The Battle Against Mediocrity is at an all time high.
I had NO clue that you get made fun of for working hard. So these kids are saying it’s cool to be average? It’s cool to be a follower? I can’t accept that.
Perhaps the easiest thing to do is see what all the average people are doing and then you can do the opposite.
Fridays are for my boys…..
Instead, you train on Fridays, then you hang out with your friends.
9 AM workouts on the weekends. I used to LOVE weekend lifting, the gym I went to opened up at 6 or 7 AM and I loved being there first. I felt pride that I was training before the majority.
9 AM is too early, man…..
Stop staying up so late at night, then, after training you get a power breakfast and weekends are an opportunity to sneak in a nap, which is great for recovery and making strength / performance gains.
Yes, I HEAR these things, even at the college level. Which reminds me exactly why YOU must be better than the majority who have the “common” excuses.
Do NOT be the common athlete. Be The UNcommon athlete.
The world is too sensitive. That sensitivity and entitled feeling of always being offended comes from lack of strength. Lack of strength comes from lack of struggle.
Tell someone to work harder in the gym, practice or at work and they shut down and can’t move forward. We need to be open to feedback and let the feedback inspire us, not weaken us.
Tell someone else to pick up their dog crap off of YOUR lawn and they look at you like you’re the bad person. I was 5 years old with our first dog and I KNEW back then without my Dad telling me, you do NOT leave dog crap anywhere, especially on someone else’s lawn.
I have adults older than me who are too busy to get off their cell phone and pick up their dog crap. These are all lessons of strength. STRONG people follow through, they do all the little things.
Listen, do you want to be a successful HUMAN, not just a successful athlete? Then be GREAT, work harder, show up early, stay after practice late and just DO MORE WORK.
Less talk, MORE action.
I see high school coaches getting fired on the regular because parents and athletes complain behind their back and say “He’s too mean”.
Does “too mean” actually translate to the Coach wants athletes showing up on time, being disciplined, working hard, not allowing excuses? I think all of that sounds GREAT because it makes you a better person, NOT just a better athlete!
Ironically, I’ve seen athletes defend their coach who leads the team to a losing record year after year after year. The kids are actually defending mediocrity and taking pride in it.
Is losing 75% of your games / competition even considered mediocrity? That’s called FAILING. I see Coaches like this being in charge year after year. Would you be happy if your child achieved failing results from The Underground?
No. You want excellence from us and I LOVE that. I do not fear the high expectations and I push our Coaches to love it as well. Good enough is not tolerated from the Coaches, I tell them all the time, be great, there is NO other option.
Below is a Video with Mark Ironside, a 2 x high school state champ and 2 x national champ from Iowa under Coach Dan Gable. I used to watch him wrestle when I was younger myself.
There is MUCH to learn here, regardless of your sport! Listen, Watch, Learn & APPLY!
What do you do on your OWN?
Get a job helping a landscaper or construction worker over the Summer
Enter Road Races and run a 5K a few times
Pick up Basketball, Baseball, Football, Wrestling at the park? I have NEVER seen this!
If the Coach is more motivated than the athlete, there is something wrong there.
The Underground is NOT going to lessen our standards. Keep fighting and training to be Awesome. There is no other option!
I had a blast getting interviewed by the crew at The Asbury park Press.
LISTEN HERE:
Think about it.
At The Manasquan Underground Strength Gym, the parks and rec department gave us ahard time for playing Ultimate Football on a random basis at a desolate park.
In 8 years, I have NEVER seen kids playing Football at this park.
The Basketball courts are empty or maybe have 2 kids shooting hoops.
Do we not play on our own?
Baseball on our own?
Football?
Kill the man with the ball?
STOP treating your child like he / she is a fragile snowflake.
I always have this echoing voice in my mind from a Navy SEAL program where the instructor told the boat crew who kept losing, “Just find an Excuse to WIN!”
Normally, we find an excuse to quit.
Excuses are everywhere, how about we find a bigger WHY, dig deeper and find a REASON to fight and WIN.
I promise the pain of regret will haunt you for a lifetime.
This week while you’re on break from school, that’s the ticket.
FIND A WAY.
Let the competition find an excuse, you must dare to be great and that always means your path will be different.
Another tip……
I was listening to an interview with world bronze medalist wrestler, Nick Gwiazdowski, who was a college national champ as well.
He spoke about how his goals kept evolving in high school and the big change was when he placed in states, he realized it wasn’t as big a deal as he once thought.
He realized that if he’s going to states, he might as well go there to WIN.
Prepare, Perform, Prevail.
