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Bodyweight Bodybuilding Secrets
Copyright © 2011, All Rights Reserved.All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the expressed written
permission from Zach Even-Esh. Fines start at $150,000 and include a possible prison sentence upon conviction.
Disclaimer:
You must get your physician’s approval before beginning this exercise program. These recommendations are not medical guidelines but are for educational purposes only. You must consult your physician prior to starting this program or if you have any medical condition or injury that contraindicates physical activity. This program is designed for healthy individuals 18 years and older only.
The information in this e manual is meant to supplement, not replace, proper exercise training. All forms of exercise pose some inherent risks. The editors and publishers advise readers to take full responsibility for their safety and know their limits. Before practicing the exercises in this e manual, be sure that your equipment is well-
maintained, and do not take risks beyond your level of experience, aptitude, training and fitness. The exercises and dietary programs in this book are not intended as a substitute for any exercise routine or treatment or dietary regimen that may have been prescribed by your physician.
See your physician before starting any exercise or nutrition program. If you are taking any medications, you must talk to your physician before starting any exercise program, including any exercise or demonstration performed in The Bodyweight Bodybuilding Course. If you experience any light headedness, dizziness, or shortness of breath while exercising, stop the movement and consult a physician.
Don’t perform any exercise unless you have been shown the proper technique by a certified personal trainer or certified strength and conditioning specialist. Always ask
for instruction and assistance when lifting. Don’t perform any exercise without proper instruction. Always do a warm-up prior to strength training and interval training. You must have a complete physical examination if you are sedentary, if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes, if you are overweight, or if you are over 30 years of age.
Please discuss all nutritional changes with your physician or a registered dietician. If your physician recommends that you don’t use The Bodyweight Bodybuilding Course or any other Underground Strength Courses, please follow your doctor’s orders.
Waiver and Release of Liability:
(READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PERFORMING ANY EXERCISES IN THIS MANUAL)
I UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE ARE RISKS INVOLVED IN
PARTICIPATING IN ANY EXERCISE PROGRAM AND / OR ANY EXERCISES CONTAINED WITHIN THIS MANUAL IN CONSIDERATION FOR BEING ALLOWED TO UTILIZE THE INFORMATION IN THIS MANUAL, I AGREE THAT I WILL ASSUME THE RISK AND FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR DETERMINING THE NEED FOR MEDICAL CLEARANCE FROM MY PHYSICIAN AND OBTAINING SUCH CLEARANCE, THE SAFETY AND/OR EFFICACY OF ANY EXERCISE PROGRAM RECOMMENDED TO ME, AND ANY AND ALL INJURIES, LOSSES, OR DAMAGES, WHICH MIGHT OCCUR TO ME AND / OR TO MY FAMILY WHILE UTILIZING THE INFORMATION IN THIS MANUAL AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT
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Perhaps you’re like me, addicted to strength and heavy lifting. Perhaps you fear that bodyweight alone just won’t cut it physically AND mentally. That was the case with me a while back as I felt the emotional need to have a heavy barbell in my hand.
NO problem. You can crank the popular 5 x 5 program or Jim Wendler’s 5 3 1 program in conjunction with bodyweight training. The bodyweight workouts will be your
supplemental lifting and they can be performed with slightly less volume than outlined in phases 1, 2 and 3.
5 x 5 has MANY variations, but, the variations you will use are the two variations I have found most effective at The Underground Strength Gym.
Option 1: 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
In option 1, you keep adding weight until your 5th set is your final set and the heaviest set. BUT, I have found that we tend to reach our heaviest set by the 4th set, so we end up repeating it for a second set of 5 reps for extra volume. Here and there, we have athletes who aren’t super strong and end up hitting their heaviest set of 5 by set 3. In this case, I have found that two hard sets are all you need to get the maximum bang for your buck. Here and there, we drop the weight on our last set and crank some extra reps in the 6 - 10 rep range.
Most of the time we perform a basic barbell lift 2 - 3 weeks in a row, performed once a week. Week 1 we work up to our heavy sets of 5 and introduce ourselves to the movement, on week 2, we get a heavy 5 and a heavy 3, on week 3, we get a heavy 5 and 2 heavy sets of 3. Jim Wendler builds to a heavy single but we rarely do heavy singles unless it’s our most advanced and experienced college athletes and even then, it’s NOT a balls to the wall single rep as I found NO benefit in max singles unless you’re a powerlifter testing yourself.
