Category: General

Just take a look backwards and recall something you set out to accomplish or possess. Reflect for a moment on all that was required. You had to first decide it was worth it. A plan had to be put together. Then the journey to the winner’s circle began. The whole process was devised with a reward and a certain level of consequence in mind. We thought about what we would tell people when they asked what we were up to. Being transparent in advance of our effort exposed us to a very real amount of trepidation. We were afraid that they would criticize us so severely we would abandon our goals. Does this sound familiar?

But! This is where it gets interesting. All of us pushed ahead despite divulging our plans. We took the arrows of doubt shot at us. We endured the discomfort of the whisper campaign about our plans that declared us nuts and that we were full of ourselves, etc. However, our bodybuilding journey, or our academic aspirations, or our goals to do something that has not been written into the script for our lives is the excuse to be better. We see it. Then we respond to it. We plan. We innovate. We put in the time and effort daily like clockwork. Up early, eating on time, sleeping as needed, thinking of our goal at all times. Obsessing if necessary but always we discipline ourselves to work and to attain the stated mission. One day we step forward to receive that which we sought. Boom! It’s ours! Naysayers be gone!

The flip side of accomplishment because we succumbed to the opposition is a deep sense of regret. This is not the same as paying the price of discipline to get something. We now enter the dark world of painful regret. We are ashamed that we did not do what we knew we had to do or that we were called to do. This pain of regret always reduces us by some degree as people. It’s never fun and it’s always a negatively defining moment.

I also need to say that the pain of regret can give way to a new determination to “never let it happen again.” Enough!! our minds scream at us. This living with regret is for the birds. I will never take the easy way that is lined with excuses ever again. It’s too painful….So you see, regret can have an upside by extending to yourself forgiveness and redirecting our energy to the discipline to succeed.

Bodybuilding has given me and many others the forum to understand life a little better. Winning is essential with no holds barred and no shortcuts taken. No personal cheating and self deception is allowed back into our worlds. Head for the stage fellow muscle heads. Winning is really all about discipline and learning to do it right. Regret is about abandoning discipline, doing it wrong and suffering the consequences.

Final note: Pay the price of discipline so as to avoid the pain of regret.

Nearly every day I wish life would be a little easier or that I could accomplish today what I’ve set out to do…..Just bring it all to a “massive crashing soaring symphonic conclusion.” But, as life would/will have it the work goes on…..The purpose of the “STRUGGLE” has many tendrils. First, you cannot grow unless there is resistance. Second, we cannot mature as people unless we take on the hard stuff and through hell and high water we make it work. Thirdly, is the attaining of the greatest platitude of “APPRECIATION” for the goodness that effort has placed in our hearts.

Each of us when we walk into the gym are overwhelmed at times by the physiques and dimensions of some of those already training. We are a little intimidated. We wish we could have what the seemingly gifted men named “Adonis” have…but we don’t—-YET! WE HAVE A CHOICE AT THIS JUNCTURE. WE CAN GET DISCOURAGED AND MAKE UP LIES/EXCUSES FOR OURSELVES AS WE SLINK AWAY WHIPPED or we can man up and set the next goal that leads us to the top where we want to be anyway.

I’m pretty short and sometimes when I stand on stage beside guys that are easily a foot taller than me I feel alone and very outclassed. But, I always take pride in the obvious things I possess. Nobody, beats my chest, shoulders, back, or arms. I might have other deficiencies that night that cause me problems but these are my “calling cards.”……Nobody takes them…..

I am forever telling guys that we have to develop a total package to win and Lord knows I try and try and fail…..But, I also believe that you bring your best parts to the gym and build on what’s already good and get after the weaker ones. Let the good things you have set the stage for the hard work that has to come next.

Nothing is easy and we who do this thing called bodybuilding, and we would not have it any other way. We inhale and exhale the work and THE STORM that is set before us. We have learned that nothing is free and sometimes what we get costs us everything. But, the best part is that nobody gave it to us. It’s ours because we paid the price to have it. COME AND GET IT!

Bottom Line: EMBRACE hard work. It defines you and provides the greatest gift in the world….GREATNESS THAT WE HAVE EARNED.…So go knock yourself out….This is your journey…..Be great as you “EMBRACE THE STRUGGLE!”

You have to believe me when I tell you that “I’m terrified of heights.” If I was captured by the enemy and the enemy wanted information they would be wasting their time to torture me……They ain’t gettin’ nothin’!!! But, if the enemy knew of my fear of heights, they could just take me to a very high place and threaten to throw me off and thus would begin the calmest and most collegial seditious conversation in all the world. My fear of heights has been faced numerous time in my life doing zip lines, rappel down ropes, ascend to the top of gigantic buildings in glass elevators, walk along narrow paths on the side of a mountain, fly in helicopters with the doors open etc. However, just because I faced my fear and did some “boy wonder stuff” does not mean that the fear went away. I still hate being in high places. Interestingly, flying does not bother me in the least.