Train to WIN.
Some of you show up and I can tell, you’re just there for a “workout”.
You’re NOT “training”.
TRAINING has a specific goal and you’re training for something, to achieve something.
A workout is what you do with no real goals or intentions of achieving something GREAT.
We will see you this week!
FIND A WAY.
Live The Code 365,
Zach and Team
PS: In Season or Off Season Training?
Well, this is NOT a commitment to The Underground Strength Gym.
It’s REALLY a commitment to yourself.
When you look at your training at just a sometimes thing, or a convenience thing, well, your results will
always be up and down.
Work hard enough and become GREAT, that’s how this investment pays off.
College Scholarships and more.
Get after it. Success is Not an accident.
PPS: Forward this blog to Coaches and Parents of athletes.
Your support in spreading the word means the world to me!
If you’re a Coach, Teacher, Booster Club Parent, Athletic Director or Principal, you will want to look into The STRONG Life Academy asap.
Now……
Onto our topic for today.
I am a “Success” Junkie. I am constantly studying what separates the good from the great. Not just in athletes, but in all walks of life, all careers, etc.
My heart wants ALL of our athletes to be THE BEST, but, then I remind myself that this is simply NOT reality. If ALL of you are the best, then we ALL get the gold medal, and we all win, and it’s always a tie.
So I was listening / watching a video with Navy SEAL, Jocko Willink where he was discussing character.
In a nut shell, it’s ALL about doing the HARD thing.
“Doing the right thing is often the HARDEST thing to do”
It’s easier to quit.
It’s Easier to blame your parents, blame the ref, blame your coach.
It’s HOW you show up when the chips are down.
When the sports season starts….. Do you quit and blame school or do you find a way?
I look at our best athletes, they are also achieving honors in academics and going to great schools like Princeton, Rutgers, Johns Hopkins, NYU, etc.
They don’t choose 1 thing to be great at, they choose to be Great in ALL areas of life.
Excellence is all encompassing.
Decide now, how will you show up when things are not convenient, you’re busy, etc.
The most successful people keep going while average people quit.
I say it all the time, and, as I type this, I am 1 hour away from Manasquan at a packed Tennis club.
I drive up here 3 x week, 1 hr each way, all Summer for my daughter.
There is an investment of time, money and energy.
Then, my daughter must forth the work.
These are full day camps, 6 hrs of training.
So when I tell parents and kids “what it takes”, I LIVE this.
I find a way.
I don’t seek out what is cheapest or most convenient.
I wanna see the athletes of The Underground crushing it!
You see, I just can’t relate to accepting average and losing.
It bothers me because ALL kids are capable of GREATNESS.
You must find a way, otherwise, you will find an excuse!
Make sure your ACTIONS match your words.
I hear it ALL the time from athletes, they TELL me how great they want to be but they have a laundry list of excuses. I am not sure where these acceptable excuses come from but it’s BS if you want my opinion 🙂
Be a worker.
Otherwise, you will be average at best. Excuses help no one.
3 TIPS For NJ Athletes Who Want MORE Success In Sports AND Life
The past few years have been the most confusing times for parents seeking to help their kids achieve greater success in sports. There are literally millions upon millions of articles, videos and other content pieces on the internet delivering information on how to train for sports.
The main issue is that very few of these informational pieces are tested or proven to be effective and more importantly, safe. There is little to no filter to determine what gets shared on the internet or not. Before you know it, you are overwhelmed with information and get trapped in fads and gimmicks vs results.
To help your child achieve more success in sports, I’m going to share with you 3 critical tips that will not only help your child achieve greater success in sports, but also in life. Time is of the essence and if you waste time on ineffective, unsafe training methods, your child never gets this time back.
Tip # 1: Be Consistent All Year. Both Off Season AND In Season.
This seems so basic yet it is actually rarely put to use. The athletes who train year round, consistently are those who achieve more success and have less injuries that sideline them during the season.
Look at D1 sports. The athletes train ALL year. They don’t Stop Strength & Performance training in season or Only train the 3 months pre season.
Success Takes NO Vacations. You Must Decide as a Parent if you want your child to be GREAT or just to be part of the team. BIGGER Success requires Greater work ethic and dedication.
Throughout the years I have noticed a BIG decline in consistency for in season strength & conditioning with athletes.
Parents get caught up in over doing the skill work and what ends up happening is the athlete increases his risk for the following:
Overuse injuries. Too much repetition of movement without the required tendon / ligament and muscular strength to handle the repetitive forces increases injuries.
