There is so much in this article that just speaks to me, and that's a little of what I wanna talk about today. Mainly, I wanna talk about why weights and working out are such a big deal to me - why they're such an important part of my life. Specifically, strength training and getting stronger.
It was my dad who got me into lifting weights when just before I hit my teens. Actually, I don't think I started actually using weights until I was roughly 13 or so, but he had me doing pushups, situps, and the like long before that. I still remember cranking out Roman Chair Situps when I was just a tyke - probably no more than 3-4 years old. I'd sit in my dad's lap, wrap my legs around his waist (he'd hold on to make sure I didn't fall), and I'd just crank out situp after situp after situp...giggling the entire time.
As I got older, he taught me what he knew of strength training, working out, and getting stronger. It took a little while for the iron 'bug' to bite, but once it did - oh man.
I devoured magazines, books, articles, videos - whatever I could find about working
out. I'd hit the iron sometimes 3x/day, 5-6 days/week. I worked and worked and worked. I spent countless hours during my formative teenage years in the pursuit of getting bigger and stronger.I learned a lot during that time, but the most important lesson had nothing to do with workouts, sets, reps, or which exercises were best. It had nothing to do with getting bigger, getting stronger, or losing fat.
You see, the iron can build strength. It can build size. It can build power. But the most important thing it builds is character.
You can't get a stronger body without a stronger will. That's the great thing about iron. It's not like many other forms of exercise that you can just "dead-head" and go through the motions. You can lift that way, but spend the next 3 months training half-assed like that, and see if you're any stronger.
Ain't gonna happen.
It takes courage, willpower, and determination to put weight on that bar. It takes perseverance. It takes control. It takes gumption. It takes heart.
In short - it takes character. And that's what iron builds.
You can' put a new maximum weight on that bar, and unrack it without character. Well, you can...but don't be surprised if the weight buries you. It's character that gives you the confidence to hoist that weight you've never lifted before. It's character that gives you the heart to keep pushing. It's character that gives you the desire to put in the time, effort, hard work - only to come back and do it again.
It's character that kicks in when you're holding that heavy weight...you've done 8 reps...your body aches...your muscles scream...every fiber of your being tells you to put it down...
It's character talking when you say "NO WAY! I CALL THE SHOTS HERE!!!"
...and you do another rep. And then one more to make it an even 10...
...just to show who's boss.
See, here's the thing about iron - there is no right or wrong. No politics. No opinions. No best friends. No social circles. No nothing.
It's just weight. It doesn't give a damn who you are, who you know, or what your reputation is supposed to be. All it knows is that either you can lift it, or you can't.
And it's character that takes you down the road, enduring the journey to go from "I can't" to "I sure as hell can".
The character you build, though, isn't just in the weight room. It pervades your entire life. Go get strong, and see if you're not a different person. You'll have a new self-confidence. You'll have more control. You'll have more pride.
There is something to being able to walk into a room, look at every guy in there, and be able to say to yourself, "Yeah - I'm stronger than all of them."
It's not ego, though. It's just...character. It's a knowledge of knowing what you can do and can't do. And when you're strong...well...there's a lot you can do.
Getting strong and spending hours upon hours with the iron has done tremendous things in my life. The character it's helped me build has helped me not only become stronger physically. It's helped me be a better father, a better provider, a better friend, a harder worker.
It's helped give me that character that allows me to encounter ANY obstacle...
...and even if I'm outmatched right now, when all is said and I done, I'm gonna kick its ass.
Trust me - you don't build that kind of character spending countless hours doing mouse-wheel cardio in your local globo-gym.
Go out and lift some heavy weight. Grunt. Yell. Work hard. Get sore. Do something your body isn't expecting...then take it another rep or two further.
Then rest up, and come back to do it again. Repeat for the next 6 months.
See if you aren't a better man because of it.
Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard-
Matt "Wiggy" Wiggins
http://www.workingclassfitness.com
PS - If you're ready to become a better man, go here.
No comments:
Post a Comment