Six Pack and Senior

Sooner or later we all find ourselves being devoured by life. Nothing is going well. Divorce, illness of a child or a loved one, death of family members, loss job, repossession of a house or a car, rebellious kids etc. and the list goes on. Many times we feel like there is no place to turn or go for help or relief. I submit that God is the answer but we have to have the right questions to ask him to help with. Rarely, do we sit still long enough to define the problem, understand how that problem is defeating us, and lastly, we do not put together a proactive plan to respond.

That’s life in general and what I wrote stands on it’s own merits. Jumping immediately into the world of bodybuilding you will instantly notice the parallels. We experience anxiety to start training. We suffer personal attacks from those who doubt us that wish us to fail. We plan, we train, we get injured, we recover and start over. In each situation whether it is in life generally or in body building specifically, we have to turn to self confidence, God, develop a plan to go forward and execute that plan.

THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE WITH LIFE REALITIES AND OUR NARROWLY FOCUSED REALITIES AND GOALS. SAME PROCESS FOR ALL THINGS

In each situation we can either be crushed by the experience or we can allow our trials to refine us, focus us, and motivate us to keep moving in the right direction. We really don’t have any alternatives besides these two paths.

Bottom Line: You “WILL” be crushed! Life and in particular bodybuilding will “CRUSH” you. That is the point at which we lose our way and succumb to the badness that has befallen us or we figure out a way to make this badness make us better and more determined to win. The formula for refinement and success is always the same. You can choose refinement to win —- but you gotta want it!

First, knowing what you want will require tons of time alone to sort through what is true and what is not. We also have to consider what we want to be absolute and nothing can/will stop us from attaining the goal.

Second, after we have decided what we want we have to spend some more time alone setting up the plan to get to the goal. This takes tons of concentration on the intricacies to be lowered into place and how they will work for us. Nothing can be left to chance during this time of isolation.

Thirdly, again out of sight of any worldly distractions we solidify our commitment to the task at hand. All of what we do from this point on comes from the sacred promises you make to yourself —“ALONE!” As it says in the Bible, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” Let’s just call this time and place “The Lair of the Holy Contract with God and Ourselves.” We have to realize that nothing is attainable, especially in bodybuilding, without a near blood oath with God, ourselves, and the goal. We draw our strength from this Holy alliance. Unbreakable, focused, and set in stone.

As we who participate in bodybuilding we know the effort, the food, the supplements, the cardio, the weight training it takes to move from one level to the next. Please note that all these lessons are applicable to any endeavor in life. We know the pain. When we have done the three steps above there is nothing that can stop us.

Bottom Line: Nothing worthy of our attention and our accomplishment happens in a void. It all must come from the heart or the heart will fail even before we start. This is our time! Consider. Think. Meditate. Plan. Act.—AND WIN!

How many of us has heard the saying, “When in Rome do as the Romans do?” or “You have to go along to get along?” Wow! Each of these is an indictment against the sovereignty of the individual. Both sayings encourages compliance that is usually antithetical to personal creativity and responsibility. Go ahead! Follow the crowd without thinking….It’s easy…..and too often we do just that.

I have lived long enough to have felt the barbs from well-meaning and from others not so well-meaning that indicate we are “just too big for our britches” or we are “addicted to the big thing” or we try to do “great things to compensate for our other failures and so we will be more readily accepted.” Just remember this! When you follow your passion you will walk your own path, and many times you will walk alone. Almost nobody will understand you and many people close to you will criticize you. I really don’t care what they say. It’s more important that we try to understand why they are so harsh. Lastly, we have to keep our eyes on the goal.

In bodybuilding the goal that we set for ourselves to get to the next level is really a short term goal but it has to be assailed as if it’s the final event of our mortal lives. When we train it comes at the expense of things we could have been doing that are as important. We have chosen and we continue. Each of us has lost friends along the way because our paths separated. There is no moral reason for it, it just happened. Unfortunately sometimes the separation is permanent.

Bottom Line in all this: Follow your passion and know that not everybody will be happy with you. But, also know that you don’t have to succumb to the opinions of others. Keep your own spirit and your own self intact—and you are the winner! This is your time. Don’t squander it in little games. Play BIG!

