Six Pack and Senior

There is a book that I read about 20 years ago by a Pastor named John MacArthur, entitled, “Living Below the Level of Mediocrity.”  The basic premise being that many of us choose to live on a much lower plane than what we are designed to live or are called to live spiritually and personally.  This is so true in so many other areas of our lives as well.  However, it is my firm belief that in order to be better than we are we must determine to be better.  We must decide that blending into the fabric of our culture so as not to be seen or to live our lives unchallenged is a cowardly, lazy, and ultimately destructive to ourselves and all the people that could benefit from our seeking excellence.

Let it be said that “AVERAGE” people are the norm in most instances in human life.  I submit that most people consider themselves to be “AVERAGE” and thus they dismiss themselves from any personal consideration for “GREATNESS.”  Their lot in life is set and they are perfectly happy living out their days without putting forth effort to excel.  They are just glad to be alive.

However, it is imperative that if you or I seek to be great at something that we announce to ourselves and then to the world that we are here to fulfill our call to “GREATNESS” and we will stop at nothing to fulfill that calling.  Know that the call to excellence goes out to all persons everywhere but more often than not, the number that respond to this call to greatness is very small.

I would suggest that if and when you decide to be more than “AVERAGE” you will have to decide privately at first, that “GREATNESS” in your chosen craft is your biggest desire.  Next, you will have to devise a plan that will take you from seeming obscurity and disbelief to an existence filled with determination and accomplishments.  Get this plan into play fast.  It will guide you along the road to completing your calling to “GREATNESS.”

In Closing: Go about the business of announcing to the world that you will not be average.  Instead, shout from the roof tops that you are here to finish the work of becoming great.

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

This is a maxim that cannot be violated.  Each of us must learn to “walk alone” because we need to be able to establish the course for our lives without someone looking over our shoulders. In fact, most of us “mere mortals” perform much better when we are being watched or when we want to impress someone who is watching.  The real challenge for us is to keep performing when nobody is watching and getting to our tasks daily despite not feeling like doing them.

Right Biceps Peak!

“Most Muscular”

The biggest hurdle to winning is to overcome the gigantic temptation to do things only when the “fire is hot” or in other words, when we feel like it.  There’s an old saying that says, “When motivation runs out—discipline must take over.”  Unfortunately, we are all human and are subject to scheduling or best efforts when we feel like doing it.  To win, all of us must be determined to do our training even when it is inconvenient or when we are tired.

Feelings are like emotions.  They should attach themselves as the caboose to our train and come along and behave themselves.  We cannot trust them to push in the right direction, especially when motivation is lacking.  During these “low times” it is best to plug in our brains, search our souls, and act on the commitment(s) that we have sworn to uphold and accomplish.  A quote (Maxim) that I wrote about awhile back was from Flex Lewis who said, “The Trophy is earned in the hours when nobody is watching.”  I have learned to walk alone and its excitingly refreshing to know that my training regimen is not dependent on someone else’s presence or help.  I hold myself to a standard that guarantees that my training is effective and I skip nothing.

I would suggest, especially for us bodybuilders that when we do not feel like training or doing the diet, or doing cardio, that we practice standing up and walking to where our training clothes are waiting for us and put on the first article of clothing.  My promise is that when you do this miracles begin to happen.  The faster you put on your training clothes the stronger is the urge to get to the gym and make ourselves into champions.

In closing.  When you outline your training strategy remember these basic points: 1.) Do not miss workouts. 2.) Do not talk during the workout.  People who interrupt you will only steal your training time. 3.) Work harder than anybody else in the gym—-bar none! Be determined to out work everybody.  4.) When you leave the gym say to yourself, “I own this place.”  Write these things down and put them on the wall beside your bed so you will never forget them.  They are your guides for consistency and effort so you do not fall into complacency which is your death.  Be consistent and trust the process—your trophy is waiting.

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

We all have a deep commitment to something and/or somebody.  So strong is our commitment that we are willing to die to protect it, to preserve it, to provide for it, and to make it ours.  In the world of competition there are times when the task or the opposition is so daunting that we are forced to rethink our strategy and willingness to suffer and persevere in order to attain the goal or to defeat our opponents.

Doug’s Back at Nationals in July 2015 outside hotel.

“Most Muscular” on Stage 21 June 2014, Utah Valley University, Provo, Utah

Neutral Position on Stage 21 June 2014

NEVER BACK DOWN!

