Author: Doug Graham

go to http://www.sixpackandsenior.com for all my photos and posts

All of us has taken on a task or established a goal that is seemingly too big. But, even when the objective seems to disappear and discouragement is the order of the day we press on toward our goal undeterred. All of us have had those “defining moments” when we have to face ourselves and either put up or shut up. We go into cloistered psychological room that we shut the door ahd seal it behind us. This is a “hill to die on!” We set our course, we bragged about what we were going to do to all of our significant friends and colleagues. We bough the T-Shirt that had the logo on the front, “Winning is the only option!” Now, for some very personal reason we want to be released from our own promise to ourselves.—-ouch! But, how do we do it and not lose face? Let me give you an unsolicited, heartfelt, bit of advice from the annals of. personal experience…..for what it’s worth. I don’t give a damn about your excuses or the changing circumstances you are now enmeshed in. My advice is this, “Get your ass moving and do it.” The net effect of backing down from your personal commitment to excellence will have repercussions that will not only affect you, but it will damage all your friend’s respect for you and this will be part of a legacy that you do not want to live. The last part of my advice to all of us is, “Winning is a choice (and I don’t care what the job/game is) and my hardest lesson in life is that you can have, “Excuses or you can win!” But, you cannot have both.

I gave up on a very successful athletic career because I told myself that I had no support, I had no money, my heart was not in it—-The list of bullshit I fed myself took me to my predictable end. I became less than I could have been. So, I implore all of us to “STAY THE COURSE! BE PATIENT AND ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY!” After all, this journey is yours and nobody and make this journey except you. Only you can win because you choose to win…..

Bottom Line: “You started this……so finish it in style!

go to http://www.sixpackandsenior.com for all my posts and photos.

“TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE”–All of us have heard this refrain over our lifetimes. It’s so pithy and obvious that it is Jaw Dropping! But, let’s take this self evident quote and pull it apart a bit. First, we have to come to grips with our own mortality. Every person has an expiration date or a shelf life. The end of all of us in this world is not only predicted, it is guaranteed. Nobody gets out of this life alive. Harsh truth but is is unavoidable. It’s for this reason that we try to live each day as it is our last. As the title tot his article says, “YOU’LL NEVER GET THIS DAY BACK.”

So, let’s focus on us bodybuilders, professionals, parents, clergy, and just basic good people. Each day when we get up we are all given the same number of seconds, minutes, and hours today. We can choose to languish in bed or around the house wondering how to spend these precious moments OR!!! You can get out of bed and start to look for the things to do that lift us, motivate us, defines us and drives us to our next level of existence. You have to have a plan. An old saying that I picked up about 40 years ago says, “HE WHO AIMS FOR NOTHING—HITS IT EVERY TIME!”

Today has to be our best. We will never get a “DO OVER”. In bodybuilding we have to use the gift of time to be focused, consistent, advancing, and moving toward our next goal. If we miss workouts or defr our bet efforts then we will surrender tomorrow to nothingness by sheer neglect. The greatest lesson for us bodybuilders with this universal truth is that we cannot win if we give the victiory away by neglect.

My last contest I slacked off toward the day of the show. I got my ass kicked. A totally stupid self-inflicted wound….Never again.

So the reality I am espousing here is that we have no choice. We either seize each day with focus and purpose or suffer the humiliation of being unprepared. Life is like that in every endeavor.

Bottom Line: Spend what you have wisely (time) or regreat the idiocy of los due to self neglect and laziness.

This is your time…..Never back down. The night cometh……win now and be ready!

