Vince Del Monte Interviews Elliott

Intro by Mike Westerdal

I don’t know about you, but whenever I want to learn something new I always seek out the best. In college I would lift weights with the offensive/defensive lineman and than I’d go running with the receivers and d-backs.

Not much has changed today. When I wanted to compete in powerlifting I found some of the countries strongest training at Tampa Barbell and I instantly knew that’s where I had to go a few days a week.

Same thing goes for my career. Elliott and I went to a fitness summit seminar in Orlando, FL about a month ago so that we could keep up with industry trends.

That’s where we met a guy named Vince Del Monte. Maybe you’ve heard of him? He’s got one of the Internet’s most popular muscle building and six pack ab sites.

Vince was really excited about our Lean Hybrid Muscle training and wanted to do an interview with Elliott. We had it transcribed below for you. It was cool to meet up with Vince. A lot of you have been asking about ab training and Vince was our go to guy in that department. So it was pretty cool how we could teach him about super hybrid muscles and he could give us some pointers on getting the abs to pop.

Here’s a pic of Vince with his girlfriend Flavia. They’re celebrating his 30th birthday party in the Dominican Republic as we speak.

He’s got a cool surprise lined up for you guys next week, but I’ll tell you more about that later.

Here’s the interview Vince did with Elliott while we were in Orlando.  Later, MIKE

1) Vince: Tell us a little about yourself and how you hooked up with Mike Westerdal on this project.

Elliott:  I am a strength and conditioning coach, personal trainer, gym owner and professional strongman. I train athletes and fitness clients get stronger, leaner and reach their full physical potentials. Long story short… I’ve spent my entire life; since I was in high school, studying, coaching, training and motivating people I care about to become the best that their capacity would allow.

Mike and I played college football against each other and without ever formally meeting each other traversed similar paths post-college. Mike is a power lifter and motivates athletes with his website criticalbench.com. I am a strength coach and motivate clients at my gym. When we finally met it was like a perfect union. Besides, we both have similar values and
He and I are both passionate about training and helping people.

2) Vince: Is the lean hybrid muscle building program just about strength training and getting stronger?

Elliott:  No. In fact, we started manipulating our training variables with the sole purpose of burning fat since Mike and I had put on so much weight getting stronger.

What makes this different than most typical fat burning programs though is that we also wanted to maintain as much muscle and strength as possible while getting leaner.

Yes, Mike and I are both strength athletes but we are also ex-college football players, family men and regular guys that want to look and feel good just like everyone else.

3) Vince: What if you don’t have access to strongman training equipment, can you still do these hybrid workouts?

Elliott:  A lot of people get this confused. Hybrid Muscle training is NOT about the equipment being used… these are just tools. The essence of Hybrid Muscle training is found in the manipulation of training variables, basically how you structure your reps, sets, rest intervals, intensity and frequency.
You can do this with ANY training tools. Barbells, dumbbells, cables, medicine balls, and machines… whatever you like.

I just happen to be a strongman and like using strongman equipment for myself and my clients. But it is by no means  necessary. What is necessary is a willingness to train hard, get uncomfortable and strive towards your fitness goals like your life depends on it.

4) Vince: We haven’t heard much about the type III muscle fiber. What is it and how did you first hear about it?

Elliott:  It’s funny, there are many things that have the capacity to change our lives but we rarely if ever hear about them. Then all of a sudden someone re-discovers one of these lost gems and brings them to the market like it’s brand new.

Kettle bells are not new, but now everyone is jumping on the kettle bell bandwagon like its best thing since sliced bread.

This Acai berry is another example… it’s not like someone really discovered it. The freaking berry was sitting in trees for thousands of years and them some dude comes along and puts it in a bottle and now he’s a hero.

I had been using a similar type of training to increase my strength while simultaneously improving endurance for my strongman competitions. I was first introduced to the idea of lifting heavy for a lot of reps by my friend Tom Mitchell.

I did some research and found that a similar model to this was being used by a guy named Charles Staley; he called it Escalating Density Training. Then after some further research Mike stumbled upon a book titled The Purposeful Primitive by Marty Gallagher. In this book Marty introduces us to a few guys who had been doing decades of research on Type 3 muscle… guys like Ori Hoffmeckler and others.

