Week 9 Day 3

This is one really cool lookin trunk! I hope everyone who is following along is making good gains. Its a 12 week cycle, so a few more weeks to go jack up some PR's before we switch things up a bit. I am heavily favoring a short 4-6 week fat burning cycle through April. Anybody have any ideas or wishes? Please let me know so I can make a utilitarian decision. But really, I'm gonna do whatever the fuck I want anyway :) But i love to hear your thoughts.

1.) Incline Bench Press 10x2

2A.) (KB bottoms up) clean & press 5x5

2B.) Muscle ups 5x5

3A.) (Sandbag) Zercher lunges 3x10 each leg

3B.) (Keg) Carry 3x200 feet

3C.) Farmers Carry 3x200 feet

3D.) Power Wheel 3x100 feet

4.) Foam rolling, mobility, etc. Prepare for heavy cleans and squats on Saturday

Anybody have any questions, comments or concerns about the Underground Strength Mentorship being held at The Strength Shop on March 20? I will be happy to discuss any queries anybody might have. Zach Even-Esh and I have a big day planned for all attendees, so I hope you get on board!

Week 9 Day 1

I'm just kickin it with my homie, you know how we do!

1.) Push Press 8-5-3-1-1-1

2A.) Muscle ups 5 x submax

2B.) Kettlebell Clean & Jerk 5x8-10

3A.) Ring pushups 3 x submax
3B.) Double KB highpull 3 x 10-15

4A.) Backwards sled drag 5 x 30 Meters
Follow immediately with:
4B.) Sprint 5 x 50-75 meters
4C.) Rest 90-120 seconds

Maybe this is a time in your life that you feel you should be kickin some major ass. Maybe you are, maybe you're not. If you want to take your training to the next level for you are your clients, and grow your business as well, come to the Underground Strength Mentorship hosted by Zach Even-Esh and Matt Wichlinski on March 20, 2010. There is going to be some serious information on training and business from some of the best in the business, come check it out!

Athletes in Action

Underground Strength Mentorship on 3/20 info click here

Week 8 Day 3

1.) Handstand Skill Work x 5 minutes, practice 1 arm handstand

2.) Single KB Clean and Press 8 x 3-5

3.) Bottoms up Bench Press w/ chains 8x3

4A.) 1 Arm FAT DB Bench Press 3 x 8-12
4B.) 1 Arm FAT DB Bent Rows 3 x 8-12

5.) Pullups 3 x submax

6.) Row Concept2 x 500 meters for time

7.) Foam Roll, massage, mobility work and prepare for saturdays clean and jerks and squats

Week 8 Day 1

Barbell Warm up x5 reps each movement before changing
a. RDL
b. muscle snatch
c. front squat
d. press
e. good morning
f. press behind neck
g. back squat
h. lunge, each leg
i. deadlift
j. power jump

1.) Clean grip power snatch 5x3

2.) Jerk behind neck 6-8x3
change every rep, ie. left, right, power jerk, work up to heavy triple

As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes, 4-6 reps of each
3a.) Handstand Pushup
3b.) Pull up
3c.) Pushup
3d.) Supine row


Sorry for the late post, life happens

Week 7 Day 4

1.) 1 Power clean+ 1 front squat+1 hang clean x work up to heavy load for the day

2.) Front squat 5x5

3A.) RDL 3x8
3B.) Chin ups 3 x submax

4A.) Wall ball shots 3x15
4B.) Jumping Ball Slams3x15
As fast as possible


Check out the Underground Strength Mentorship!!!

Inspiration from The Strength Shop

The following is a message thread from a loyal fan of The Strength Shop videos and physical culture lifestyle. He has come a long way, and we hope to keep him motivated for years to come...

My man... how are you doing? Well, I finally got around to making the dip station and bulgarian heavy bag. Thank you for all you are doin bro. I was wondering how long is your battle rope? Is it one long rope or is it a pair? Thank you again. Take care and have a blessed week.
Forever inspired by you,
Fil

I am well, thank you. Hope you are kick ass and the new toys are treating you well!
The rope is 1.5 inch thick and 50 feet long, one rope, I loop it around things and also use it as one long rope as well. I will park my car on top of one end, or you could have one partner stand on the opposite end and switch users for time, etc.
Matt

