Six Pack and Senior

We all want stuff to happen immediately or by the simple push of a button. This is always an impossibility but this is just the nature of the beast. Immediate gratification is god that was baked into our being since kids. We were born after the generation of the “Great Depression” and “World War II” where there was nothing easy. This generation vowed that their kids (us) would never face the life of deprivation that they suffered through. As a result we were cursed with sense of entitlement and impatience that has dominated us and our children since then. As a result, if something (like bodybuilding) is to be participated in we try to impose on it our attitude and our impatience. We know how this story ends….and it’s not pretty….but we learned a brand new skill. We learned persistence coupled with focus and effort yields long term changes and results that will serve us well. Not to mention we will accomplish anything in front of us if we stick to these principles.

I’ve been so busy that training has been hard to fit in and then when I do I do a very weak workout. If I continue in this path I am the loser. But, I picked up a super quote recently that illustrates this, “What we do today will be tomorrow’s accomplishment.” Translation: “THERE IS NO SHORTCUT”—Only persistence, focus, effort, and time will give us the results we want and that nobody can take away.

I say, “DREAM BIG DREAMS” and fix a single dream in your mind. Surrender the temptation to think that we control the rate at which time is spent. We can only control “HOW” the time is spent. All great bodybuilders will testify that they have put in tons of time, even while they worked a job and raised a family. The dreams we have as bodybuilders are bigger than life and these dreams require tons of time.

Bottom Line: Dream big dreams. Know that these dreams will never come to pass unless we water them with our time spent on them. Never abandon a wonderful thing because it takes too long. Relax! Even if you don’t do it, time will be gone anyway. So, dig in and make it happen with the time you control…..I promise you that your dream will appear…….Your call! Extra bonus.….Your wife or your husband will love seeing you in your posing gear—-or less!

This is an ages old dilemma. We see what we want and the first thing we do is dread what others will say about what we want. We imagine they will tell us that we don’t NEED to do that. or, they will QUESTION WHY you want that. My favorite is, OH HE’S JUST TRYING TO BE A BIG SHOT!. Another one is horrible. HE JUST LOVES DOING THE BIG THING FOR ATTENTION! Ouch! None of these things are true but when people resort to discouraging or disparaging comments about us or our goals it takes the wind out of our sails. Sometimes after a couple of these terrible statements in front of us, we retreat to a place in our heads where we doubt our choice or our desires or our ambition and ultimately we question whether we are worthy to even dream of what we want. This time is crushing and the “arguments with ourselves in front of the mirror are intense.

When we have resolved to ignore those that take our ideas, goals, and personal worth apart, we are more than ready to go after that lofty goal.

Muscle heads pay attention! When you get a little older and the bug to train, get big, get lean and to ultimately compete on stage hits you—look out!Those who say they understand you and know you will become your most feared critics. This is where character comes in. “Be true to thyself!” Let them talk and complain and try to derail you. Go to the gym and train. Eat that crummy food. Run and do cardio. Eat supplements. Hang out and train with other muscle heads. It’s your life and this is your choice and this is your culture and your dreams are here. As I like to say, “Do not follow a multitude to be stupid and lose.”

Also, keep in mind that these harmful prophets of “YOUR” doom will never do what you do. They have settled to live “Below the Level of Mediocrity.”–John McArthur. You have chosen to compete against other likeminded athletes when you have been relegated to somebody else’s expectations. Their icons and their idols are way too small for you now. Set your goal in front of you and obsess on it. Never allow somebody else set your rudder. Set your face (Like Jesus the last week of his life) like flint toward the stage.

This is your chance to make believers out of your worst and most painful critics. Do NOT disappoint yourself with a half ass effort. Train and practice as if there is no tomorrow.

Big goals require a big effort. See you in the Winner’s Circle. It is here where I want to discuss your next BIG DREAM!

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…..