ZACH EVEN-ESH
Part 2

For those of you that enjoyed last issue’s profile of strength training guru Zach Even Esh here’s part two. Our very own local psycho Kelso continues with this educational and thought provoking interview of one of training’s benchmark coaches. These are great questions from Kelso and as you will continue to see Zach is one sincere guy who has really taken the time to answer these questions in depth and really provide an insight for the reader. We are extremely lucky to have the chance to have this interview as part of Brutal Training’s profiles.
Thanks Kelso! Thanks for everything Zach!

Kelso: I understand from reading your work you once went through a period, despite training and eating well, where you made no gains due to depression and negative thinking, and that as soon as you changed your focus, the results came pouring in. Could you tell us how and what you shifted your focus to? How did you break your negative pattern and what happened when you finally did?

Zach: My months of depression basically put up a road block for anything good to happen. You and I both know how spiritual training is, and how it is a form of meditation, but if the mind focuses on the negative, then negative situations and outcomes will continue.

Here are a few quotes I now know to be true:

"Man becomes what he thinks about"

"What you focus on grows"

"Thoughts become things"

As you can see from the quotes, the common trait is what the mind is thinking and how you are feeling - they create your future.

I now know that creation is always in process and I can create my life any which way I want, all through my thoughts and feelings.

I recommend, more than anything, for people to go to www.TheSecret.tv and get the DVD immediately! It is a life changing experience unlike anything I've ever witnessed!

The way I escaped from my depression was after about 6 or 7 months of depression, I woke up one morning to the sun shining in my face.

I woke up and felt alive again.....I stood up, stretched out and asked myself one critical question, "What beautiful things will the world bring me today?" My answer has never changed....."ONLY beautiful things".

I simply got so exhausted, inside and out from the depression that I had only one choice, and that was to take control and believe that everything will now go my way! I still believe this every day, and I continue to study those who understand the power of the mind, especially men like Randy Gage and Joe Vitale, both of whom have written excellent books on prosperity mind set and the law of attraction.

Very few people understand the law of attraction but once you begin to understand this law, even at it's slightest level, you become a VERY powerful person and you can literally begin creating your life the way you want it to be!

Kelso: I know that like me you are a huge proponent of animal based and gymnastic type movements, could you tell us how you got into these movements, and how they have benefited you and your athletes?

Zach: It all started back in Undergrad when Physical Education majors were required to take Gymnastics 2 x week for a full semester.

Our instructor was a former collegiate wrestler, and a very successful one as well. His physical abilities were tremendous - strength, power, speed, agility and conditioning. I never saw anything like it. Back then his training methods did not click w/me as far as using them on athletes.

I was still a bodybuilder, but when he exposed us to full body plyo push ups (both feet and hands leave ground) I got my ass kicked! He had us moving down the mat and back up the mat moving sideways by exploding out of each push up.

I was in shock! The plyo jumps on the crash mats killed my legs, endless ring pull ups, muscle ups, push ups, hand walking on parallel bars...it all was awesome, but I loved the iron.

Now, w/my experience and knowledge, I see what power these movements have on all people, athlete or not.

I remember it took me 2 months to get my first muscle up and man was I psyched!

If I opened a gym I would have all these gymnastics apparatuses in my gym, plus climbing ropes. In fact, I have a rope in my backyard that I climb almost every day, and my wrestlers use it as well. It is phenomenal for developing upper body strength, nothing beats the rope climb!

I believe in using a variety of tools though, so I have kept an open mind and always will. But, I can not deny the fact that some movements work better than others. Gymnastics movements, rope climbing - these are phenomenal for developing the athlete and non athlete.

This is why the gyms from the early 1900's and prior were called Turner Halls - climbing ropes, climbing ladders, kettlebells, gymnastics equipment, medicine balls and open areas for wrestling - these halls developed phenomenal athletes and physiques.

I think history needs to repeat itself and I plan on helping this become a fact :)

Kelso: What would you say your favourite exercise was, both for yourself and to use with your athletes?

Zach: I have found a handful of movements to be very powerful for developing strength. These are the kettlebell clean and press, sandbag shouldering, forward sled drags, thick bar deadlifts, heavy barbell or dumbbell rows, rope climbing, weighted pull ups and the barbell hang clean and press.

The above movements have delivered time and time again great gains in strength. I love them and they are excellent for all athletes!

I keep reps low in the kettlebell overhead lifts due to personal shoulder issues. Although overhead lifts were very popular with old time strongmen, I am steering away from them due to the shoulder issues I have developed from high rep kettlebell overhead work and not enough balancing with mobility and upper / mid back work.