Yeah... I'm trying to get on your level... haha. But I got a long ways to go. I use to be fit, weighing 195 - 200 lbs. I'm a big boy now, weighing about 318. I know... I let myself go, got married and got lazy. The heaviest I've ever been was 357 bro. Yeah... that's right, a fat ass! I met a guy who was a 3rd degree BB in Brazillian Jiu Jitsu and was a boxer in his day. I went from 357 to 250 in less than a year. I felt good, my self-esteem was thru the roof. I got comfortable and got big again. Christmas time I weighed around 342 lbs. Now I weigh 318 lbs. I've been a diabetic for several years now, trying to keep a healthy blood glucose level. It isn't easy but again... I thank GOD for coming across your videos bro. You have inspired me to get off my ass and work hard. I know it's hard but I can't quit... that will just make me a quitter. I know you aint a quitter. As for the toys, they work fine. I will be picking me up some rope soon. Do you have any recommendations on where to get the rope?
Thanks again. Sorry for being so long winded.
Fil

depending on where you live, there might be some local spots to find rope like marinas or junkyards. But I got mine from E-bay, you can sometimes find pretty good deals there. I found one with $10 flat rate shipping, which helped a lot with the price. The rope would be a very good choice of high intensity cardio, especially for a big boy like yourself to avoid banging up your lower body while running. You have lots of options, and I'm glad to have helped with your motivation. Keep searching, you will find that long term strength you are looking for.
Live hard,
Matt

Week 7 Day 1

1.) Dbl KB parked power jumps 8x3

2.) Push press 5x5

3.) Muscle ups 5 x submax

4A.) Ring dips 3 x submax
4B.) 1 arm high pulls 3 x 15

Prehab sets for shoulder health:

5A.) Rope pulls, hand over hand dragging tire or sled 3 x 60 feet (substitute recline rows)
5B.) DB bent raise 3 x 10
5C.) DB front raise 3 x 10
5D.) DB side raise 3 x 10

Week 6 Day 3

1.) Standing broad jump 5x3
-(reset each jump)

2.) Inc bench 4x6-8

3A.) Face the wall handstand with hip slap 3x20 slaps
3B.) BTB around the worlds 3x20 each direction

4A.) Chinese rows 3 x 10
4B.) DB flys 3 x 10

5.) Tabata Burpees

Week 6 Day 1

Back to hard work, but stay in the prescribed rep range

1.) Double kettlebell parked power jumps 8x3
-(Works best with a partner, you go, they go...deadlift the bells outside the feet to the power position and in one fluid motion explosively jump and land athletically while smoothly transitioning the bells to a parked position on the ground outside your feet, reset the back, repeat 2x)

2.) Press 3-4x6-8

3.) Muscle ups 3 x submax

4A.) Explosive pushup 10x3-6
-(Both hands and feet pop off ground, add vest if possible)
4B.) Explosive pullup 10x3-6
-(Try to pop off the bar, vest?)
4C.) Kneeling pop up 10x3-6
-(Start on ground kneeling, then explosively jump from knees and land in the bottom of a squat, preferably with both hands "handcuffed" behind back, or even a little added weight)

5.) Keg carry x5 minutes for distance
-(If you do not have a keg, sub a sandbag or a stack of bumps or standard plates)

Don't forget to check out the Underground Strength Coach Mentorship!

http://zacheven-esh.com/Matt.php

Have a Beast Session

Week 5 Day 4

Last day of deload week, I am chompin at the bit to get back to some serious training. That is the wonderful part of deloading...getting your body ready and eager to train like a warrior. We've rested well, protected our bodies from injury, recovered from hard training, and now we enter right back into hell training next week. Be ready.

1.) Double DB power Clean + Push Press 5x5

2.) Squat (any variation) 3x10 @ 60%

3A.) Natural Glute Ham Raises 3x5
3B.) GHD Situps 3x10

4.) Sled Walk 1x400 meters

5.) Stretch, mobility, foam roll, play and enjoy life

Underground Strength Mentorship

I am very excited to announce that I will be hosting an Underground Strength Mentorship for Zach Even-Esh on March 20th. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for me and I am so pumped up about jackin some dudes up at The Strength Shop. We will all be going nuts, breakin rules and Beastin out! There will be some attitude and bloodshed for sure. We will be learning how to integrate barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell, and sandbag training with olympic lifting, strongman, gymnastics, powerlifting and sport specific training. In short, we are hitting on all the bases. We will put energy into performance nutrition, restoration and recovery, and business development, among other things. This is so awesome, I can not wait!. Hope to see you there!. Check out the link to Zach's event.

http://zacheven-esh.com/Matt.php

Week 5 Day 3

Deloading (Still)

