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I get asked quite a bit about how we train and what we do. To sum up our strength training in one statement: “Bodybuild the Upper and Athlete the Lower.”

Pick a template and follow it to its entirety. Learn and observe what did and did not work - understand what went south and how to make it go north.

The more that I work with people, the more that I believe the adage of "bodybuild the upper, athlete the lower".

I recently did a podcast with Nick Holderbaum - we discussed training, self-worth, Bruce Lee and everything in between.  The episode is about an hour long; so if you are doing a weight vest walk, driving to/from work or just want to bask in the glory of my voice, give it a listen.

Attached is my plan of attack. I’m a full time firefighter, a Dad and I dabble in strongman. With my work schedule, 24 on 48 off, it can be difficult to find a solid schedule that works. After years of bouncing around trying to find a good fit, I finally sat down and laid out my goals.

Many years ago while at EFS, someone asked me, "What's the best way to get lean?" (or something similar). To this day I stand by my answer, "Never get fat in the first place." While I did follow that up with some very basic advice there is still a lot of truth to it. I see it every day I coach young kids. The kids who grow up with poor diet/exercise habits are in a constant stage of trying to dig themselves out of a hole that is damn near impossible to get out of. And it can consume them for the rest of their lives.

I'm amazed at how many people train kids like they are Olympic level athletes who need some advanced programming/training.  It is also equally obnoxious to train them like they are elderly or made of glass, having entire workouts of pre-hab, rehab and balance work.  If you are an athlete who hasn't mastered basic calisthenics, running and bodyweight movements, you better build your base before you try to touch the clouds.  No base = no foundation.  And a proper foundation isn't built on a Bosu.

Add "Beefcake" to your list of nicknames.

And the things that are stronger than other things on your body? Well, these are what made you strong in the first place - make them even stronger than ever. In other words, dance with the girl you brought.

Make sure each and every rep is done in such a way that the triceps is the focus  - don't just hammer the reps.  In other words, make slow, passionate love to the back of your arms.  Don't be a High School Jackhammer.

When I first started lifting weights, I squatted, pressed, and pulled. I did these lifts with very little thought – I just muscled the weights up in an all-out effort to break every world record in less than two years. I didn't think about my stance or my grip or where my shoulders were when I bench pressed. I didn't think about anything.

I jokingly call this WALRUS training because it is the fat, gross cousin of the Navy SEAL.  This is for the Suburban Commando; able to mow any lawn, shovel any driveway or clean out any amount of gutters.  Obviously, this is very tongue in cheek.  If you can rip off 200 squats, 100 push-ups and 50 chin-up/pull-ups with an 80lbs vest in 30 minutes, you are going to be in pretty good shape (and strong) for just about anything.

This past week we have seen both the Facebook pages and Instagram page be shut down; we don't know the actual why as the "reasons" have been numerous/random and make no sense.  Our posts have been demonetized regularly the past two years, products have been removed from the Facebook store because they included words like "freedom" and descriptions contained concepts of individual strength and a disapproval of the victim-hood mentality.  We also previously received "strikes" for using the terms "responsibility" and "body weight" too close together.  Never mind that I write strength training articles that include body weight exercises but according to them, this is offensive speech.

A few years ago, Vincent Dizenzo and I were talking about training and he stated that if he had to choose one main pressing movement for training, it would be the dip. At the time we had this conversation, I was unable to perform dips due to shoulder issues. So I immediately became jealous. But I also saw the truth in his statement.