This is where we all begin. Now take a look around for anything that you can bring to the fight. Use what you have….Never look back! I often get questions about how to get into the game of bodybuilding. Too often there is a general lack of logic that is behind the question. The question is really is aimed at “WHY” do I want to do this thing called bodybuilding. In my world, this is the most important question a beginner will ask. Unless this question is satisfied and a clear answer is derived and fixed in the mind of the neophyte there will be no need to proceed. I encourage seekers of the wisdom of bodybuilding to get alone and think about “WHY” he should start and subject himself to these rigors. This first step is the all important step. It cannot be ignored, or stepped around or taken lightly. This is your moment of truth and only you can decide….Choose wisely BODYBUILDINGSON!! I’ve heard that “Today is the first day of the rest of your life!” Very pithy and self apparent but in many ways it is absolutely true when you decide you are going to enter the bodybuilding world. The most important thing to remember it is here and NOW where you start. There’s no place to go. There’s no special dispensation of angels that will move you forward. This room. This family. This gym. This garage is where it all begins. Today! I will start reaching for the person I imagine in my most private times. Grow where you are planted. Now get started right here and now. Take a look around! Do you see a “magic carpet?” I didn’t think so. But, you do have a few things lying around to use. First, you have you. Nobody can ever take this truth away from you. You can be pushed. You can be disciplined. Nobody use you better than you. Next look at the basic tools required. Some of them are right in front of you but you have never seen them. Chairs, benches, bicycles, calisthenics, motivational videos and a host of things you overlooked before. Now, arrange them in a logical sequence of uses designing everything to make you better. Be free with your thinking. Get creative in youre approach to betterment. There is always something that will propel you forward, higher, and faster….Don’t overlook the obvious by seeking or wanting a short cut. The final stage is: “Doing what you CAN do!” We all have jobs. Many of us have families that require tons of our time. Sometimes some of us are actually physically ill or very much out of shape. Some of suffer from acute discouragement from close friends, relatives, and knuckle heads. This is what you can do. Never talk about what you are attempting to accomplish. The weak people will mock you mercilessly. They will do all they can to get you to quit. Ignore them. Pick a time to work out that attracts the least amount of attention. Out of sight preferably. Never say to yourself that this is too hard. Nothing in life worth having is easy. But! I can assure you that this journey will be “worth it!” Find a gym. If you can afford a coach—get one! All items to help you are on the table….so them all. Nobody is looking for perfection but we are looking for us progress. In summary: 1.) Start where you are. 2.) Use what you have. 3.) Do what you can. I would also throw in the admonition: “NEVER GIVE UP!” Why start if you are going to quit just because it’s hard?

SPARTAN Series #273: “START WHERE YOU ARE, USE WHAT YOU HAVE, DO WHAT YOU CAN!”

go to http://www.sixpackandsenior.com for entire article and all my photos, and posts

I often get questions about how to get into the game of bodybuilding. Too often there is a general lack of logic that is behind the question. The question is really is aimed at “WHY” do I want to do this thing called bodybuilding. In my world, this is the most important question a beginner will ask. Unless this question is satisfied and a clear answer is derived and fixed in the mind of the neophyte there will be no need to proceed. I encourage seekers of the wisdom of bodybuilding to get alone and think about “WHY” he should start and subject himself to these rigors. This first step is the all important step. It cannot be ignored, or stepped around or taken lightly. This is your moment of truth and only you can decide….Choose wisely BODYBUILDINGSON!!

I’ve heard that “Today is the first day of the rest of your life!” Very pithy and self apparent but in many ways it is absolutely true when you decide you are going to enter the bodybuilding world. The most important thing to remember it is here and NOW where you start. There’s no place to go. There’s no special dispensation of angels that will move you forward. This room. This family. This gym. This garage is where it all begins. Today! I will start reaching for the person I imagine in my most private times. Grow where you are planted. Now get started right here and now.

Take a look around! Do you see a “magic carpet?” I didn’t think so. But, you do have a few things lying around to use. First, you have you. Nobody can ever take this truth away from you. You can be pushed. You can be disciplined. Nobody use you better than you. Next look at the basic tools required. Some of them are right in front of you but you have never seen them. Chairs, benches, bicycles, calisthenics, motivational videos and a host of things you overlooked before. Now, arrange them in a logical sequence of uses designing everything to make you better. Be free with your thinking. Get creative in youre approach to betterment. There is always something that will propel you forward, higher, and faster….Don’t overlook the obvious by seeking or wanting a short cut.

The final stage is: “Doing what you CAN do!” We all have jobs. Many of us have families that require tons of our time. Sometimes some of us are actually physically ill or very much out of shape. Some of suffer from acute discouragement from close friends, relatives, and knuckle heads.

This is what you can do. Never talk about what you are attempting to accomplish. The weak people will mock you mercilessly. They will do all they can to get you to quit. Ignore them. Pick a time to work out that attracts the least amount of attention. Out of sight preferably. Never say to yourself that this is too hard. Nothing in life worth having is easy. But! I can assure you that this journey will be “worth it!”

Find a gym. If you can afford a coach—get one! All items to help you are on the table….so them all. Nobody is looking for perfection but we are looking for us progress.