Psychological Burn Out. When an athlete gets no rest or break from skill work not only do they get physically run down and eventually injured, they also get mentally burnt out. The mental burn out leads to doubt, lack of confidence, lack of enthusiasm for training and lack of passion for the sport altogether.
Strength & performance training is best performed year round, having different programs for the off season and in season.
An in season program can be as short as 1 – 2 sessions a week and lasting less than 30 minutes at a clip. Once a week training = 100% more than ZERO training.
If you stop training in season, you can’t expect to improve, let alone maintain strength and power output in your sport. After 2 weeks of skipped performance training, the gains built up in the off season will begin to decline.
The most important time to continue strength & performance work is IN season because the athlete is already performing 6 days a week of skill and competition training. As an athlete and parent, this is a BIG opportunity to get ahead of your competition because the majority of athletes / coaches completely stop in season training and double up on skill work, which is the exact opposite of what successful athletes do.
Commitment to a year round performance program not only develops a more “bulletproof” body against injuries but it also teaches the athlete the commitment required to succeed in life. When the going gets tough and times are busy, you learn how to commit to your training program and you rise above those who quit during tough times or busy times. This is a Lifestyle choice.
An effective strength and performance program will build the mind just as much as it builds the body. A strong mind is the ticket to success in sports and life!
Tip # 2: Get Stronger. Parents and athletes have been tricked into thinking strength is a bad thing. You hear the fallacy of “strength will slow you down”, “strength will add bulk”, “strength training will hurt you”.
Strength Is NEVER A Weakness
If it was so easy to get strong and bulky you would see countless high school athletes 200 + lbs with lean muscle. But, this is simply NOT the case. Success takes Work both in the gym and at home from nutrition to sleep to overall lifestyle.
Injuries comes from being weak and inadequately prepared. Anything done incorrectly (Sports Skills, Strength Work, Speed Work, etc) will hurt you, slow you down and impede your performance.
When strength training is properly performed, the athlete becomes:
– Faster & More Explosive
– Less likely to get injured
– Develops greater speed and power
– Increases confidence and mental toughness
Why do we see 3 – 4 times as many athletic injuries among high school athletes than we did 10 years ago?
The big issue is because they have not developed the strength to tolerate the overuse of skill work.
When you’re body is weak, it will find a way to stop your training if you refuse to slow down. Injuries are mother nature’s way of sending the body messages that something is NOT right.
Through the past few years I have seen countless varsity athletes come to The Underground Strength Gym unable to perform 1 good bodyweight squat, 1 pull up and 10 push ups. We see weak muscles, tight muscles and poor movement patterns.
Things MUST change if you want to Succeed. Calisthenics and proper mechanics are a must if you want to excel in your chosen sports.
No amount of speed & agility work will fix these weak muscles. The development of speed comes from developing greater strength and learning how to move better.
Looking at the opposite end of the spectrum, if your child is among a group of athletes all with a high level of skill, he will hit a wall eventually if he does not get stronger.
To separate himself from the pack, he must develop greater strength which will carry over to better skill and technique in their sport.
Tip # 3. Live The Lifestyle, 365.
At The Underground Strength Gym we teach our athletes what we call “Live The Code 365.” The foundation is built upon honesty, integrity, commitment and work ethic.
This means that every day they are improving and striving for excellence in all areas of your life, every day. Every day, you must improve in at least one area of your life, be it academics, nutrition, sleep, your training, the people you hang out with and even the way you think, the books you read and the movies you watch.
At the end of each day, the athlete should be honest with himself and be able to truly know if he has improved in at least one area in life. Success in sports and life go hand in hand.
To achieve greater success you need to work smarter, not just harder. Achieving goals requires consistency and work ethic. A strong mind will teach you to overcome obstacles and to rebound from setbacks rather than being stuck in a rut.
The most powerful lesson learned through a safe and effective strength & performance program is the ability to overcome the challenges in training, all of which require a strong mind.
Don’t get caught up in the fads or the gimmicks. Don’t get overwhelmed and confused with the countless information pieces you see everywhere. It is the commitment and consistency to a safe and effective program that will help your child take his / her success in sports and life to the next level.
Zach Even – Esh is The Founder of The Underground Strength Gym in NJ with Locations in Manasquan, Scotch Plains & Middlesex.
Zach has consulted and trained athletes from the youth level to the Olympic level using his results proven Strength & Performance methods. To help your child achieve more success, take action Today & sign up for a FREE Trial.
