Animal Ability

           Do you want to have the strength, mobility & toughness of an action hero? Well let me tell you about my own method that I have used training myself (& others as a former fitness trainer) to work towards this goal. Let me preface this by saying if you want to be a powerlifter, bodybuilder, etc you need proper guidance for steering this toward your specific goal. Also if you play a specific sport you need to make sure you add in specific skill development.
     
        My methods will take you 80-90% towards anyone of these categories. If you want to be prepared to take on anything then this is a (if not the) style to use. Strength, power, speed, agility, quickness, mobility & flexibility are what this style will help you build.
   
       So let's jump right in & quit the yammering, the following is a guideline to the order I have found works well in most cases. Now when I say most that means it is NOT written in stone. Do not be afraid to experiment! Just don't hurt yourself doing something weird. I train six days per week, one day conditioning/cardio type movements, the next more explosive/strength/power oriented work. I use Monday – Saturday with Sunday being a free day.

       General Warm-up – I know, I know, boring, but it needs to be done. Take at least five (5) minutes of moving all or at least the majority of your joints. Do not just get on a bike for 5 minutes & think you have done good, because you haven't. Jumping Jacks or a variation are a good thing to start with, but you need some squatting/hinging, some reaching & twisting.

       Specific Warm-up – This is usually used mainly on  explosive/strength/power days as your body works best when your nervous system is stimulated. This usually (you may see this word a lot) consist of the first 3-5 exercises or movements simulating them. I even do this for explosive jumping/plyometric movements, I just do them without as much explosiveness.

       THE WORKOUT!
       Stamina/Conditioning/Cardio - I sometimes use a certain skill or skills I wish to learn at or near the beginning, but then I get into the meat. I use rounds/timed tempos with minimal rest between movements & rounds/tempos. I usually end the session with some odd work like muscle endurance in my feet, light resistance high reps.

       Explosive/Strength/Power – I usually (that word again) start with a jumping &/or sprinting drill. I try to make sure the combined rep total is 20. Depending on S/C/C day I choose drills that are not compromised from that training. This is important as it further stimulates the nervous system. This can allow stronger muscle contractions.

    Next I usually move to some high resistance lifts. I usually perform a squatting &/or hinging, upper body pull (vertical – horizontal), upper body push (vertical – horizontal), ofttimes I will follow with midsection or posterior chain work. I try to stick with certain basic movements & place specialized odd movements after basic heavier movements. Some people would choose to do it opposite, but in my experience the basic movements are so much heavier than odd movements that with focus it doesn't really matter that you have worked those muscles.
     
   A final comment before I go to the next part. E/S/P is not stamina/conditioning/cardio so take at least 0:30 or longer between movements. Having said that it is rare that I rest longer than 2:00.

       STRETCHING!!!! - This is the life saver. For the last five years I have been using http://www.yogabodynaturals.com/ method called Gravity Poses. I have no monetary interest in this company I just have found Lucas' Gravity Poses to work the best.
       RECAP:

       General Warm-up  5-10 minutes

       Specific Warm-up (especially on high resistance days) 5-10 minutes

       Stamina/Conditioning/Cardio 10-30 minutes

       Explosiveness/Strength/Power (jump, sprint, basics + esoteric) 15-30 minutes

       STRETCHING! 10-20 minutes

       Total Time S/C/C = 30 - 60 minutes

       Total Time E/S/P = 35 – 70 minutes

       You should always strive towards the lower end of the time scale. Most important take away is use the minimum amount needed to achieve your fastest gains.

       So if you wish to be prepared physically & mentally for any activity or sport try the Animal Ability style!

My Journey Into The Underground

        

       When my friend, Ben Bergman, asked me to write about my journey into the world of Underground Strength training, I didn't have to think twice about it. I was blessed to find several coaches back around 2004-2005 whose methods were unorthodox, but highly effective. Some of the strength & conditioning renegades I found then were Mike Mahler, Diesel Crew, Bud Jeffries, Greg Glasman, and Zach Even-Esh.

All of them were training in warehouses, garages, parks, back yards, or playgrounds; any where except in gyms.

     

        I still learn from all of them to this very day. However, Zach Even-Esh is in the spotlight today.

