The Barbell is a Mysterious World
Since Monday I have been in the Mountains with my entire family: Emily Drew, Bailey, and Rock. We have been visiting my mother and our extended family. I have probably had the most fun showing all of them where I grew up. However, last night we were at a local restaurant eating with a big group of my relatives, and I realized just how different that I am from almost everyone else in the world.
I came to the restaurant directly from working out at the local gym. My hands and arms were throbbing from the abuse of the past few weeks of training. My bright red palms were swollen and callused from the countless reps of Snatch, Cleans, and Deadlifts. I told my wife that I needed to soak my hands and forearms in ice. My mother overheard me and immediately projected a facial expression of horror.
“Travis, why do you abuse your body like that,” she asked?
I started to explain the constant pursuit of improving the body, but then I refrained. I mean Why? She has heard my rants a million times. She just doesn’t get it, and that’s ok. I don’t get her either. I just love her for her.
However, all of you guys are different. You are a part of my mysterious world, so I am going to try and articulate the reason behind my madness. Why does a 42-year-old man continue to beat his body into submission? Especially me, I mean I have already won world championships and broken World Records. What do I have to prove?
Here is a news flash! I am not trying to prove anything! I just love it man!
I remember when my uncle told me that the Incredible Hulk was a real man named, Lou Ferrigno. What? People can actually look like that in real life? I was amazed. Of course I asked the question, “How did he get to look like that?’
My uncle told me that he was a bodybuilder, and that he lifted weights and ate a super diet to pack on muscles. I was eleven-years-old at the time, and the rest is history. My cousin took me to the local gym, and I have never looked back.
I discovered that the body was pretty much like a piece of clay. If I wanted to get big, all I had to do was churn out a lot of heavy reps and eat like a horse. If I wanted to get strong, then I had to lift heavy weights often. If I wanted to get ripped, then I would drop the calories and shift the macronutrients around a little bit.
This is great, but the body is capable of so much more. A proper workout can make me faster and jump higher. If I focus on relative strength, then I can move like a ninja. If I focus on work capacity, I can become a great CrossFit or Grid athlete. My body is capable of just about anything that I want to throw at it. I just have to do the work and be disciplined.
In a world filled with so many variables that are out of our control, the body’s ability to adapt to just about any stimulus is a breath of fresh air. The prospect of competing in the Grid League this past year got me back in the gym with a vengeance. With the Carolina Team folding, I didn’t get on the Grid, but it still awakened my passion for training. I have been hitting the gym hard since December, and now I am getting in the same or better shape than I was in ten years ago.
The other aspect of training that keeps us all grinding away is the hopes of uncovering that Golden Nugget that seems to propel us closer to our goals. One such nugget lately has been Cory Gregory’s “Squat Every Day Plan”. Squatting every day has improved my mobility, and it has charged my CNS to move more quickly. It is the Nugget that I have been looking for.
I mean, I am 42-years-old, and all of a sudden I stumble upon a way of working out that has me lifting weights that I did 10 years ago. It is like the fountain of youth to me. It’s amazing that I can still learn something new after 31-years of training that gets my own training back on track, and that opens me up to a whole new way of training that might help my own athletes.
This is why it is so important for coaches to continue training, as we get older. We should be the experimental test dummies. This is what keeps me training so hard that I can barely hold my fork while at dinner. The body is simply amazing. The body is a small glimpse on earth of just how amazing God really is. God has given our bodies an amazing ability to adapt, and that is exactly what it is doing when we train. How amazing!!!!
The body’s ability to adapt and change is one of the biggest reasons that keeps me on the grind. I love it! I want to see exactly how far that I can push my body. I want to see what it is capable of. The biggest reason that I train is to inspire others to take control of their bodies. God gave us these amazing machines. We owe it to Him to keep them in shape.
Some people paint! Some people sculpt! I Train! Training is my art. It is the way that I express myself. Training is the way that I inspire others. The gym is my studio! Competition is my Gallery!
This probably won’t make a difference to the people that don’t like to train. However, you Lovers of the Barbell will totally get it, and that is enough to keep my going! That is The Barbell Life!
Here is a video that shows how well the “Squat Every Day Program” is working for me:
To learn more about how to turn that passion into an awesome business, check out the Underground Strength and Learn 2 Lift Certs. going down in September and October. Zach Even-Esh and I are going to drop knowledge bombs for you guys! Check it out at:
USC and L2L Certs in September and October!
Check out the Mash Mafia Online Teams! See which one meets your needs!
Join the Mash Mafia Online Weightlifting Team!
Join Team Eat & Lift What You Want!