Option 2: 5 x 5
In option 2, you perform a few warm up sets with low reps and find a moderately heavy weight, about 75% of your true 5RM. From there, you perform 5 x 5 with the SAME weight, resting 90 seconds between each set. This gets brutal, especially by the 4th and 5th set.
Experiment with both methods of 5 x 5 and also experiment with how we tweak Jim Wendler’s 5 3 1 with our 3 week cycle. If we do a 2 week cycle we pick a similar
movement the next 2 weeks and once again do 2 heavy sets of 5 and the next week a heavy 5 and a heavy 3.
Pick any of the barbell movements listed below for your Main Lift, rest 60 - 90 seconds between each set and then flow into your bodyweight workouts. This bodyweight program is very much influenced by Louie Simmons and the Westside Method, aka The conjugate method, where exercises are rotated through to avoid burn out, reduce injuries as well as splitting focus days of strength and speed.
The extra differences I added to Bodyweight Bodybuilding Secrets was a pure muscle building day, which Westside lifters do AFTER both their max effort (strength) days and dynamic effort (speed) days. The hybrid day is a day to explore, practice new movements as well as mixing various methods into one day as opposed to having a singular focus.
Do you need to perform a barbell lift before EVERY
bodyweight workout?
NO. You can do these barbell lifts anywhere from 1 - 3 x week. I highly recommend that when you do use these barbell lifts, you alternate from upper body, to lower body to full body movements.
For example, squatting one workout and deadlifting the next time will prove too brutal on your lower back and overall nervous system. You’ll experience greater gains and higher energy levels by perhaps squatting or deadlifting one workout, then pressing (bench or military) the next workout.
Here is a list of barbell lifts to choose from along with the focus area. Each exercise is hyperlinked to a video demo
Exercise Focus
Deadlift (Straight or Trap bar)
Lower Body
Squats Lower Body
Zercher Squats Lower Body
Deficit Deadlift Lower Body
Exercise Focus
Snatch Grip Deadlift Lower Body
Floor Press Upper Body
Bench Press (varied grips) Upper Body
Press (Strict) Upper Body
Push Press Upper Body
Incline Press Upper Body
Hang Clean & Press Full Body
Hang Clean Full Body
Power Clean (from ground)
Full Body
Power Clean & Press Full Body
Below you will see an 8 week sample 5 x 5 training program to give you an idea of how I roll with 5 x 5. Each cycle is repeated twice, week is for 2 heavy sets of, week 2 is for a heavy 5, a heavy 3 and sometimes a lighter set for a tough 8 - 12 reps.
On 5 x 5 I train 2 or maybe 3 x week with the barbell lift. I found great results with 2 days of barbell work, another day of solely bodyweight training and on “off days” I used active recovery and snuck in some GTG bodyweight work. Day 1
1A) Squats 5 x 5
1B) Box Jumps 5 x 3 on 30” box 2A) squat jumps 5 x 10
2B) lunge jumps 5 x 5/5 ea. leg
3B) sleds / prowler work 3 x 150’ 4) ab circuit 4 x 10-15 rep range
Above, the back of Franco Columbu. The thickness developed came from being strong as hell with deadlifts and pull ups!