Almost everybody in the human race has faced something new and different. At this point we have a decision to make. Either to embrace the new and different thing or to walk around it and try to forget it. As life goes on we establish a pattern of taking on the difficult things that we know very little about or we become risk averse and we consistently avoid anything that presents itself as new and different….Most of the time out of fear. We fear what others will say or we fear how it might require change in us, or we fear that it might hurt us.

After the pattern of either being adventuresome or fearful is established inevitably somebody will identify this pattern and they will try to impart wisdom that they do not possess to get us to be like them. Again, this is a decision point.

In bodybuilding we get so regimented in the way we do things that anything different is disallowed. Same weight each time. Same sequence of exercises. Same number of reps. We don’t change because we are afraid to try something totally outside our comfort zones. Thus, though we are consistent with our workouts we get no real improvements. When we notice a lack of getting bigger or a lack of leanness —It’s time to change something and fear has to be set aside.

Conversely, in the gym we run across the guy who works out according to the newest and greatest podcast advice money can buy. Every work out is a new and better experience. They change so much that even the muscles have no predictability, they are stressed in new and weird ways. Alas! No real improvement in size or leanness occurs. But, the podcast warrior swears they are right….and they will tell you so. Like the bodybuilder who is driven by fear of change this guy is dying by a thousand cuts of newness and arrogance. It is time for a change.

In both cases we need help. That’s what coaches and trainers are for. They stand outside of us and guides us to better effort and behavior. Most of all they get us to decide what we want. Then comes the love/hate instruction from the coach to get us there. It is when we take control of where we want to go is when we develop confidence and assurance inside ourselves to go in the right direction despite our adventuresome or fearful natures. It is here where we set the rudder of our life and journey and nobody else can do that for us. It is here that we learn to listen to our own selves, our own hearts, our soul’s longings. We change what we are doing wrong but nobody sets my end goals or dictates the direction of my life—but me!

Bottom Line: Change what you have to. Then the rest is yours to execute and win! Go get ’em! This is your life and there isn’t another soul in the world who can do it for us and no other person sets my bar.

I like thinking that if I can think it then I can have it. Well, this is a false concept. Sure everything begins with a thought but thinking it does not bring it into reality. But, to be sure we have to focus on the things we want otherwise we are just day dreaming. Everyday has to have a day dream or two or we will burn ourselves out on our “to do list.” But, the work is done when we decide something is worth our total focus and we do it. Deciding what to focus on has everything to do with how we see ourselves and what we want. I love an old quote that helps me understand what is important, “SOME MEN DIE IN BATTLE, OTHERS GO DOWN IN FLAMES, BUT MOST MEN PERISH INCH-BY-INCH WHO PLAY IN LITTLE GAMES.” This golden oldie brings my character into sharper focus. I personally want to pick the hill I die on and go down in battle and flames because it is worth it. I don’t want to fritter my life away on non-essential idiocy.

In bodybuilding and life, we have to pay close attention to that spirit that moves us toward the goal. We give the goal and every moment required to obtain the goal our total focus. Getting up early, eating, supplements, training, cardio, logging our progress. But, always our faces are set “like flint” toward the goal.

I can recall my days running track. I was a sprinter and I had many competitors who clearly were genetically better. But, when I paid the price at night after lights out practicing in the alley behind my house, and running extra stadium stairs, and doing heavier than normal squats I easily out did my fellow tracksters. But, when I stopped paying the price the first person to see the poor performance was me. Then, it was my colleagues, and finally my adversaries on the track where I lost.

We have to live a life that focuses on that which we want. If we don’t focus then anything will do. Another favorite quote of mine is, “HE WHO AIMS FOR NOTHING HITS IT EVERYTIME!” Focus, Focus, Focus…..This is our time so let’s not squander it by “PLAYING IN LITTLE GAMES.”….Do the hard work for you and your loved ones.

All of us guys/girls who have played sports of any kind can attest to the fact that when you move to the next grade/level the effort, talent, strength, maturity, and skill goes up as well. Think about moving from Sophomore Football to Junior Varsity, and then Varsity. Each time you went up a level you had to adapt and elevate your game. This change was required to even get a chance at playing. In short, every practice had to be treated like it was game day.

What’s not stated is that in order to be competitive you had to do some serious growing up. In the off season you had to prepare to be better. Tons of lifting, running, and independent practice. Then, at the first day of practice you brought the new and different you who was ready to play. In fact, as the season wears on, you become better at what you do so that there are multiple new and different personalities that you develop. By season’s end you are a much different person/player than when the season started. This process repeats itself with each new level.