Above: Ray Jaz / NYU Wrestling, Bryan McLaughin / Woodbridge Wrestling (Drexel Commit) / John Poznaski / Colonia Wrestling
The Importance of Strength Training for In-Season Athletes
Many athletes and their parents are quite often worried about too much stress on the body during their sports season. They are right to be concerned, but they are mistaken to completely ditch their strength and conditioning program.
When an athlete is trained properly, he / she CAN handle in season strength training. In fact, this athlete will THRIVE and make progress while the competition begins to regress as the season continues.
But, an athlete who eats poorly, is inconsistent with strength & conditioning and has a “good enough” attitude towards training will never succeed at the highest levels.
And who wants to be good enough, right?
Being Stronger, Faster, More Confident & Less Susceptible to Injury is always a BIG advantage for athletes!
A properly designed and implemented strength and conditioning program during the IN Season is key for an athlete’s performance and health throughout the year, ESPECIALLY during the times they are in season.
Here are 4 Crucial Reasons Athletes Should Continue Strength & Conditioning In Season If They Want to Win More:
1) GET STRONGER WHILE THE COMPETITION GETS WEAKER
The Strength base is the foundation for an athletes sports performance: Speed, Explosive Power, Confidence……
Who wants to be weaker than the competition? NO Strength Work in season = Getting Weaker.
When you do not strength train for 2 – 3 weeks, the athlete will begin the process of losing strength, losing flexibility, endurance, confidence and sometimes athleticism & coordination is lost as well (depending on their sport).
Using proper in season strength training with short workouts, 1-2 times a week (some of our highly motivated athletes train more) during the season, depending on the sport being played, will help build upon the athlete’s off season Improvements and can even increase them farther.
An athlete should always be looking to increase their performance in season.
After all, The Season is what you’ve trained so hard for all through your off season.
In College, ALL athletes train year round. College athletes & coaches KNOW that this is crucial for having the physical and mental edge over the competition. But, for high school athletes, too often their parents pull them from in season training and tell us later, this was a big mistake they wish they never made.
Some of our athletes only train once a week for 25 minutes on average.
More is not better. Better is better when it comes to training athletes.
2) MINIMIZE / REDUCE INJURIES
Reducing your chances of injury is something all athletes are paying attention to.
Parents as well. The injury rate of athletes has increased dramatically through the years due to too much sports skill practice and not enough joint / muscular strength.
Almost all sports will cause muscular imbalances that can lead to injuries. Through receiving proper coaching, an athlete can improve their imbalances which improves sports performance. By improving your muscular imbalances you will reduce the risk of injury. 3) IMPROVE RECOVERY
Training in season will improve the recovery of the athlete.
Athletes are bound to get sore and beat up during their seasons. The best medicine for an achy body and muscles is movement to bring blood flow and range of motion. A proper workout will help ease this soreness, and keep the athlete ready to perform.
The goal of our in season strength program at The Underground Strength Gym is to improve your sport workouts / practices, NOT to take away from your sports performance.
Our motto is you’re done before you’re done.
Training optimally in season, NOT maximally. This type of smarter training improves your recovery and improves your performance.
4) BOOST CONFIDENCE
One of the biggest benefits of strength training is not the physical, but the mental strength you will develop and build upon.
In Season Strength Training creates a sense of confidence and mental toughness within the athlete that is above and beyond the competition who is not strength training in season. Training in-season will keep this mental edge and a dramatic leg up on the competition.
As you can see, in season strength training has powerful benefits when properly implemented.
Here is something to remember while wondering if you should come in and train…
“Doing a short 25 – 45 minute in season workout is 100% more than doing nothing to get better.”
If you want to be GREAT….
If you want to Win More…..
If you want the opportunity to achieve your best, then there truly is NO option.
Find the time to train in season while the competition finds excuses.
Parents – Sign Your Child Up for A FREE Trial & Athlete Assessment HERE
This is a powerful mindset video I want to share with our athletes in Manasquan, Edison and soon Scotch Plains…..
The mind is so crucial to success not just in sports, but in ALL areas of life.
Being a Champion in Sports but mediocre or “good enough” in your academics and social life is unacceptable.
That’s NOT what we teach at The Underground Strength Gym.
Be GREAT in ALL areas of your life. Consistency in your Relentless Pursuit of Excellence must be expected from yourself first and foremost. When you hold yourself to a higher standard, you make yourself better and everyone else around you better.
If you’re a team sport athlete, I always remind you, your team is only as strong as your weakest player.
Do you want to be great?
Wondering when or how your success will finally happen?
Watch this important video and share with any coaches / parents / friends who would benefit from this video.
Opportunity Is Knocking
Parents – Here’s How We Can Help Your Child. Details HERE