The key thought is that fear is fear and it’s a good thing. The end game is that fear does not paralyze us from doing our jobs or living our lives otherwise. Fear is nothing more than a hurdle to get over and to do so is a Herculean test of the will to exercise courage. Courage is the discipline to continue despite facing a fear that often besets us. Courage is the determination to finish what you started in the face of an unanticipated or known fear that lies between you and your goal. Sometimes, courage is all we have left to cross the finish line.

I am fortunate to have one malady and not several but the number of fears is irrelevant.

In bodybuilding it’s important to show up despite layers of fear threatening to derail us. I can remember the first time going up the stairs “alone” onto the stage. I trembled, I feared making a fool of myself, I doubted my appearance, I was afraid I’d freeze up and get laughed off the stage. All that went through my mind. But, I was able to reach deep and push these insecurities aside. I went out there and finished high enough to get 3 trophies in various divisions that night.

Being afraid is ok! Not facing them is quite another. Let me repeat myself. You do not have to enjoy overcoming fear. But, in order to progress and accomplish your stated goals it is imperative that “Courage be tapped to take you home.”

Bottom Line! As you approach performance in bodybuilding just remember that everybody else has come this far with you. I have three goals when I compete. 1.) Be in the best shape of my life. 2.) Don’t make any dumb mistakes (e.g. turning left when the judges tell you to turn right). 3.) Move up from the last competition. If I can do these three things I am entitled to eating too much of the wrong stuff right after the show. This, in turn, entitles me to baptize all the hub caps in the parking lot as I barf my way to my car.

I heard Calvin Murphy, a very short guard in the NBA for the Houston Rockets say, “I’m not afraid of no man.” This must be our attitude forever. Fear takes us nowhere and Courage will take us home.

No matter where we are in life each of us will have cross roads we come to or a fork in the road to cause us to choose a way forward. Try as we might we never can quite see enough to decide smartly which road or fork to take. Sometimes though, we know in advance which road to take and it’s more a matter of courage to take the one which takes us to our goal and our “end game.” This is rare I admit but that this is the theme we are discussing. Knowing what to do and then having the courage to do it is the challenge.

We all fantasize about getting the chance to do what we set out to do. All obstacles have been removed then, ‘BAM!” We are standing right in front of our way to the top and we balk. We second guess ourselves. We think doubtfully about our ability to actually charge the hill and win. It is here that we separate ourselves from our other evil selves. We have to step up and take the risk or we will forever be silent and defeated. It’s time to pull up our “big boy pants” and step into the unknown game to win. This is a risk and it is a chance. The chance is defined as the opportunity and the risk is what we are willing to wager on ourselves to use the chance to win.

In bodybuilding we work to exhaustion. We plan for the future and the rewards to be gleaned. But, we jump into the fray as we are assured that the way is known. Heading for the stage is daunting enough. Taking the correct approach is a choice based on a chance the risk that is required to be assumed to get there. The hardest part of hitting the stage is choosing to actually do it.

My advice is to see the chance. Take the risk once we decide it is worth it. Start and never look back. Nothing is guaranteed but you have to commit.

In closing you must see the Chance. You must see the risk it involves. Decide to do it and never look back. Never settle for today. Always risk it all for the chance to win…..tonight!

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

All of us “muscle heads” who have advanced in school to play sports at the next level understands that the next level requires a different mindset, a different effort level, a different way of doing things, a different perspective. All that we know right up to this next level seems to be old and outdated. We are not always smart but we do know that life has just changed for us if we want to continue playing the sport of our choice.

Some of the transition points are Freshman, Sophomore, Junior Varsity, Varsity. Then, in college it goes from high school to a large campus with superior athletes that want our jobs on the playing field, the court, or the mat. At each of these new levels is the demand that we grow up physically, psychologically, emotionally as our drive to excellence matures. To say it succinctly, “We have to bring a different version of you/me to the challenge.” We have to become the person/warrior that is not only different but “better” than the previous version of ourselves. Another way to say it is, “We are introduced to our OTHER selves.” That new and different you/me has to be up for the challenge and ready to compete in order to make it and stay there at the point of competition.

Dan Gable, the great Olympic Champion and 4 time NCAA wrestling Champion and Coach of the University of Iowa said it well, “My philosophy is to be always on the attack.” Never should one of his wrestlers rest on his point lead in a match or step onto the mat thinking he could wrestle any other way. In order to compete at this level you have to check the old warrior at the door. To be here in Gable’s world you have to demand a different me/you. When we attack another level we, quite literally, must become something new, different, and better. Our old glory days have to be forgotten. All that matters is this level and these goals. Anything less is a failure to understand the requirement to bring your new “YOU” to the dance.

