One foot outside
To be excellent at anything we must have one foot solidly
outside the realm of reality. This does not mean we can go stark raving mad. We
must also maintain one foot solidly inside the box of reality. Maintaining
connections with friends and family is important for a healthy life. The cliché
of training outside the box applies to superiority more than average training.
Having a six pack or cannonball delts is average training. Why be normal? One
cannot reach alpha status being typical. Sports require years and years of
focus, persistence, and plain hard work. Powerlifting and weightlifting require
more work than most sports. Appearance based training is easy when compared to strength
and conditioning for sports.
Strength sports require us to ignore instructions given to
almost all of us early in childhood. “Don’t pick that up its too heavy!” We are
conditioned to avoid exertion at very young ages. Parents reinforce such
inhibitions time and time again. How can we possibly become shockingly strong
with youthful instructions telling us to not even try? We need to step outside
what is normal. Be a little crazy. Stop listening to the voices in your head
planted by parents and teachers in youth. Do not just try. Lift the weight.
Make the effort. Do the work. Do not try, do or do not. Learn and move forward.
A normal life requires us to participate in social
activities. Even if we are not club goers or bar hoppers we need to be able to
interact with everyday people when we cross paths. Say hello to people on the
street. Talk to people you do not know. Be friendly. Hey Californians, if
someone says hello to you on the street say hello back. It does not take that
much time from your day to say hello. I am all for people having character.
Charisma is a slippery slope. A psychologist I used to train worked with
incarcerated children. He told me to be careful with people who have charisma,
“that’s all they have”. Normal is different for each of us. Be friendly as you
get stronger. It will earn more points than being a bully. Be a gentle giant.
 |
| One of the nicest guys you will meet. Assuming you are not full of it. |
Some of the friendliest people I have met are world champion
powerlifters and weightlifters. Strength in the real world is more than just
physical. Mental, emotional, and physical strength are required to be truly strong.
I know a lot of well above average strength people who are just bullies. They
try to intimidate everyone. This is neither normal nor strong. The mentally ill
often self-medicate. Sometimes they use alcohol, sometimes prescription drugs,
and some use exercise. I have known many of these people over my thirty five
years in the gym. Do not be one of these self-medicating ogres. If you need
medication take it. If you are angry take it out on the weights not the people
around you. If someone harms you take it out on the weights. Be friendly
otherwise. Only be other than normal in training and competitions. Do not be
normal at these times. Set the standard and tell everyone you are in charge.
Eating is social. Watch people eating alone the next time
you go out to eat. They are usually occupying the food server of looking very
nervous. We are all different when it comes to eating. Strength athletes are
some of the best athletes when it comes to manipulating bodyweight. The
stimulated metabolism is responsible. I can manipulate my bodyweight and not
lose any strength up to 10% within a week.
If your strength is compromised you have lost too much weight. Athletes
do not want to be normal when it comes to eating in this society. Normal is fat
in the U.S. Keep one foot outside the box of normalcy when it comes to eating.
There are three body parts we must sculpt to make the
physique appear trained. The calves, the abs, and the shoulders create the
framework which catches attention. This framework appeals to normal people
sufficiently. If we want to appeal to athletes we must also train all the
muscles of the hip structure. Athletes are not normal people. This is why they
are glorified. Be a true athlete, be a great citizen, a great person, a great
athlete, and a great specimen of health. Do not be normal. Be outstanding.
Athletes are examples of what we want our society to characterize.
When our country goes to war professional sports teams often take nicknames
like “the bad boys”. Rules are broken in games to a fault. Athletes are not anticipated
to be normal in society. Be normal in everyday activities. Do not be normal in
training or competition. Represent what you want our society to characterize. I
hope it is something admirable.
No comments:
Post a Comment