Let it be said that the greatest weapon we possess is our personal resolve.  When we have taken the time to meditate on our goal and we have determined that this particular goal is worth everything to us then “NEVER BACKING DOWN” is the only response to any challenge.

In the world of contest there can be “NO BACKING DOWN” as we talked about above.  Also, it is equally important that we communicate our resolve to “NEVER BACK DOWN” to our opponents.  They have to know down deep in their souls that you are determined to see this thing through. Putting this in front of our enemies as early as possible is essential and paramount. By doing this we control the psychological high ground.  We essentially steal their resolve before the contest even begins.

In bodybuilding it must be communicated to our fellow contenders that we are there to win.  Our foes are put on notice that this is our stage and they will be forced to demonstrate that they are worthy to be on the same field of play with us.  Again, there is nothing in the Lord’s kingdom here on earth that will deter us from advancing our cause.  There is nothing that can be done make us , “BACK DOWN” from this moment. Our mindset has to convey the thought that I own this night and I will not surrender to anybody or anything.

So!!! To all who would take me captive and take what is rightfully mine and destroy me I say, “LOOK DEEP INTO MY EYES AND REALIZE THAT I WILL NEVER BACK DOWN!”

To be a winner, this has to be our mantra and we have to project this mantra to our enemies before stepping onto the field of contest and persistently while the fight is underway to the end.

I admonish all of us to go and “NEVER BACK DOWN!”

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

Every one of us will fall flat on our faces sooner or later during this lifetime.  All of us, at this point will have a decision to make. 1.) We can learn from our tumble to the ground, get up, and go on with a brand new sense of maturity and confidence.  When we choose this course of action we are “new and improved” people who are better prepared for the next set of challenges. or 2.) We can decide that this crash to the ground has done us in.  We surrender to the temptation to do nothing.  It is when we make this decision that we have laid the foundation for our own demise.  We have chosen death over superior effort and life.

When we launch ourselves into a new endeavor we will fail repeatedly until we get it right.  It is vital that we remember why we started in this direction and review with ourselves the plan of action that is needed to overcome this predicament and to excel.

In the world of bodybuilding there is a very steep learning curve especially in the first year.  We have to buy into the maxim that nothing is free and whatever we go through to become a champion is worth it.  Every day holds out the possibility of doing something very wrong that will cause any one of us to see only loss and failure.  The tons of new exercises, the hours spent on an elliptical machine doing daily cardio, the discipline required to stick with the program when it is very hard, the tons of supplements needed to make up for what our diet cannot provide. the posing practice that can be as physically taxing as a workout.  The “grind” can wear is down and cause us to doubt our resolve to finish the trek to the winner’s circle.

It’s during these times that we have to take stock of who we are inside.  This is the moment of truth for all of us in bodybuilding.  The discouragement and difficulty of the road forward can cause us to “fall.”  We skip workouts, we don’t pay attention to our diets, we fail to do cardio etc.  The “fall” isn’t always instantaneous, it may be a slow abandonment of the fire that brought us so far.  It’s here that we must decide to learn something about ourselves, get up, and continue the journey to success.  It is here that we must count the cost of “staying down.”  We must confront the consequences of deciding to not continue.  In every situation, there is only a single outcome for “staying down.”  It always results in the death of our dreams, our goals, and ultimately, our own character is at stake.

Bodybuilding is a “daily” exercise of the will to champion and dominate the spirit of defeat in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and failure.  To win and to grow in character we have to decide (while we are fallen) to get back up.

In summary: To fall is normal and expected. To rise again with each failure ignites growth in ourselves that propels us forward.  To decide to “stay down” is the beginning of our own obituary.  Get up! We need you to remain in the fight for excellence.  Be an example to others who have “fallen” and are considering “staying down.”

Until Next Time, I remain: Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (ret), MHSM

Vascular Arm

Success

Everybody wants to be successful and it is safe to say that nobody wants to be a failure.  Its a well known fact that “Miracles Tend to Happen——to Those Who Work Very Hard.”  When you sit around waiting for the angel to stir up the waters at the “Pool of Bethesda” you will wait an awfully long time.  Even when the waters are stirred up you/I will have a ready made excuse as to why we could not get into the pool.  This image at the Pool of Bethesda illustrates just how firmly we anchor ourselves to our current circumstances and how much we have settled for “Living Below the Level of Mediocrity.”

