Courage

Hey Sam,

I've noticed that you've gotten bigger, and that you're a lot stronger than you were like a year, or so ago.  To what do you owe that?

Thanks,

John

Hey guy,

Courage.  Above all, I had the courage to admit that I was not a strong man.  After this I gave proper credibility to strength; a stronger man is a better predator, harder to kill and more worthwhile in general.  Once I determined that the  pursuit of strength is a noble endeavor there was no choice but to get under the bar and move resistance.   

I did not use my outstanding personal trainer skills to design some fancy program for myself.  Shit, I didn't need a program at this point; I wasn't even strong enough to need a detailed program in order to make big gains!  Once again I had to display courage......regularly and without care for what others thought about me.

It takes courage to get under the bar, but more importantly it took courage for me to get out of my 'comfort zone' and push myself to the limit. I did not put any restrictions on my pursuit.  Therefore, I did not have any excuses and I did not have something to point to as a 'limiting factor'.  It took a lot of courage for me to be honest with myself; when my gains were suffering I scrapped my vegan diet and established a comprehensive approach to my strength training.  

It takes courage to change. I took it up a notch and embraced it by using my newfound enthusiasm for changing in order to take myself from the intermediate strength level to the advanced level.  At nine or ten months into my strength pursuit I could do repetitions with double my bodyweight in Deadlifts and 1.5 times my weight in squats, I could overhead press 75% of my bodyweight once while also being able to do 10+ pull-ups and 60+ push-ups; I met all of the qualifications to consider myself 'strong' (and a more threatening predator). 

Now, I have the courage to admit that I am only scratching the surface.  I am presently capable of gaining strength AND conditioning at the same time, while also improving my combat skills.  Those are my qualifications for well-rounded fitness.  Too many of these so-called fitness enthusiasts are a threat to no one and only look like they can defend the honor of themselves and their loved one; if you cannot sustainably move your body, lift relatively heavy weights and fight a little bit then you are not a complete physical specimen. 

Getting back on topic....I had the courage a year ago to identify myself as an incomplete physical specimen and do something about it everyday.  Many of these days I got under the bar and moved progressively heavier resistance, and all of these days I stayed the course and persevered through whatever obstacle presented itself.  Now I'm into completing myself; I am well on my way to running a sub-20 minute 5k (I'm at 22:15 right now) while being able to squat double my bodyweight (I'm 25 lbs. away now), deadlift 50 lbs. more than double my weight (I'm 25 lbs. away), press almost my bodyweight (stuck at 75% for now) and I will begin sparring with competitive boxers in the next month.

For me it's all about courage.  I've pushed my 'comfort zone' once again.  That may be the key to lifelong health and fitness, and thats what I'm all about.  Thanks for noticing my gains, and I appreciate the question.  Keep them coming.  I love you all.