines and online, most people just want to "try it all" and never really FOCUS and get strong at a few basic movements. This, unfortunately, takes commitment and an iron will. You have to FORCE your body to change - whether it be to get stronger, put on muscle, or lose fat. You're body does not want to do these things and frankly its pretty comfortable where its at right now. But we're going to change, and we're going to change in a big way.

This sample routine is for the guy who's been "trying it all" and needs to get back to just working hard on a few basic things. This is such a simple concept, but very difficult to actually do. These sample programs will serve as both your strength AND conditioning sessions - no more long, boring cardio workouts. You will work VERY HARD on just a few movements and you WILL progress every single session. This gun to the head mentality is crucial to your success in all walks of life and you'll be very surprised what results this type of thinking can yield.

Ok, enough blabbering...on to the details of the program. This workout is originally inspired by guys like Dan John from his "one lift a day" concept and Charles Staley from his "escalating density" workouts, but this training is nothing new. We're taking it back to the old school and GRINDING away to get in fight shape in a very short amount of time.

After warming up on your own, maybe with calisthenics and band work, you're going to pick just ONE movement and perform 50 reps for time. If using a sandbag, pick a weight that's fairly challenging for 4-8 reps and stay in the 2-5 rep range for your sets.

But we're not going to be doing curls or dumbbell flies, here. I urge you to pick FULL BODY movements that require a TON of muscle mass. We're trying to IGNITE our metabolisms and blast our energy systems and a get a huge hormonal response in just a short amount of time. I love using heavy, awkward sandbags for type of training, but barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells are also great choices.

My favorite movements for the 50 rep drill are as follows:

1. Sandbag Clean and Press
*** Rip the bag from the floor and press that sucker overhead...use leg drive if needed (you will if you have a heavy enough bag). A Barbell, dumbells, kettlebells, or strongman log are fine substitutes here.

2. Sandbag Shouldering
*** Straddling the bag, explode and toss the bag onto one shoulder. Lower and repeat to the other side. Not much else can mimic the feel of these, so I reccomend making a bag!

3. Sandbag Power Cleans
*** Clean the bag from the floor and "catch" the bag in the rack position. Lower to the floor and repeat. These can be done fairly rapidly, so be push the pace! Barbell power cleans are ok, just watch for form breakdowns. Wake Forrest Strength Coach, Ethan Reeve, used to have his wrestlers perform 10 sets of 10 as a conditioning workout!

4. Sandbag Power Clean + Zercher Squat
*** After catching the bag in the "zercher" position, keep your elbows high and back flat while squatting deep. Stand up, and lower the bag to the ground. Repeat. A power clean & front squat would also work fine.

5. Sandbag Loading on to a 36+" platform
*** You can do these straight on or rotationally. Not much explanation here, just get the bag up to the platform any way you can, lower and repeat. If doing the rotational variation, repeat sides every rep.

7. HeavyOne Arm Dumbbell or Kettlebell Snatches
*** These are great and can be done pretty heavy. If using a dumbbell, 40-50% of your bodyweight would be pretty good for this, with a kettlebell you can do this for strength or use this as a short conditioning drill and get in 50 reps each side without putting the kettlebell down.

8. Barbell Deadlift Variation
*** I prefer something like SNATCH GRIP deadlifts here, but any variation will do. Use perfect form (not "competition" form, please) and get ready for some serious soreness for the next few days.

9. Barbell Squat Variation
*** Olympic back squats or Front Squats are good choices here. Pretend you're Eric Heiden (a speed skater famous for his insane high rep squatting) for a day and crush it! Not too much else will create the hormanal surge of high volume squatting

These workouts will take anywhere from 10-20 minutes and will leave you absolutely thrashed. Record your time and try to beat it the next time out. Its that simple, but when you're working against the clock you need that do or die mentality, much like in the ring or on the mat.

P.S. Smitty of the Diesel Crew put out his LONG AWAITED Muscle Building Course on Memorial Day, so be sure to check back here often for some exclusive FREE articles and videos because I'll be posting up a ton over the next few weeks. Smitty and his crew are the real deal and never fail to OVER DELIVER. Get your hands on it NOW Accelerated Muscular Development and thank me later when you've packed on a ton of muscle mass and shredded bodyfat faster than ever before.

Get Your Accelerated Muscular Development Course Here!

Bad Trainers Will Hurt You!

Whats Up Everybody,

Have you ever bought a muscle building product and gotten injured because you didn't know how to do the exercises in the program?

Have you ever felt confused when trying to follow a program you've found online and gotten discouraged that you weren't making any progress?

Everybody’s reason for working out is different. You might want confidence, you might want to lead a healthier, stronger life, you might want to get noticed and not always be the skinny kid in the room. Whatever the reason, you seek advice online from a “qualified” trainer.

Be Warned!

Most internet gurus and trainers will injure you. They demonstrate and teach bad form in their videos and probably have never really lifted heavy weights.

If you don't practice good form and you’ve never really been under the bar, how can teach it to others!

Jim Smith, a strength coach in the industry and a good friend of mine, just developed a new muscle building program called Accelerated Muscular Development (AMD).

AMD provides a step-by-step guide for a complete muscle building system. The system shows you how to:

- incorporate a dynamic warm-up prior to your workout
- activate muscles and improve mobility
- rehab injuries
- improve your movement
- BUILD SOLID MUSCLE AND GET STRONGER

ALL WITH PROPER FORM AND IN 3 SHORT WORKOUTS A WEEK!

When Jim sent me his new Accelerated Muscular Development muscle building system, I realized it was very unique. He is passionate about teaching people the right way to train that he not only does he provide step-by-step visual exercise pics in the program but he also created a Youtube site dedicated to correct form for all of the exercises in the program.

Most muscle building products show you a bunch of exercises and give you a 12 week program – AND THAT'S IT! They don't show you how to CREATE YOUR OWN STRENGTH ROUTINES, so you can learn and educate yourself on how to add muscle and get stronger according to your needs.

PS: Get ready for this innovative new product Accelerated Muscular Development

Memorial Day Training

I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend and spent alot of time with friends and family grillin' n chillin' - I know I did!

But today was back to business as usual - which means hard training and a few days of low carbin' to get back to neutral.

What was supposed to be a cool, rainy day ended up being hot and muggy - perfect for training, if you ask me! So off I went to a local playground that I found last week that is vacant most of the time and has a pretty dope set up for getting in a great workout...parallel dip bars, long parallel bars that are great for dips, handwalking, and recline rows, different height pull up bars (perfect for practicing muscle ups!), monkey bars, you name it. So I brought my sandbag, tow straps (I just use them as homemade blast straps), some heavy chains, and a pair of jump stretch bands.

Here's how it went...

warm up x 2 sets
1. push ups x 15
2. band rows x 20
3. squats x 20
4. reverse lunges x 20

a1) sandbag clean and press 4x5
a2) mixed grip pull ups 4 x reps
b1) parallel bar dips 3 x reps
b2) weighted recline rows 3 x reps
c) sandbag bear hug squats x max reps in 5 minutes
d1) band tricep extensions 2x20
d2) band curls 2x20

Not to mention the 300+ foot sandbag carry from my car to the playground and then back again!

So that's it from me...enjoy the rest of the day and I hope you got some good training in yourself!