Some of our athletes quietly come to The Underground Strength Gym, doing their training with a RARE, quiet intensity. They don’t say much but their intensity speaks quite loud….

Sometimes……

I find out about the success stories of our Manasquan & Edison athletes through following a newspaper reporter on Twitter or Facebook.

Other times…..

I get a text message or perhaps an e mail from the parents or the athlete telling me how they did at a recent competition.

Some of our athletes and parents are private, they don’t want to even tell me about their success stories. They feel as if they are bragging so they don’t tell others.

I understand both aspects…… The quiet intensity AND the pride and desire to tell others about your success.

You fear that if you tell others it will look like bragging, but it is not bragging.

We LOVE hearing your success that comes through your dedication and hard work.

You EARNED your success.

Remember: You Get What You Earn!

This morning, I came across some posts from coaches and parents and saw some great news I want to share with some powerful lessons behind them.

– I saw The Santaniello bros placed In States.

Vincent placed 5th and Anthony 4th.

They are both work horses, these 2 boys.

We’ve been working together for a long time now at The Underground Strength Gym. Anthony started in 5th grade and Vincent began in 7th grade.

Weekdays, Weekends…. These boys are here on the attack along with our other middle school athletes.

Often times I give these boys the opportunity to finish their workout and then I turn around and they’re doing what we call “Champion Workouts”.

This is when the athlete trains through his OWN desire. You give them the opportunity to stop or leave and they refuse to stop, they go and train more. Their inner drive guides them to work harder than the competition.

I’ll see The Santaniello bros and the other boys from our “middle school wrecking crew” climbing the rope, doing pull ups, pushing sleds and more.

When I see the extra work, THAT is the difference maker.

We Can’t Make You Do the Extra Work, YOU Must WANT It Yourself.

After seeing the news of Anthony & Vincent achieving All State Honors….

I saw a Facebook Post about 1 of our Edison Underground Strength Gym Wrestlers, Anthony White of South Plainfield.

The post I caught was from Steve Giordano, 1 of the best coaches and athletes I’ve ever known.

Steve was a very big inspiration to me as he was a few years ahead of me in my younger years and I would see Steve in the newspaper or at the local gym tearing the place apart with his intensity.

I STILL remember seeing how intensely he trained at the gym. The memory is imprinted in my mind and that was dating back to the Summer of 1991!

The Post Said….. “Congrats to Anthony White. STATE CHAMP.”

I saw the post around 11 AM on Sunday and I was in shock and also a bit confused for a second because after every training day, my coaches and I check in with one another regarding who trained that day, who skipped their workout, who cancelled, who worked hard, who didn’t work hard, injuries, etc……

And the E Mail from SUNDAY morning says “Anthony White was in and he killed it…..”

I start thinking to myself if we have ANOTHER Anthony White because I JUST saw that Anthony White won the states by PIN yesterday. I’m asking myself how the heck he trained the day after winning a state title?!?!

I’m also thinking and assuming that Anthony would probably be exhausted the day after winning a state tournament and would need to sleep in Sunday morning, especially being it was day light savings AND he probably needed the rest after battling through a state tournament??!!!

So I e mail Coach Rosa to double check and he tells me YES indeed, Anthony not only killed the workout but he also didn’t look the least bit tired.

WOW!!!!

This story reminded me of how Dan Gable went running the day after he won The Olympic Gold Medal.

[youtube width=”700″ height=”400″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beJQAHE6PvQ[/youtube]

Anything more that needs to be said about Anthony’s work ethic and dedication is a waste of time & energy if you don’t understand what this young kid is doing through his OWN motivation and how this applies to your success or perhaps your lack of success.

The Other Side of The Story…

Last week I had an athlete on a JV team tell me he missed workouts because he maxed out in the high school weight room.

If you’re on Varsity and the top recruit on the east coast, OK, maybe you’re busy doing a LOT of work.

But…..

If you’re NOT dominating the competition, WHAT excuses can anyone have that is truly valid? The answer is None!

Let me explain…..

Maxing Out in high school doesn’t exhaust you. We’ve been training Football Players since Day 1 and the BEST always show up even when doing these “max outs”.

And by the way, high school athletes who max out are often NOT technically or emotionally ready to hit their best 1 Rep Max AND use safe, proper technique. At The Underground we test every workout, BUT, it doesn’t have to be a 1 rep max. We push for regular progress but it ALL comes down to doing it right.

When you’re in shape as we train you to be, the training we do does NOT interfere with your sports practice or your lifting outside of here. You CAN handle lifting or sports practice and then come to The Underground.

The Champion wants MORE than the norms. Joe Average will make excuses.

WHO are you?

What type of athlete are you?

The norms are doing exactly what your teammates are doing.

The norms are doing what the competition does.

Do NOT get comfortable because maybe you’re the best kid on YOUR team or the strongest athlete in the weight room. “Big fish in a small pond” scenario.

Or, you live in the past……

The glory days….

Your team USED to be good or USED to dominate. The past is GONE. Stop being delusional and taking pride in how your team USED to be. NOW is what counts. Period.

I’ve seen MANY “Gym Strong” athletes who can bench heavier than everyone else BUT, their training does NOT carry over to their sports performance. When we train you at The Underground Strength Gym, the goal is giving you the edge BOTH physically and mentally in Your Sports.

The training has what is called “Transfer of Sport” so it makes you better in your sport. When you win a Football game, Wrestling match, etc no one asks you how much you bench? You either win or lose.

No one asked Anthony White how many pull ups he can do or how fast his 1 mile run is. He won the GOLD medal and is a NJ State Champ. Results Count!

This is why we don’t give a crap when an athlete tells us “I maxed out at school and Squatted 365.”

Then, the same athletes squats with us, yet he is Squatting 165.

WHY the 200 lb difference?

Because of EXCELLENCE. We do it right. Half reps don’t get approved here.

Technique and Sports Performance, THAT is what counts. The half rep, dangerous technique max outs and round back lifts do NOT aid your sports performance. Period.

Those who dog it in their training, making excuses and avoiding the work, eventually, it catches up to them and the lackluster results show up.

I see it ALL the time in ALL sports. Baseball, Football, Wrestling, Soccer, Swimming, Basketball. The truth catches up to you! You get what you earn.

Now…..

Even though this ad below from Ernest Shackleton is a folk tale, I wonder which of our athletes would apply if this was related to training for sports?

Sounds crazy, and if people wanna call me crazy that is ALL good by me, because the “normal” people never achieve greatness.

I WANT to work with the Crazy Athletes who are hungry to become Champions.

In fact, We ONLY want to work with Hard Working, Highly Motivated, Hungry, Dedicated Athletes …..

THESE are the Young Men Wanted for The Underground Strength Gym of Edison and Manasquan.

IF the Coach is more fired up than you are to attack training, you’re not digging deep enough. You don’t want it bad enough. You think you’re good enough.

Good Enough is the Death of Greatness

You’re just “playing sports”….. That’s how many see it. Just happy to be part of the team, not caring about that losing record year after year.

What we do in Sports is sooooo much more than “playing sports”……

It’s a journey you take in life, where you face obstacles and must slay your inner demons, slay the dragons on your back that try to hold you down and conform you to become like “everybody else”.

Anthony White just set a new standard……

Hold the standard or get out of the way!

Live The Code 365,

–Zach and Team–

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Hard Working, Dedicated, Passionate Athletes & Supportive Parents ONLY