What if we were to prepare for the angel’s arrival to help us into the Pool of Bethesda by inching ourselves a little closer to the Pool’s edge using a plan we devise.  This little move will enhance our chances of getting into the Pool when the time is right.  With this foresight we will need a plan to move that short distance to the Pool’s edge.  It’s really hard work to think it through, gather any necessary materials, and then executing the move.  Because we are crippled and have chosen to settle and be defined by our circumstances we have never thought of being better.  But now, you/I have the unique opportunity to take on a new idea to make us better.  It takes monumental effort.  So, each day we practice implementing some simple daily disciplines to cover the distance between where we are and where we need to be.  We are soon in position to realize the miracles we so desperately seek.

Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding is not complicated but it requires doing very simple things daily to take us to the next level or to prepare us for battle on the stage.   Simple Disciplines executed and organized to accomplish the desired results.  These things that we do each day lays the foundation for superior performance.

Ted Williams, the great hitter from a generation ago for the Boston Red Sox was considered to be the ultimate natural hitter in all of baseball history.  A sports writer asked him what his secret was to be the spectacular hitter that he was.  He held out his hands palms upward for the sports writer to see them.  His hands were covered with blisters, callouses, cuts and bruises. He said to the writer, “I’m here at the ballpark 2 hours before the other players are required to be here taking batting practice.  Then, when the game is over and the crowd has all gone home, I take two more hours of batting practice.  That’s what’s demanded to be a good hitter.  This is also why my hands look like this.”  The sports writer didn’t have any more questions.  The answer is hard and easy at the same time.  There is no such thing as a “natural hitter.”  It takes tons of work on a faithful basis.

With bodybuilding you learn that basic movements done consistently will provide the necessary/desired muscle mass to appear.  Four Simple Disciplines: 1.). Never miss workouts—consistency is vital. 2.). Never talk during workouts.  Don’t let others steal your training time. 3.). Work harder than anybody else in the gym——bar none!!  4.). Leave the gym with the attitude that this is “MY GYM—-I OWN IT!

These “Simple Disciplines” done daily will take you to the Winners Circle.  Establish them immediately.  Obey them and trust the process. Winning will take care of itself. Remember!  Once you have won nobody can ever take it from you.  Winning belongs to you.

Parting Shot! There is an old saying that “when MOTIVATION” is gone, “DISCIPLINE” takes over.  You have your challenges and I have mine.  Stay in touch and let me know how you are doing.

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

Too often we live our lives by judging ourselves based on where we are.  We take a look at ourselves, our physical appearance, our circumstances, our self-esteem and self-confidence etc. and conclude there is no reason to try to be different.  We are paralyzed by “today.”  For instance.  Today, I am ugly.  Today, I a weakling. Today, I am not qualified.  Today, is all I can look forward to.  In effect, we have settled due to a thousand little bits of discouragement.  These bits of discouragement have stolen our dreams and our aspirations to be something better than we are.

The really sad thing is that we have developed a personal narrative that gives us a ready made excuse to not try.  Example: Oh, I don’t want to look like that.  I just don’t have the discipline to make this happen.  I hurt my knee the last time I tried to get into great shape andI am afraid I will hurt it again.  The list of excuses is legion!  Each excuse becomes a truism that we hide behind to dismiss ourselves from going after the great things that are bubbling inside us to accomplish.

Truth Number One:

We have to understand that we “can” do anything we set out to do.  Where we are is only the beginning of the journey to greatness.  We have to imagine that the starting point is similar to pushing off the bottom of a swimming pool to the surface.  Once we shove off the bottom we are on our way.  But shove off we must if we are to avoid drowning in our decision to be nothing more than who we are.

Truth Number Two:

We have to fix our end result firmly in our minds.  We cannot forget what we want.  We have to devise a system to bring our goal to remembrance especially in times of great discouragement or during circumstances that seem to threaten our progress to the winners’s circle.

Truth Number Three:

No matter what we have to construct a plan of action that has our beginning and our end goal in mind.  We have to drop our plan to paper and then commit ourselves to following the plan and trusting the process to reach the goal.

Truth Number Four:

As soon as the plan is in place you must immediately begin the journey.  Nothing gets in the way of executing the plan.  Each day is a battle to progress.  Each day, a document must be generated to record our progress.  Everything has to be brought to bear on the end game.  Nothing is left to chance.

