THE STRENGTH SHOP OF VIRGINIA BEACH

Zach Even-Esh Interview with Dan John

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:24:25 -0500

http://zacheven-esh.com/blog/uploaded/DanJohn-Zach.mp3livepage.apple.com

Training Question

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:11:13 -0500

Hello Matt,

I was reading my Bodybuilding forum, and I came accross your videos, I have watched a few of them now and must say I am greatly Impressed. I Myself am an Athlete, Football, Baseball, Basketball, Mixed Martial Arts, Hockey, Snowboarding and Most Recently a Cadet in the Highway Patrol Academy. Now I do understand you recieve a ton of emails with questions and comments. I have read your blogs and you seem like you know how to do the "balance of life". I Right now work a fulltime job, have a child, have every day activities that you stated. I Also understand you are a busy Person.

I just have a quick few questions that I have found with all of the coaches, strength conditioning coaches in my area fail to understand. I can't afford a personal trainer that cost a ton of money per hour, As I only have maybe a total of 2 hours of lifting, cardio, training in general time per day sometimes Less. They fail to realize the balance of a regular everyday Joe. I have been doing these sports for years, have not been able to find ballance with strength and cardio and athleticism- as from your videos you have them ALL! and I do wish that I was able to travel to your shop to get a personal overview of how your training goes. As for now I can only ask if you have any insight on things from a everyday person point of view. I try to eat as clean as possible and try to keep as much muscle mass as possible and loose the body fat but retain muscle and size (which is hard). I currently way at 242lbs at 6'0 tall and 15.2%bf. I must be below 205lbs and less than 11%bf. If you feel that you can help me out please email me back. If you need any information from me, such as current workouts, current diet, cardio schedule. or Current goals.

Respectfully Rick.

Let's see if I can help. First, you live in Columbus, I believe that is the home of Louie Simmons West Side Barbell, Rogue Fitness and probably more bad ass gyms. But, since you asked me... One thing I like to do is take one or two movements and crush the shit out of them for 5-10 minutes at a time. Thats it. Most of us do not have an hour here and there to train, plus travel to and from the gym, etc. let alone spend lots of money on training. but, almost every one of us can find 5-15 minutes a few times a day. No one said you need to train only once a day. Gettin jacked up 2-4 times a day would do magic to accelerate your fat loss goals. A perfect example would be do try to get as many muscle ups as you can in 5-10 minutes. Or you can mash up rows and push ups, or pull ups and hand stand pushups. Lately Ive been doing tons of tire flips and handstandpushups. Having a pair of kettlebells or dumbbells at your disposal is awesome to get in super quick hard charged sessions. You could do:

double clean x5
double press x 5
front squat x5

30 sec rest, repeat 5-10 times or more

mixing in more challenging gymnastic movements presents a bit more of a challenge. But one thing you must remember, if you cannot do a particular movement, such as a backflip, you certainly can do one of the precursor progressions to that particular movement. ITS ALL ABOUT THE PROGRESSIONS. Sometimes I would much rather see an athlete perform ten 5 minute practice sessions a day over one 50 minute session.

you must find time to go heavy, period. I don't have all the answers. I don't know exactly your lifestyle, but I know what it is like to be busy. Sometimes you must reevaluate your priorities, and find a way to get it done. Never say "there is no time", instead say, "how can I make time for this...". Make a plan, and execute it.

As far as bodyfat goes, I would put the majority of that focus on nutrition as opposed to training. Eat as close to a paleo type diet as possible. It takes some planning, but it is effective. And, you will not need to count calories any longer. when you put your focus into real whole foods with quality nutrition, your body will make drastic changes. No more sugar. No more processed foods. Just clean eating. Lean beef, poultry, fish. Tons of vegetables and fruits. raw nuts and seeds. Very little starches. They say variety is the spice of life. So I tell my athletes to try to eat 17 colors a day. Sounds difficult, but don't take it literally, just as an idea. Every color represents a vitamin or mineral. The more vitamins and minerals you ingest, the healthier you can be. And that can do wonders for your strength and conditioning. Eliminate "white" foods from your diet, with just a few exceptions like chicken, pork and cauliflower and possibly raw milk. I might miss a few, but the idea is to eliminate sugar, artificial sweeteners, flour, bread, pasta, etc. If you want to gain weight and add muscle, then the addition of potatoes and rice could help.