!.) Free Handstand Press practice x 5-10 min

2.) Bench Press 3 x 10 @ 60 %

3A.) Ring Dips 3 x submax
3B.) Recline Rows 3 x submax

4.) Sandbag loading x 5-10 minutes

Week 5 Day 2

1.) Power snatch+OHS+Snatch Balance 1+1+1x6

2.) Deadlift 3x10 @ 60% of 1RM from last week, deload every rep, lift with speed and purpose

3A.) Reverse Hypers 3x10
3B.) Ab Wheel or Ring roll outs 3 x 10

4.) Suicide Sprints x 3-5 sets 90 second rest between efforts

(pick 4 spots, A, B, C, D. A) will be start and finish, B is 5 meters away, C is 10 meters from A, D is 20 meters away. Run from A to B and back to A, then run immediately to C and back to A, then run to D and back to A. If possible, time your efforts and your rest period. Be accurate with your distance, whichever distance you choose, it could be longer or shorter than mine, and keep records to compare in future.)

Week 5 Day 1

After making progressions from fives to singles, hopefully most of us made PR's or are at least have a good plan of attack to achieve some short term strength goals in the near future. Being on the right track is what's important here. I feel good, did not hit any all time PR's but did hit some good numbers for my recent training. I'm a little beat up after a week of maxing out, so will deload this week with a few sets of 8-10 reps of 50-60% weight. Shit, I might even do some yoga, I've been pretty tight and it will do me some good as I've been neglecting my mobility work slightly. Remember, its best to deload right before you burn out, not after.

1.) Press 3x8-10

2.) Muscle ups 3 x submax

3A.) Handstand presses off bars or kb's (freestanding if possible) 3 x submax
3B.) Pull ups 3 x submax

4.) Sled work x 10 minutes

Week 4 Day 2

1.) 2 Power Snatches + 3 Overhead Squats x 5

2.) Deadlift x8-5-3-1-1-1

3A.) GHR's 3x10-15
3B.) HLR's 3x10-15

4.) Sled work 10-15 minutes

Week 4 Day 1

1.) Press 8-5-5-3-3-1-1-1

2.) Muscle ups 5 x submax

3A.) Ring pushups 3 x submax
3B.) Double KB highpull 3 x 10-15

4A.) Backwards sled drag 5 x 30 Meters
Follow immediately with:
4B.) Sprint 5 x 50-75 meters
4C.) Rest 90 seconds

Drag the sled for the required distance then drop the handle and run as fast as possible for the required distance in one smooth smokin fast set.

Week 3 Day 4

1.) Double DB Split Snatch 5 x 3-5

2.) Squat 8x3

Rest 5 minutes

100 foot Medley of:

Sled Row pulls
Prowler
Tire Drags Backwards
Farmers Carries
Run

10-20 minutes

For those without the tools:

Every Minute on the minute you alternate between:

8 burpees
100 meter sprint

10-20 minutes

Week 3 Day 3

1.) Handstand Skill Work x 5 minutes, practice 1 arm handstand

2.) Single KB Clean and Press 8 x 3-5

3.) Bench Press 8x3 (Build a few pounds off last week, first 4-5 sets are build up)

4A.) 1 Arm FAT DB Bench Press 3 x 8-12
4B.) 1 Arm FAT DB Bent Rows 3 x 8-12

5.) Pullups 1 x failure (don't be a vag)

6.) Row Concept2 x 500 meters for time

7.) Foam Roll, massage, mobility work and prepare for saturdays clean and jerks and squats

Week 2 Day 2

1.) Power Snatch + Overhead Squat 80% (of snatch) x2 x6

2.) Deadlift 6x4

3A.) Walking Lunge 3x12-20 (Go heavy, carrying anything you can get your hands on)
3B.) GHR with hip extension 3x6-10
3C.) Twisting Hanging Leg Raise (HLR) 3x8-12

4A.) Sled Drags 100' forward x 5-10
4B.) Sled Drags 100' backwards x 5-10

5.) Grip work

Notes: If you do not know how to snatch, I will be posting a video tutorial in the next few days for beginners to learn how to do so safely and effectively. But for now, I recommend using a dumbbell instead of a barbell. Do 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps as a beginner. Disregard the overhead squats with weight. You can practice the overhead squats separately with a 3/4" pvc pipe if necessary. The first 3 sets of deads will be warm ups, the last 3 will be hard working sets. On the last set, perform as many reps as possible getting at least 4 reps. Sets 3A-C will be performed back to back, grab something heavy and do your lunges. If you do not have access to a GHR, you could do poor man's GHR's on the ground with foot support, or good mornings or RDL's. Twisting leg raises, hang from bar and touch knee to opposite elbow. Or do any ab work you can handle, these are not easy.