In closing, always consider where you are going and what the objective is. By knowing when we make the transition from being a lower level competitor to a higher level monster we create the person we need to become to win. Bodybuilding is the epitome of constant change. With each level of change there is a personal price (demand) to be our best selves at stage time.

CHANGE IS REQUIRED BUT MORPHING INTO THE PERSON THAT IS DEMANDED TO APPEAR IS PARAMOUNT. There is no other way……Doug

It’s an absolute travesty to think/believe you only have a single choice of a single path in life. However, most of us grow up with only a couple of options. Usually, these options are related to what our parents did or what we think we can attain. Even the attainment expectation is predicated on our own desires, life experiences, other peoples’ expectations for us, and a learned self-image. Nobody comes into the world with a set of directions tied to their butts. Most of what we do is due to our own making and so it’s imperative that we learn the basic rules of life and then we must learn what is required of us to attain that which we seek.

The critical test for us, as I see it, is to not feel compelled to do what everybody else has done. We tend to gravitate to “the tried and true” just because it’s easy and safe. We watch expectantly as 96% of our colleagues choose “the road MOST traveled” and we see the predictable results. We get in line, so to speak to await our turn to do things the same as all others. But, if we are honest, we do not want to be like everybody else. We begin to resist repeating the plans, ways, effort, and the same path as everybody else. We want a different result so we choose another way to our desired end. This is our salvation from being a self-motivated copy cat. But, if we take the “tried and true” path we will arrive again at the same place as everyone else. Not good! Our goal is to win. In order to do so, we have to shun the safe and sometimes go down the path “LESS traveled” to be the last man standing on stage.

Bottom Line: If something works, honor it. However, if you want to be the one who dared step off the “righteous path” and pulled out all the stops to win on our terms…..You have to be “NOT AFRAID” and do things differently and more perfectly to win. We have to do the unconventional to defeat, self doubt and fear and to get comfortable with being on a totally different wave length and thus a totally different path.

Lastly, being afraid to change is normal. Making the needed and actual change is true “bravery.”

Wow! This really grabbed me. Very simple and to the point. Recall that often things worth having are very hard to attain and sometimes it is equally hard to retain. There are two parts to winning, 1.) Attainment and 2.) Sustainment. In these two things we must decide that if we get what we want can we keep it. Marriage is a classic. If we spend our time pursuing and then marrying the greatest woman in our world we have to also be willing to sustain that marriage. Simple concept to state and a real challenge to execute. Both steps are essential and one cannot happen without the other.

In bodybuilding we have to believe that we “can do it!” We have to attack the goal(s) with a vengeance. There cannot be any half ass efforts. Training with a purpose yields gains we are acutely aware of. We know by experience whether we are giving it our all or whether we are just going through the motions. Our uppermost image of ourselves must be that we are doing it and our effort demonstrates our belief that we can do it! Quitting is not an option. We chose this course/journey sometimes against the advice and opinions of many trusted friends and family. But! Here we are! Nothing can stop us now.

This is the time that we dare not “LET OURSELVES DOWN.” Remember, that failure is painful and costly but the price of regret is forever. We are on the track headed into the arena. We cannot fail. We can do it. Now, we cannot let ourselves down. Climb those stairs onto the stage and take your place alongside the Titans who dared to be where you are. You have just won. YOU have not let yourself down.

Where do we go from here? 1.) Believe it. 2.) Do it. 3.) Don’t let yourself down. 4.). REPEAT

Aint it the truth? The longer and harder we train or seek after something we have got to accept the fact that “the cavalry is not coming to rescue us.” Each day that we stay after it the harder it seems for us to get closer to our goal and the less confident we are that we can get there on our own. All of us who seeks to win at bodybuilding has to decide what we have to do to be the last man standing on stage. Once we have zeroed on the way to get it done, it then becomes imperative that we stick to our plan and to do all that is required to be at the top at the end of the night. The best advice I can provide is that each of us abandons the idea that somebody else or some other system is going to get the job done. It’s at this point that “light goes on” and we face the realization that WE are the only savior for our endeavor. This is where we define ourselves as the architects of our lives.

This juncture causes us to get behind our own effort and begin to “PUSH OURSELVES” because the reality is that we have to pull up our “big boy pants” and do the hard work to win. It’s a fearful thing for some of us to grasp the concept that no help is the rule and it’s our responsibility to reach deep to make it happen for us. Remember that the world does not care about you or your accomplishments! You and you alone are the only ones that care enough to go on long after all seems wrong or lost, “Pushing harder on yourself” is the only way forward. Once we learn this foundational truth we are now empowered to win…….We will never be a dependent creature/competitor ever again.