I had trained in martial arts for quite a few years and had always looked for something to that would fill the void in the training we'd been doing. I knew strength and power had to be improved to improve what I call "stopping power".

      When I learned of Zach's wrestling background and got his first training manuals, which I still have and study), something just clicked for me.

Though I opened one of the earliest CrossFit gyms in the USA, number 35 to be exact, I continued to follow Zach's methods. I was kind of the "black sheep" in CrossFit, and still am, because I believed in learning from all valid sources whether they are CrossFit or not.

     Let me clarify one thing right now, I refuse to become a CrossFit hater or basher even though it is now the "cool" thing to do. If someone who doesn't do CrossFit can whip Rich Froning, Jr., then maybe their opinion is worth listening to. We are one of a very small number of gyms that offer CrossFit and Underground Strength training, in fact our gym has become known as the Cave, not by its' legal name of CrossFit Gulf Coast.

   We are a strength-based training center. Our training regularly includes bench press, squats, deadlifts, and shoulder presses. All our athletes do strict pull-ups on a variety of apparatus like Zach's original Underground Strength Gym in NJ. Odd object lifts often replace barbell lifts, though we do a lot of heavy barbell work still.

   I could go on about this for hours, but let me narrow it down to the subject Ben asked me to talk about, that is why I go the Underground route and how it has affected my business. Underground Strength workouts are harder and longer than what most people are accustomed to, but they produce great results.  We usually train from 1 1/2 to 2 hours, not 15 minutes.

 Another plus for Underground training is the shorter learning curve with odd object lifts than with barbells. This is especially true for the Olympic lifts, though they are tremendous. Underground Strength has let us rise above the herd. I have refused to run a "cookie cutter" gym.  You could say, "I took the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference."

Putting The Super In Superhuman

       Becoming beyond the realms of human abilities in fitness isn't as far fetched as most people want to believe. Sure you won’t always be someone who can deadlift 1000 pounds, run 50 miles, do 100 pull-ups or swing a kettlebell 10,000 times but you can however push the very brink of your natural abilities to become something more than yourself. Being superhuman doesn't mean you’re just a physical specimen and do whatever the hell you want; a superhuman has physical gifts using his emotional content to define his spirit and conquer him/herself in their own endeavor.

            To reach certain levels, you must push yourself out of your comfort zone naturally and with reason. Don’t be just jumping into something already advanced and think you won’t be sore or get hurt, that just makes you a moron. Instead focus on the progressive elements of what you’re capable of and little by little keep pushing. Testing your limits are tests of your will power, how far you’re willing to go. There is a bit of a price but it’s worth everything you've put your heart into. Some people go so deep it might end up crippling them, others keep edging and finding what they’re capable of and in doing so learn the value of your mind and body’s strengths and weaknesses.

            To become superhuman is to follow simple and basic rules or you can come up with ones suitable for you but the most basic ones are as follows:

1. Never be satisfied with your training, keep learning.
2. Train hard and smart, use your mind and body as if they’re the same thing.
3. Sleep & Recover, very important in building the body and resting the mind
4. Push yourself progressively, never take a short cut or you’ll end in a way you won’t like
5. Value your true friends in your field for they’re the ones who give you the best advice and keep you motivated either through a conversation or just a few words.

            One of my favorite teachings to become superhuman is to follow your own path. This is one of the toughest things to do and I’ll tell you why; people want to follow someone else because they see how they do things and want to follow along but never go beyond that. I realize some people like to do that P90X or Insanity type programs and I’ll admit it’s better than nothing and if it works for them awesome but they’re missing the big picture. You’re watching the DVDs and you follow along as best as possible and if results come great, however, DVDs tend to wear out or get scratched, stolen, ripped and whatever could happen how will you do your workout? You going to pay another couple hundred bucks to get them new? Think about it.  I have my own opinions about them but let me tell you something, just watching and following along is really only good for techniques and tempos.

            To have life-long results is to follow your own way of doing things, not what someone tells you what you shouldn't or should do. If you learn to do things right for you and your body, you can do them however you want. Self-Reliance is a major key and we all have different needs and our bodies don’t always react to the same ordinary or even extraordinary programs. Be sufficient to who you are and become Superhuman in ways that’s geared towards you.