Month: June 2018

Flex Lewis epitomizes the motivation and discipline that it takes to be your best.  I am always astounded to look in on his workouts to see the effort and mindset required to be his best.  It’s downright humbling.  I like to believe that I work harder than anybody else in the gym whenever I train.  But, watching Flex helps me to put things into perspective because he always trumps my best.

I have four maxims that I use regarding my training.  I put these into place so I would keep reaching for things that are better.  1.) Never miss workouts.  Consistency is the name of the game.  Bodybuilding is as much a lifestyle as it is a sport.  Nothing gets in my way to train.  2.) Do not talk during training.  It’s not always possible to keep my mouth shut and to stay on task.  But, to the degree I can I stay on task.  I try to limit my conversations to a time and place away from my training.  My Coach, Justin Dees told me, “When people interrupt your training they are stealing your training time.”  So, I wear a headset with great music and I push through the session. 3.) Make it a point to work harder than anybody else.  Do not settle for going through the motions.  I attack my workouts so hard that my Coach has had to warn me many times about overtraining.  I have moderated my training a little —-but not much.  It’s very important to know that I have pushed myself over the top and nobody can catch me.  4.) When I leave the gym I want a “chip on my shoulder” that states, “I own this place.”

I am a collector of motivational quotes that I turn into mantras that I repeat often during my workouts. One of my favorites is again from my hero Flex Lewis, “The trophy is earned in the hours when no one is watching.”  This quote is hanging in several conspicuous locations in my home.  It constantly reminds me that my bodybuilding success is totally up to me, nobody is going to do it for me, and I MUST walk alone.  This Flex Lewis quote has had a profound impact on me as a person and as a bodybuilder.  More accurately, it reveals to me a little peak at the heart of the Champion, Flex Lewis. It pushes me to never lose track of my task at hand and to put forth superior effort to win.  This lesson cannot be taught.  This vision for success is more caught than taught.

Lastly, it has to be stated that nothing is given to us in this sport.  There is only the goal(s), our plans to get there, and the hard work required to win.  I am eternally grateful for the example Flex Lewis has set for me.  I cannot be him but I can be a much better version of me.  It takes work!

Until next time, I remain Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (ret), MHSM

This quote from Arnold shifts the entire burden for what we want to accomplish to me/us. It clearly states that our limitations coupled with our ability to dream and realistically assess what is possible.  I submit that this statement is  a template for our entire lives, not just bodybuilding.

We have to decide what we want and then assess what we want in such away that it becomes totally achievable.  Sometimes the vision comes to us like lightning and it captivates our attention and our desire to have it.  Other times, we have to spend tons of time mulling over the goal that is set before us before we can act.  The key thought in all this is that whatever we decide we want, the achievement of our goals is “entirely up to me.” Nobody an do it for me.  I am truly the captain of my OWN Ship.”  I drive every aspect required to attain the objective.

My bodybuilding career has been marked by a slow, but sure, learning curve.  I’ve made tons of mistakes but these mistakes have become “pearls of wisdom” that instruct me along the way.  Though I am a neophyte to bodybuilding I am still climbing the steep edge of the learning curve.  I don’t have the luxury of putting anything off “til tomorrow.” I have to be killin’ it each and every day.  I have to be consistent and I’ve got to work hard.  Nobody will do it  for me.  This is my game and what I accomplish is entirely up to me.

In closing, please note that all us has to take total responsibility for the things we want to obtain or win.  We have to dream big and then go about the business of daily effort to attain the end game.  As noted, “It’s entirely up to us.”

Until next time I remain, Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (ret), MHSM

This is a maxim!  There will be days when going forward with your training will seem to be too great a task.  Each of us who takes on a goal also signs up for the ultimate “day of reckoning” when we have to look at ourselves in the mirror and decide whether we have enough left in our tank to go on.

As a matter of fact, this very morning I hustled off to the gym extra early early (5:30 am) to get a head start on my training and my day.  I got there and my whole body just did not feel like it had any life in it.  Everything I lifted felt like it weighed a ton. My whole being seemed absent and I wished I was anywhere else but here in the gym.  But, as they say, “When motivation runs out discipline must take over.”  I thus, pushed on through a very heavy and intense shoulder workout.

Neutral Position – June 21 2014

This little vignette is not quite what we are driving at.  Let me explain. There will come a time when we truly think that we cannot push ourselves a moment longer toward our goal.  Fatigue will turn us into cowards if we let it.  Part of being discouraged and ready to quit is the constant sensation of exhaustion.  This state always presents itsself in the face of lots of work to do. When we reach this state (and we all will) this is where we try to remember why and how we got to this point. We have to reignite that fire that has brought us this far.  Try to bring your ultimate goal into sharp focus and never let it fade from view.  Get back in the game!  Take a little time to get refocused and return to the gym with a vengeance.  It is here, as noted above that, “When motivation runs out discipline must take over.”  This is an act of the “will” on our part.  No matter the pain and inconvenience we must press on. It is here that we reach deep for the guts to win.

In closing, all of us will experience times of absolute discouragement and fatigue, this is a given.  To win we must remember where we came from.  How we got to where we are and what we need to do finish the race that is set before us.  My admonition/challenge to all of us is to get up when we are down even if it’s totally an act of the “will.”  This is where champions are formed.

Until next time I remain, Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (ret), MHSM