5) Vince: You’re a pro strongman and a strength coach. I read that you once said, “Strength has been stigmatized in our society.” Could you elaborate on that?

Elliott:  Haha! I have a tendency to be over inflammatory at times… but the truth is that this DOES piss me off. It’s just amazing to me how many people still buy into the lie of getting “something for nothing”. This is why “get rich quick” schemes still exist and why infomercials selling stupid ab-buster gadgets are still around.

I don’t care what anyone tells you… getting fit, building muscle, brining fat or any worthy goal that you set is going to take work. You are going to have to work hard, cultivate discipline, become focused, relentless and obsessed. This is a law of nature, it’s the law of the farm… you can only REAP what you SOW.

To build muscle, you are going to have to get stronger… there is no other way. You can “feel the burn” all you want, but until you start adding some challenging intensities to your workouts you are just playing with yourself.
Yes. I do think “strength has been stigmatized” in our society… also honesty, honor, integrity and discipline.

These are all foundational VIRTUES that are the cornerstone to living a fully self-actualized life. But they ALL require hard work and awareness to develop. Most people are too blind and lazy to accept and pursue this… so instead, they simply bash it.

6) Vince: Why is hybrid cardio a better use of time than traditional cardio machines?

Elliott:  Research has shown that interval training is better for fat loss than long, low intensity stints of “cardio”. This has already been accepted, I don’t need to prove it.

But “Hybrid Cardio” or what I like to call “resistance cardio” is a bit different in that we can use weights or other resistance training tools to enhance our cardio training.

Things like sled dragging, prowler pushing, sand bag carries, kettle bell swings and even wearing a weighted vest all add a moderate muscle building response to your typical cardio routine. Besides, in my opinion this stuff is just much more fun than jogging on a treadmill anyway.

7) Vince: Name your top five favorite “hybrid exercises” that someone can do in a commercial gym.

Elliott:  This is a great question because most people are going to be trying these workouts in a commercial gym. But keep in mind that ANY exercise can be classified as “hybrid” by simply manipulating the training variables according to your goals.

The following exercises are cool because they tax the muscular and cardiovascular system together.

#1. Barbell Squat Push-Press
#2. Reverse Cable Wood Chops
#3. Barbell Hang Cleans
#4. Dumbbell Farmers Carry
#5. Barbell / Dumbbell Overhead Lunges

Vince: Why is it called the Lean Hybrid Muscle program?

Elliott:  Like I mentioned before… Mike and I started experimenting with these workouts with the main goal of getting leaner without losing muscle or strength. We both realized after a short while that we are not only getting leaner with these workouts but we were gaining muscle mass at the same time!

So the word “Lean” is of course because we wanted to get leaner. The “Hybrid Muscle” part describes two things: first the Type 3 Muscle fibers we spoke about earlier as well as the hybrid nature of these workouts. Combining all of the training modalities (strength, muscle building, conditioning, functional) into one workout is hybrid.

9) Vince: Why do you want to burn fat and build muscle at the same time instead of doing one at a time?

Elliott:  Speed and sanity. Let me explain… first, I am impatient. I like to get what I want as fast as possible and I’m willing to work as hard as possible to get it. I don’t read into astrology too much, but I am an Aries… the Aries is a “fire sign”. I’m not too sure what this means but it sort of dictates my personality. I get super hot and create destruction with speed… but then I’m done. Haha!

So speed first and then sanity… I would just lose my mind if I had to “bulk” and “cut” like most bodybuilders do. I was sick of being fat but didn’t want to lose any strength.

10) Vince: Is there a different program for men and women?

Elliott:  A common myth is that men and women need to train differently. I am no scientist but I can tell you from experience that women do very well training with Hybrid Muscle Variables. In fact, the results that women get at my gym are often better than the men.

This is simply because this is the first time they have been exposed to strength training. So, all types of cool things start happening like their posture improves and this means that the boobs stand up a little higher. Also, since we include so many squats in the programs there is a significant tightening and firming up of the gluts.

We may design a program specifically for women in the future but the foundation will still be exactly the same. Work hard, get stronger and train like you life depends on it!