In bodybuilding we do the same trek. The first time out we are just happy to be there. Each time we hit the stage after that we want to be rising in our own expectations of development and performance. Ultimately, we will rise to a level that has exceeded all that we do. Each new contest is an opportunity to show off our new found maturity and skill. We never want to be the same ever again. Each contest demands another version of ourselves to keep going.

These principles are universal. I think Albert Einstein or Gordon Peterson said, “We keep digging deep until we think we cannot go on. It is here that we are introduced to our other self.” Then we invoke personal discipline to push forward to our stated goals.

Bottom Line: In order to move up and get better we must mature into the “different person” that is required to push on to the next level. The other person that you started with has to be left behind and the new and different person must take over. He/She has to be a bigger, more mature person to bear the new demands at the new level of performance. This is our time…..”Grow up and grow into the different person that is needed to win!”

I discovered this little nugget of “MEGA TRUTH” as I trained. When I started training hard later in life in 2008 I reverted back to same old ways of training that we all adopted when we were young. Basic mindset was: 1.) You Eat Big and Lift Big to Get Big 2.) Then to get lean you have to cut, the food and the heavy weights. Basic truths when you are 16 and stupid. But, there I was plugging in the same mistakes as always. Now, I did get big and I got really strong, but I gained tons of fat, big stomach, I developed high blood pressure, reflux esophagitis and I slept horribly. After about a year of this misery I decided to try something totally different. I dropped the weight on the bar and began adding small increments of weight with each set. I did dozens of sets per body part with each set getting only little heavier. I switched body parts daily so as not to overtrain any muscle group. Slowly, I began to change. I looked forward to my training to keep pushing the weight and the volume each day. Over the next few months I dropped 20 lbs and started to look the part of a bodybuilder—-not a fat ass!

My goals have been boiled down to each workout with a small incremental uptick in my weight on the bar, number of sets completed, and noted endurance. Over the next several months I headed for the stage as an old guy. I’ve been doing it ever since and I just finished my 21st show. I have gotten better at this sport by 1.) Staying motivated 2.) Pushing to be just a “little better” with each workout 3.) Never losing sight of my next goal. I settle for small gain that are either noticeable visually or measurable. I now win because my 1% improvements and consistency. Nothing gets done simply by thinking that it will happen. I have to make it happen and it’s hard, lonely, and exhausting but it is satisfying.

Bodybuilding only has two major mindsets: 1.) Motivation 2.) Discipline. All the rest are supporting actors over the long haul as we push for the stage and the win. Very few people who see us understands the journey and the effort. For sure, it belongs only us who do the journey.

Bottom Line: Shoot for small improvements daily. They will add up to a large improvement that will take you to the “WINNERS CIRCLE.”

The formula is: 1% improvement daily x 365 days = a 365% improvement in a year. You can’t argue with the facts

I have been told that if I can imagine a thing I can have it. It just doesn’t appear, but it has to be worked for, sacrificed for, and maybe even I give something up to have it. Nonetheless, my mind and fertile imagination has formed the bedrock of all I attain. What a ride this has been! I was born with enough energy for 7 people and so sitting still and meditating on my navel lint is out of the question. In fact, when I’m in church my poor wife has to distract me enough so I stay put the entire service. Not an easy task….I figure, God is good, but I’ve got things to do…..Just one decision shy of being an apostate and a heathen. Fortunately, I get to redeem myself by serving in the the nursery….(kids under 3 years old). I’m a little kid so we get along with these little guys and girls just fine.

In bodybuilding, our full attention to every detail is important. Our lives are pretty much a programmed text regarding food, training, cardio, supplements, posing and competing. There is not much wriggle room to live a frivolous life. Sun up to sun down we are busy applying ourselves to what we have determine to have….Usually, a very high finish on stage. The journey for us is always a joy but there are times when getting the most out of our training and prep is all but impossible due to exhaustion, hunger, discouragement, and work. It is at this point when the only thing we have to finish the trek to the stage is the courage of our heart. This is easier said than done.