Day 2
1A) Swiss Bar Floor Press 5 x 5 1B) Rope Climbs 5 x
2A) Med Ball Cross Over Push Ups - VIDEO 4 x 10 2B) Recline Rope Rows 4 x max
3A) sled sprints 4 x 150’ 3B) power wheel abs 4 x Day 3
6 - 8 Rounds AFAP A) Squat Jumps x 10
B) Mixed Bodyweight Pushing (dips / push ups) x 10
C) Mixed Bodyweight Pulling (rope climbs, recline rows, chins, etc) x 10 D) Lunge Jumps x 5 / 5 each
E) Any Ab Exercise x 10 Day 4
1A) Squats 5 x 3 - 5 reps
1B) Box Jumps 5 x 3 on 30” box 2A) weighted squat jumps 4 x 10
2B) weighted lunge jumps 4 x 5/5 ea. leg 3A) glute ham raise + weight 3 x 8 - 15 3B) sleds / prowler work 3 x 150’ 4) ab circuit 4 x 10-15 rep range
Day 5
1A) Swiss Bar Floor Press 5 x 3 - 5 1B) Rope Climbs 5 x
2A) Med Ball Cross Over Push Ups - VIDEO 4 x 10 2B) Recline Rope Rows 4 x max
3A) sled sprints 4 x 150’ 3B) power wheel abs 4 x Day 6
6 - 8 Rounds AFAP Add Weight to Each Exercise A) Squat Jumps x 10
B) Mixed Bodyweight Pushing (dips / push ups) x 6 - 8 reps
D) Lunge Jumps x 5 / 5 each E) Any Ab Exercise x 10
Day 7
1A) Zercher Squats 5 x 5
1B) Depth Jumps 5 x 3 on 30” boxes - VIDEO
2A) Weighted Back Extensions 45 degrees 4 x 10-15 2B) Sled / Prowler Sprints 4 x 150’
Day 8
1A) Push Press 5 x 5
1B) Weighted Pull Ups 5 x 5 2A) Various Plyo Push Ups 5 x 5 2B) Recline Rope Climb 5 x 3) Power Wheel Ab Work 4 x Day 9
5 Rounds for Time A) Glute Ham Raise x 12
B) Weighted Ring Push Ups x 12 C) Rope Climb
Above, heavy T Bar Rows with Franco, a favorite exercise of mine!
Day 10
1A) Zercher Squats 5 x 3 - 5
1B) Depth Jumps 5 x 3 on 30” boxes - VIDEO
2A) Weighted Back Extensions 45 degrees 4 x 10-15 2B) Sled / Prowler Sprints 4 x 150’
3) Ab Circuit 4 x Day 11
1A) Push Press 5 x 3 - 5
1B) Weighted Pull Ups 5 x 3 - 5 2A) Various Plyo Push Ups 5 x 5 2B) Recline Rope Climb 5 x
3) Power Wheel Ab Work 4 x Day 12
5 Rounds for Time A) Glute Ham Raise x 12
B) Weighted Ring Push Ups x 12 C) Rope Climb
D) Run 200 meters
Day 13
1A) Kettlebell Swing 5 x 5 (light for speed and nervous system stimulation) 1B) Trap Bar DL 5 x 5
2A) Bulgarian Split Squat Jumps 4 x 6/6 ea. leg 2B) Glute Ham Raise 4 x 15-20 reps
3) Ab Circuit 4 x Day 14
1A) Thick Bar Bench Press 5 x 5 1B) Chest Slap Push Ups 5 x 3
2A) Various Med Ball Plyo Push Ups 3 x 10 2B) Recline Rope Rows 3 x max reps
3) Various Band Work for Shoulders: pull aparts x 100 reps total 4) Ab Circuit 4 x
Day 15
AFAP: Do NOT break up exercises, complete prescribed reps, then move to next exercise
1) Pull Ups x 50 reps total 2) Push Ups x 75 reps total 3) Squats x 100 reps total Day 16
1A) Kettlebell Swing 5 x 5 (light for speed and nervous system stimulation) 1B) Trap Bar DL 5 x 3 - 5
2A) Bulgarian Split Squat Jumps 4 x 6/6 ea. leg (hold light weights in hands) 2B) Glute Ham Raise 4 x 6 - 10 reps with weight
3) Ab Circuit 4 x Day 17
1A) Thick Bar Bench Press 5 x 3 - 5 1B) Chest Slap Push Ups 5 x 3 - 5
2A) Various Med Ball Plyo Push Ups 3 x 10 - 12 2B) Recline Rope Rows 3 x max reps
3) Various Band Work for Shoulders: pull aparts x 100 reps total 4) Ab Circuit 4 x
Day 18
AFAP: Do NOT break up exercises, complete prescribed reps, then move to next exercise
1) Squats x 100 reps total 2) Push Ups x 75 reps total 3) Pull Ups x 50 reps total
Day 19
1) Deficit Deadlift (2-3”) 5 x 5
2) Power Wheel Or JG XT Leg Curl x 50 total reps 3) HEAVY Sled Drags x Max Distance x 10 Minutes 4) Ab Circuit 4 x 20 reps each
Day 20
1) Hang Clean & Press 5 x 5
2A) Mixed Bodyweight Pulling (rope climbs, pull ups, etc) 5 x submax 2B) Dips 5 x submax reps
3) Power Wheel Abs 4 x (roll out, pike ups, knee tucks) Day 21
1A) Lateral Wall Walks 4 x submax reps 1B) Recline Rows 4 x max reps
2A) Squat Jumps 4 x 10 2B) Sprints 4 x 50 yds
3) Jump Rope Intervals 5 minutes: 40 seconds work / 20 rest Day 22
1) Deficit Deadlift (2-3”) 5 x 3 - 5
2) Power Wheel Or JG XT Leg Curl x 75 total reps 3) HEAVY Sled Drags x Max Distance x 10 Minutes 4) Ab Circuit 4 x 20 reps each
Day 23
1) Hang Clean & Press 5 x 3 - 5
2A) Mixed Bodyweight Pulling (rope climbs, pull ups, etc) 5 x submax 2B) Dips 5 x submax reps
Day 24
1A) Vertical Wall Walks 4 x submax reps 1B) Mixed Pull Ups 4 x submax reps 2A) Lunge Jumps 4 x 6 / 6 ea. leg 2B) Run AFAP 4 x 200 meter Rest 3 minutes, then....