Kelso: Who has inspired you and continues to inspire you, both in your training and in your life?

Zach: My inspiration in training has come from many of the lifters from http://EliteFts.com as well as the information I have dug up on ancient warriors. I love the methods and the info from the eastern bloc countries, especially the stuff you saw from the old time turner halls which were loaded with ropes, kettlebells, ladders, medicine balls and gymnastics equipment.

Many people have influenced my training, the list is enormous and is always growing, I am not the kind of guy who feels he knows it all or ever knows enough.
My influences in life, without a doubt Alwyn Cosgrove has inspired me, educated me, taught me and coached me in ways that experience may have never been able to show me and money simply can not buy! What Alwyn has taught me about life, relationships, living in the now, finances, training, running a business, being a great friend, a great person and so much more is what I carry with me every day.

I am also largely influenced by people I have never met, yet read about and learn from: Joe Vitale, Bob Proctor, Darren Hardy, Tony Robbins, Yanik Silver and Dax Moy, who I only met for a few minutes yet educates me every day with his "magic".

With regards to business, Dave Tate, the owner of Elite FTS always sheds light on life, family and business like no other man can.

Life is an education in itself. You learn as much as you want, or, you can become stale and simply stay in your comfortable situation and never experience the challenges and beauty that life may bring. I have made a handful of very great friends through the fitness industry, people who are amazing with energy yet selfless with giving their friendship.

I've learned about how business can go bad and how it can go good and I am learning every minute of every day.

I am learning that your business or career is only part of your life, not your entire life. The most important things to me are my family, my friends and having fun. If I'm not having fun I'm not living. Sometimes we can get caught up in the day to day craziness of trying to be better all the time and you forget about trusting the universe and allowing yourself to relax.

Kids know how to live, and as adults, we forget the kid inside of us, sometimes you simply have to stop and make sure that what you're doing is really bringing you the happiness, love and joy you've always wanted. I know I've had to go back and change things, and I'm glad I did.

I now know that doing what I love is step # 1 to bringing myself and my fmaily happiness, love, joy and anything else we want.

Kelso: What do you love most about training?

Zach: Without a doubt, it's the FEELING I get from training, any training!

Training is a form of therapy and meditation for me. It's a place where I lose myself and find myself. I can always improve how I feel, even if it's only through a matter of a 5 minute workout, or a set of pull ups. For example, I'm insanely busy with all my work and my family, and if my wife works the weekend, and she works nights, I am running pretty wild on a weekend. So while my daughter naps during the day I crank out pull ups, if I walk by my pull up bar and she is playing upstairs, I crank out pull ups. In the course of a day I will have performed 100 - 150 pull ups, all from cranking out a set here and there. It makes me feel great and keeps me sane :)

Kelso: What kind of music do you train to, what pumps you up and gets the adrenaline flowing?

Zach: I love anything that has a motivating beat to it. It might be house music, hard techno, rock, hard core rap and hip hop. I love music and always preferred a gym with loud, pumping music over the gyms that played the radio and had commercials blaring through the speakers. I hated those commercials and light music. It sapped the energy right out of me!

When training outdoors I don't use an I Pod, I just train in nature and allow the sounds to bring me deeper into my training. If I do any running though, I like to listen to music. You can't hear yourself breathing heavy and you never feel tired with the right music!

If I need to get pumped up, really pumped up, nothing beats having a great training partner. It's like going into battle, both of you are always trying to outdo the other. I've had great training partners and shitty training partners. I have ALWAYS dumped the shitty partners if they were anything less than fully devoted and super tough. I can't tolerate anything half assed, it really frustrates me and during training, all energy should be focused on the workout, not on trying to motivate someone else.

Self motivation is what I expect, mental toughness and a undying toughness and drive to succeed is what I look for in other partners. If I can't find this, I prefer to train alone!

Kelso: Zach, Id like to thank you once again for this opportunity to interview you, what you have revealed about yourself and your training in this interview and along with all of your awesome books has inspired me greatly as I'm sure it has many others. I also feel incredibly grateful for the chance we have had to communicate through this and the friendship forged.

Thanks Bro

Zach: Dude ,my pleasure, I think this bad boy is ready for the masses!

Check out Zach’s awesome sites and free E-books on offer which are second to none.

http://www.undergroundstrengthcoach.com/
http://realmanfitness.com/
http://zacheven-esh.com/
http://undergroundcombattraining.com/
http://realmansuccess.blogspot.com/

Yep he is a busy writer!