Think about it! We apply every strategy in the book and nothing works. However, the date of the show does not change and something has to be done. It’s here that we must face ourselves and decide that our stated goal is worth it. This little interlude is applicable to everything in life that we decide to go after. It’s not that we are incapable it’s usually because something has caused us to doubt ourselves and whether we can make it to the finish. Again, the courage of the heart and a keen focus on the task at hand is often all we have left. We dig deep. We spend time praying. We do as much extra work as we think we need. It’s as if we become another person and we are introduced to this person by our circumstances. Go! is always a Go so we Go!

Bottom Line: What our minds have decided for us is never enough. If it’s worth it, the courage of our heart will carry us home. Remember that just thinking about what you want is never enough.

MAXIM FOR THE AGES

This whole idea can be summarized by a quote from Jim Elliott in a book written by his late wife Elizabeth, “Through Gates of Splendor” which was based on his time as a Missionary in Ecuador. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” I would highly recommend reading this book to gain a little perspective on life, bodybuilding, and the eternal.

In bodybuilding there is nothing that we suffer, plan for, endure, work for, or achieve that can be measured by money. All that we do has meaning and value in an intangible sphere. I don’t know anybody in this sport that even considered what the monetary price of a win or a high placing would be. I’ve never met a fellow competitor backstage or after the show who ever spoke of money connected to the stage. This sport, “my fine feathered friends” is about accomplishing your personal best without conventional financial incentives. Let me say it loudly, “its all about personal ego, pride, and the journey to be the best THIS TIME!” Each time we go onto the stage we are looking only to be better than the last time. Being better with every outing is it’s own reward. Nobody pays us to do this stuff. In fact, most bodybuilders expend tremendous amounts of money out of their own pockets just to train and compete.

I would submit that we are the richest people in the world because all that we have cannot be purchased with money. So, you see, we muscle heads start out rich and we remain rich because nothing we have is for sale nor can it be purchased. “We are no fools because that which we gain can never be taken away.” —-Nor can anybody buy it from us! But to be faithful to the eternal, “He is not fool who gives hat he cannot keep (his own life) to gain that which he cannot lose (our souls and eternal life).

Bottom Line: Decide what’s important and never give it away. It belongs to you because you earned it. However, along the way you’re going to have to also decide what is expendable and that which is permanent.

It was hard growing up with a host of voices who seemed to be absolutely certain of my future—if I would just listen to them! I have a mantra that I sort of live by and it goes like this: “DON’T LISTEN TO CLOSE FRIENDS, RELATIVES AND KNUCKLEHEADS” when you seek advice. Inevitably, I have regretted listening and heeding their advice. It doesn’t mean that the advice they extended to me was bad, it just wasn’t the advice I needed at the time. Sometimes what we needed most was a listening ear and a tender heart. Other times I needed to be put in my place for being so stupid. Other times I just needed a pep talk to embolden me to act on what I knew to be true.

In every encounter the price we pay for “the greatest advice on earth” is that we are obligated to actually follow it, succeed by using it, and then bending the knee to the advisor and saying thank you. None of this is bad and in fact it is good form but I was then tied to the expectations that the advisor had for me. In the end, I was not seeking my dream or goal but rather I was servicing a debt. I was not free.

Addressing the reality of getting older and living up to my own expectations has led me to do things that my family and others who are close to me to believe the worst. Bodybuilding at my age is needless, risky, a waste of time, and I’m living out a fantasy from my childhood, I will fail because I’m no young any more, there is fear that many others will make fun of me and will view my performance as a freak show and they will be embarrassed.

At this age I have nobody to prove anything to. I have nobody except me to please. I set my standards quite independent of what others think. It has been alleged that I need to be accepted and that’s why I’m always doing “big things.” Also, it has been said that I would be more favorably seen and that is why I push for grand and magnificent goals and accomplishments. All this is bogus but it is a lie that they tell themselves so they can understand and relate to what I’m doing. It helps them to bring me back to their level without understanding, or personal confrontation. In my world a simple comment would be, “way to go Doug!” “you look great little brother.” “Go for it! We’re rooting for you.” My critics no longer own me, my thoughts, my plans, my efforts. These are mine and I’m free.

Bottom Line: When expectations about bodybuilding or anything else comes to you as an imposition from others, we have to reject them. Bodybuilding has given me that which I did not have—-COURAGE TO BE ME ALL BY MYSELF! There is no requirement that anybody understands us at all. Win, Lose or Draw—it’s what I do and nobody else has to understand! This is our time. Don’t confuse it with other peoples time.