Something that should be engraved into the wall in front of every gyms squat rack..." there are some that do, some that don't, those that will and those that won't."

I have realized that in this life there are people who have the will and the want, they find the way to get it done. Then there are the people who lack the want, they find an excuse. Don't make excuses, find a way to get it done.

If you are here seeking answers, you have the want, now take the next logical step. That step will vary from person to person. Maybe one day make a weekend road trip to The Strength Shop. We'd love to have you.

Best,

Matt Wichlinski

Balance

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:46:48 -0400

Speaking of balance, so many of us have to juggle a multitude of tasks in a given day. We have families, careers, second jobs (and third, sometimes), children, hobbies, and millions of other things that come up on a daily basis that keep us from having enough time to do the things we love to do. Unfortunately, that’s just the way it is. But, if you want to get certain things done, like getting your kids to practice on time, making deadlines at work, and eating the right way on a regular basis, you must not make any excuses, allocate your time wisely, and flat out get it done. Balance. Work and play, yin and yang, peanut butter and jelly, we need it to make our lives right.

Balance training to me is not doing one legged squats on a swiss ball. I feel this is almost worthless unless you are going into the circus. But it is more so the training that brings you all around quality, animal-like athleticism. I’ve met some seriously strong dudes who could barely scratch their own shoulder, let alone do an overhead squat. These people are lacking flexibility. We can all picture the marathon runner who can’t deadlift his own suitcase. Sad, really, but this person is a specialist in his field, and probably desires no balance, only faster marathon times. How about the powerlifter who can’t breathe after climbing two flights of stairs? The analogies are endless. But, if you are not an elite level specialist, you better find balance. It will enhance your life.

As far as training goes, I balance upper body with lower body, pushing and pulling, anterior and posterior chains. I work in all planes, sagittal, frontal, and traverse. If you are doing functional movements, this is impossible to avoid. This is really as simple as taking various implements like barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, even rocks and logs and picking them up off the ground and putting them over your head. It really is very simple, but do not confuse that with easy. This is certainly not the only way to achieve balance, but it is one that works very well.

Hard work is paying off

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:02:52 -0400

I had an open house this weekend at The Strength Shop and it was a good time to say the least. Had about five people ready to work out, and they killed it. Several more showed up to check the place out. We did a circuit to get everybody moving, consisting of 30 on 30 off of battling ropes, airdyne bike, pull ups/recline rows, and kettlebell swings. This lasted 3 rounds for a total of twelve minutes, and the peeps were smoked. After they came back to life, we played with some snatches of various implements, strongman lifts and prowler sprints. It was just a lot of fun. I’m planning on doing some sort of open lift session every saturday or something to get more people involved. Let me know what you think if you are interested. As usual, you can contact me via e-mail, comment below or call me @ 757-478-3410.

Opening The Strength Shop

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:44:10 -0400

It has been a long time coming, but we are finally open to build some damn strong athletes. I have been at a crossroads as to which direction is best to build my business. So many people are crazy in love with CrossFit, so I thought about putting a CF sign on the door to bring people in. After careful deliberation I found that this might not be in my best interest. There are already several CF locations in my immediate vicinity, and I do not think I do the same thing as these other affiliates. I think they are doing great things. But I am more interested in building the strength aspect in athletes before I have people doing 50 relatively short box jumps and 50 relatively light push presses for time. That is not to say that I don’t condition my athletes, we beast out in here. I know this is going to be a long process, but hopefully more and more people will find value in the service that we have to offer at The Strength Shop, you are all welcome to come get a taste.