This is our “lot in life!” No savior or helper must cause us to be better. My final thought is that we will win but only after we learn to “PUSH OURSELVES BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE IS GOING TO DO IT FOR US.” This is our greatest key to victory….It’s very simply “our choice” to push ourselves to win. Nobody gains real fame by association. It has to be earned by each of us and only after we experience the desperation and realization that winning belongs to each of us as we do it alone…..

Any of us who have lived through difficult times or who have desired to be better knows this truth. Letting go after losing, making a solemn personal promise, or coming to the end of ourselves (the prodigal son or the every man’s story) understands that in order to move in another and better direction requires us to throw away something that is causing a drag on us. Let’s take the prodigal son as a first example, When he came to himself and realized that even the lowest of his father’s animals were better off than he was, he determined to go home and beg to be part of his father’s house again and be forgiven for being so arrogant and stupid. A truly bad situation to be in but he did what he had to do. He became a better son and a better person. He had to die too himself.

Bringing the conversation back to bodybuilding there are times when we are getting killed, injured or are languishing while others are blowing the doors off. We feel defeated and there seems to be no way forward. It’s here that we have to submit ourselves to others whom we trust and who know what we need. This is a tough pill to swallow. Our egos take a severe beating at this point.

It’s not that we don’t care but being able to recognize when we need help and are smart enough to ask for it and act on it. Always remember that when we need something more we often have to let something we have counted on as important to die and go away. We do this because this thing (personality trait, false belief, friendships, and sometimes marriages) are no longer enhancing our lives or enabling forward progress. The storm must occur and we must lose in order to rise again as a much better person and a more determined soul to progress and to be better.

This whole process is extremely painful and there is no guarantee of success but the choice, the action, and the consequences have to be made. Another way to say it: You can take a chance and act when it’s obvious to do so or you can stay where you are and live on your knees with a heavy chain of regret.

In the gym, look for the road forward and do what’s required. Listen to the wisdom of those who have gone before. Let that part of you die that is making you doubt and to remain the same.

Be better by losing that which keeps you from rising again and being better. Fear of losing what we have is a heavy burden but living with and bearing the burden of regret extinguishes the spirit. You will be a much better version of yourself…..Don’t believe anything less!

When I was 13 I sustained a jagged wound on my right inner forearm just below the elbow. I was at the swimming pool and I reached over an old chain link Long Fence to fetch my towel which had dropped on the other side. I pulled my arm back after I had secured my towel and I received a massive gash from the fence. I bled like a “stuck hog” and I got blood everywhere. I was taken by the swimming pool staff to physicians office where I received 9 stitches and a pretty hefty bandage. I cried like a little baby. Also, I was supposed to play a baseball game that night and so I did. I could not extend my arm for fear of popping the stitches from the wound. But, like a stupid 13 year old I played 2nd base. Around the 2nd inning I got a grounder to my right near the bag, I turned like I normally would and uncorked a perfect throw to the first baseman. Blood gushed out from under my hefty bandage and ran down my arm. I played injured, I survived my teenage idiocy, and to this day I have a scar that reminds me of my youth. Nobody can ever say that I could not play hurt. It’s been the story of my life.

Each of us have scars either on our bodies or in our psyche or in our hearts that attest t o our toughness to “take the pain” and still go on. Rarely, do any of us take the time to explain the scars and often nobody else even knows about our scars. Scars are deeply personal and should remain so. Afterall, they belong to our human experience.

As noted, a scar is simply a reminder to ourselves and to those who know us that we have taken a hit and survived. When we lose at sports, academics, at love, or in the workplace we learn something more about our constitution as people. The biggest lesson is that we cannot quit just because we are hurt. We have got to learn the lessons related to digging deep. Finding the strength and reasons to keep going. When we are injured there is always a scar from the encounter with defeat. This scar is a reminder that we are tougher than we look or feel. We have learned also to win when winning seems out of the question.

I can recall standing beside some of the fastest sprinters in the state and thinking life is about to be a crushing experience. I prepared for the worst as I got down into the blocks. But, years of training and years of pushing myself had prepared me for this moment….little did I know. When the gun went off and the 60 yard dash was all there was for about 5 seconds there was only effort and pain. I finished 3rd with my fastest time ever and I was just 15 years old. The scars of shin splints, sprained ankles, strained groin muscles, split calf muscles were my badges to bear. Nobody saw them but they were mine.

Each of us bears the markings and scars of being a winner. Nobody can give us what we have to learn. Life tries to hurt us just by showing up. But, the real testament to our human experience is whether we will try again when we have been hurt. We will never always win. But, we will always be given the opportunity fo overcome a personal hurt whether it is physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual or professional.

My parting comment is from the New Testament: “Be strong, be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world…..and all of us must overcome our own world………So, ignore the scars. They don’t hurt anymore but are simply reminders that we can have life after injury and hurt.

Ge back to the gym! Being hurt is not death!