In summary: 1.) Start where you are. 2.) Use what you have. 3.) Do what you can. I would also throw in the admonition: “NEVER GIVE UP!” Why start if you are going to quit just because it’s hard?

go to http://www.sixpackandsenior.com to see all photos and posts

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” I Cor. 13:1. This is where we start. To be real and truly authentic we have to be that very thing we profess to be……

I’m of the opinion that too often we spend tons of time trying to tell others that we are great rather than allowing them discover that we are much more than what meets the eye. When you impose yourself on others with a sense of how great we are, you have lost your audience…..We become proverbially the “sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” As a friend told me in my early Christian days, “you are so loud I cant see you or understand you.”

A little more: Be who you are right now. Determine what you want to become. Begin moving in that direction and do it smartly but silently. Work so hard that others will ask you how you do it. Silence in the pursuit of excellence always bears superb results because the results will be real and undeniable.

Arnold Scharzzeneggar one wrote an article he called loosely, “My struggle –Alone.” Hinting that what you see before you was forged by his own will and effort and ultimately –alone…They gym is an unforgiving crucible that demands our full attention as we labor alone. When we are alone we do not have the great friends and colleagues screaming in our ears to keep going, higher, harder, and faster. We retreat to a place that belongs only to us. I read someplace that Kevin Levrone who is an accomplished pianist plugs in Vivaldi or other great masters and he allows the workout to flow around him as he trains. The whole thought of his personal space driving him forward was an amazing motivator to me. I’m no Vivaldi but there are some great tracks to listen to.

Working in Silence strengthens the character and demands only that we are true to our efforts and our goals…Always remember, “People never judge us by our effort. They judge us by our results. So, let me admonish all of you/us to ‘SHUT UP, TRAIN HARD, EXPECT THE BEST FROM OURSELVES,—-AND THE WORLD WILL BEAT A PATH TO OUR DOOR!” Winning is everything but the silent refiners fire is that which prepares us for success.

Bottom Line: You are the love of your life and others. You are the Silent Champion that the world will judge by what we produce….in Silence, Alone, and Determination to be our manifest best.

go to http://www.sixpackandsenior.com for all articles and photos

“NOBODY IS GOING TO DO IT FOR YOU!” We all love to talk a great game because it costs us nothing to pontificate and bloviate with our chest stuck out. But in the real world there are no short cuts to success. I’ve had business associates talk about “hacks” that if discovered and applied to a problem then the effort will be truncated—and nobody is the wiser. Hacks can be useful but everybody knows that you either cheated or tried to get something for nothing. Fortunately, bodybuilding is so personal that any decreased effort will be noticed on stage. The first to know about your decreased amount work is YOU! You feel grumpy. You feel like you tried to cut a corner or two to get to the stage. but it’s not working. Secondly, All my friends are aware that I am not as sharp as in previous shows. It’s painful to know that others are clued into my personal laziness. Thirdly, Is my disappointment in the results of the show. Instead of finishing in the top 5 competitors, you have been reduced to ashes here. CONVENTIONAL WISDOM TAKE HOME—–NEVER cut corners, don’t miss workouts, and above all else, “WORK HARD”…in fact you have to work harder than anybody else if you want to win. Stop talking and get to work!

Bottom Line: You’ll never be good enough, but you can outwork them and win. Your will to win leaves them mesmerized mainly because they know nothing about the effort you expended to win…..

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This is a real “GUT CHECK” for all of us, especially me! Let’s just say that I am writing this article to me and you can just follow along and look in on the things I have to face in order to be better than I am today.

When there is a challenge ahead like, a show, an event, or some new clothes I want to fit into, I have to take sometime to get alone and decide that whatever is in front of me I have to decide it is worth it and get started. Let’s stick to a bodybuilding competition that is on the calendar. This date will bug me until I address what is required to be ready.

The choices at this juncture are simple but I dare not over look any of the steps. First, as I said, I must decide that this show is worth it. I have to make this show something that has all my attention and all preparation flows into the date of the show. This is where I have to decide that I want to to be better this time on stage than last time. I’ve got to reach deep inside my gut to create a “WANT TO” that lights the way. I have to believe that I can do it. A trade secret of mine is that I have to create a goal that forces me to be my best so that I never stop pushing myself. This is what makes me want to be better. I want to be better so badly I can taste the effort. I don’t naturally just “want” to be better, I have to create a requirement to be better. I want to better because my goal says I must be better. So, let’s break it down a bit more. I am weak but I want to be a winner and being a winner requires me to better. The show date forces me to give it my all. Nobody has to motivate me once the date for the show is set, I need self appointed goals to establish how bad I want to be better. my desire to better cannot occur without the goal. Crazy I know but it’s this process that defines for me how badly I want to better myself.