5 X 5 + BW FAQ
Q: I LOVE lifting heavy and I’d like to keep the heavy barbell lifts going, how can I improve my health and minimize my injuries?
A: Follow and USE the prehab - rehab - mobility work from Kelly Starret, Eric
Cressey, Mike Robertson, Jonny Hinds and Bill Hartman. I also recommend Yoga of ANY type, not just Eischen’s Yoga
Q: If you had to choose the safest squat or deadlift movement which would you choose?
A: GREAT Question! I have used the zercher squat with GREAT success. I used
it when I tore my meniscus and wanted to keep my legs strong prior to surgery as well as during a low back injury. The zercher squat doesn’t sit on your back or cause the stress of heavy weights in your hands like a deadlift. BUT, like ALL exercises, some agree with you and perhaps not with me so experiment with what works best for you. In 2nd place would be the trap bar deadlift for me.
Q: I am VERY time crunched due to work and family commitments and can only train 2 x week. Have you ever performed 2 barbell lifts in the same workout, having a 5 x 5 day and then a bodyweight day?
A: Oh yea! Bill Starr does a similar version in his book ‘The Strongest Shall
Survive’. I’ve often done an upper + lower combo only resting enough to change the weight. Combos such as deads + floor press or bench press work great. Back Squats + Benching I found to be brutal on the shoulder joint, so if you use this combo, opt for zercher squats instead of back squats.
The Underground Strength Coach Catalog
Zach Even - Esh is a Strength & Performance Specialist located in NJ. Zach is the Founder of The Underground Strength Gym, a private warehouse gym for athletes and hardcore strength addicts. You can gain insider access as to how Zach trains his athletes and operates his business via the resources below.
The Power Wheel
http://ThePowerWheel.com
The Power Wheel is one of the most powerful training tools I have ever used for wrestlers. It allows us to walk on our hands, perform animal movements, abdominal / core exercises, hamstring exercises and much more. You can use them on grass,
cement or a wrestling mat. If you use them on cement wear work gloves or cooking mits to protect your hands from sharp objects. This is a MUST have tool for ALL serious wrestlers.
Get one of the best upper body and core training devices on the
planet at
www.ThePowerWheel.com
Underground Kettlebells
www.UndergroundKettlebells.com
Kettlebells will help you will develop tremendous grip strength, athleticism, speed / power and full body strength.
Kettlebells are the ultimate anywhere / anytime training: They can be thrown on grass fields, carried, pressed, rowed, pushed and pulled from all angles. Tie thick ropes or towels through them and perform curls, carries, rows, swings and more for the ultimate tool to develop full body strength, power, fat loss and mental toughness.
The Underground SandBag
www.UndergroundSandBag.com
Sandbags are one of the most effective training tools for serious strength addicts. They are, literally, an all in one gym. You can perform movements for lower body & upper body as well as full body movements. You can throw your bag for power and carry your bag for conditioning. The sandbag is extremely versatile, allowing you to perform complexes where you combine 2 - 5 exercises in a row using the sandbag without having to change the weight or even put the sandbag down. Get your FREE Underground Sandbag Assault Course HERE