Each of us must first decide that we want to better ourselves then decide how badly we want it. Then, we have to set up the path forward. Pick something bigger than yourself that only you can attain. Never compare yourself to others. Just lower your head an plunge forward until your arrive at your goal attainment.

Thank you for listening in on my introspection. I know it sounds a little bizarre but then anything worth doing will require us to “think outside the box.”

Bottom Line: Decide you want to better yourself. Decide what tool or construct you must put into place to push your or attract you. Get started. Talk to nobody. This journey is yours and you share it with nobody. Arrive and see how many people notice your winning self. Unsolicited compliments are the best. Go for it and make sure you want the greatness that you set before you….and WIN!

go to http://www.sixpackandsenior.com for all articles and photos

It’s so easy to proclaim to ourselves and to anybody else within earshot that we want something very badly and we will do anything to get it. We restate our intentions often to remind us and others of where we wanted to go and the person we wanted to become in the process. All of us at one time or other has made vow to defeat our enemies and remain good guys with big hearts. We all want to be well thought of.

I stood in the middle of the basketball court and vowed I’d be the best athlete this school has ever seen. That moment defined me and my path forever—so I thought. I was so good at sports you could easily call me a “BIG MAN ON CAMPUS.” (though I’m short). But, after a short stint in college football and a summer of minor league baseball it was time to do some serious growing up. After putting 5,000 Miles on my thumb traveling around the East Coast I joined the Navy. I won’t bore you with the entire sidetracking of who I wanted to be but suffice it to say it was a good thing. First, I didn’t get killed in Vietnam and I got some great training that propelled my adult career in the military and in medicine. For this I am eternally grateful.

However, all of us will remember what and who we swore to become. Those commitments and vows really never go away. They are dormant but not dead. As I got older I got into bodybuilding long after and much older than most guys do. It reignited that passion for accomplishment and the love for the work that is required to get there. I have loved the restarted journey toward my own personal goals. This whole thing at this age is truly a labor of love. It’s not the trophy it’s the hunt. Bodybuilding has given me and my super charged set of goals a new lease on life. It caused me to remember who I really wanted to be. Champion of my own making. This year will be my last year competing and I’m going to go out a winner…..Take great comfort in getting another chance at our remembered greatness.

Bottom Line: We never forget who we wanted to be. Often we just don’t get the chance to actually remember and to gain the self vaunted stature and person we set out to become so long ago. This is your time to remember and begin the pursuit of who you want to be—one more time!

There are a billion reasons we can come up with to not do something that we know we ought to do. It ranges from, I’ll do it tomorrow or later to I can do it anytime, to I’m too tired, to I’m not interested, to I want it but not that badly. Whatever! However, when you finally do lock in on the thing you want, it will cost you everything—because you have decided getting this thing is worth it.

Work is viewed as optional or required. This is the sharp demarcation line between the person who wishes for things and the person who sees accomplishment as entirely possible with superior effort and focus. I would submit that common sense dictates that hard, unrelenting work is the method of choice in accomplishing anything worth doing or having. This choice pretty much crushes the idea that hard work is an optional or part time endeavor. But, of course in our world of bodybuilding there is no room for part time participants. When you decide to go for the stage and the gold, all other mediocre attitudes must, of necessity disapper from your mind.

“WORK FOR IT!” isn’t just a capaign slogan. It’s a full throated admonition to get started, focus, work until you are standing on the stage receiving the gold which you have earned. You and I must pur aside a comfortable placing. We have to zero in on the top spot. If we don’t then what is the purpose of entering the race to win!? The hardest part of the journey is to get it into your head that it is possible to win. Once this is in place it has to transfer the belief to all oiut “work”.…There is no substitue and there is only one way to win…..Work until you drop and then work until there is noway you can lose. Believe me when I say “IT WILL BE WORTH IT!’ Nothing is quite like winning and knowing that nobody can ever take your victory away from you. You earned it because you “WORKED FOR IT!!!!” Now go home and live your life as a champion!

Bottom Line: There are no short cuts. Working for what you want is the straightest line between what you have now and what you want!