Lastly, wisdom is earned by effort and experience.  Everything else is window dressing as we close in on the goal.  We must not be afraid of effort and we have to trust the process that we have put into place to win.  We have to look back and understand that we are changing into the winner that we never were before.  This is our time and nobody can take it from us.  We play to win.  We do not play to NOT to lose.  We only advance by being on the offensive and we dare not retreat.  Imagine winning!  Never lose that image——ever!

When we have finally attained our goal we are winners forever.  You and I will never go back to the beginning and settle for nothingness.  It’s absolutely vital that we embrace effort and expect to win.  Life is not to be lived vicariously through others.  This life is mine and I’ve come to take all the things they said I could never have.

I am a bodybuilder.  My coach, Justin’s Dees says, “You can say it all you want, but you have to do it.”  In other words, talk is cheap but actions define me.  This year I am going to out work and out perform all of my competitors always because I have to prove to my coach that I want to become a pro bodybuilder more than he does.

Stay tuned!  You have your challenge and I have mine.  Let me know how you are doing and best of all tell me what you have accomplished and how you did it.

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

When we are young and we think we know everything, we conclude that the world is too big to conquer or even to face.  Our fear of taking on something this big can paralyze us or we can take it on and see what happens.  After awhile of surging forward into an uncharted world we start a serious process of introspection.  We ask, “Who am I?” And “Where am I headed?”  When we enter this phase we once again face the real possibility of being paralyzed with indecision or we can do some self discovery and continue moving forward.

Obviously, if you are reading this blog you had to have chosen to move forward.  We seek to find ourselves.  This advice was passed to each of us in the form of this simple quip, “we have to find ourselves.”  Well, it sounds good and it resonates with some truth but it lacks definitive action to make yourself and your circumstances different.  I submit that we need to be about the business of “Creating” ourselves everyday, all day, forever.

Creating yourself!

To create yourself means you have decided to follow your heart and to act on that which is most passionate.  Each moment of your life must be lived in such a way that your self creation is brought closer to being a reality.  There is no other way to live.  I don’t want to find myself again.  I want to follow the impulses of my heart that make me into that magnificent being that God intended me to be.  We must reach for the things that are seemingly too big to conquer when they stand in our way of becoming the creature that we were intended to be.

To create ourselves means we have to decide that what we have chosen to be is precisely what we want.  We need to decide that our goal is worth having and that it is worth working for and in some cases sacrificing for.  We must be so sure of our goal that literally nothing can get in the way of it’s attainment.

We have to begin where we stand.  In bodybuilding we must take a realistic and honest assessment of where we are.  If we are fat, it must be corrected.  If we are skinny we have to add mass.  But, we have to remember that it’s not where we started, it’s where we end up that counts.

Next, we have to put a plan into place that will set the course to our goal.  Tons of thought and maybe hours of constructing the plan will be undertaken.  Once the plan is in place we will then begin the task of creating ourselves to match the goals set.  It is hard and it requires epic effort at times.  There will be moments of total discouragement.  But, we have to go on.  There will be other things that will cause us to lose our way and want to return to the times before we started.  But, we have to go on.

Lastly, I found myself the moment I came into this world.  But, it took a very conscious effort to take what I am and to create from it the person and winner that I am.  Stay close to your self-creative genius and reach for that which makes you more magnificent than you could ever imagine.  Settle for nothing short of reaching your goals.  You and I will win because we are artisans that are shaping a creation to win.

Doug’s Back at Nationals in July 2015 outside hotel.

All of us have been held down by the opinions of others that are close to us.  A Few of the opinions are well meant and very sincere but ultimately they create a boundary for us.  Somebody in our life’s history has wanted the best for us and they went about the business of deciding for us what we were to do and how far we could go.  These wonderful friends and relatives unknowingly told us who we were and what we would become.  In our youthful ignorance we believed them and we established goals that others set for us.  We were pigeon-holed.

Sometimes there were those that sought our demise or wanted to severely restrict us in the pursuit of our dreams.  These people were usually jealous friends, colleagues or enemies.  Sometimes these people were/are our competitors.  This last group of people love to see us fail so they can gloat over us because we crashed and burned.

“Some Things They Said I Could Not Have”

I was born smaller than most of my contemporaries.  In school I was usually picked last or not at all when we played games.  I often felt that anything I possessed personally or physically would never be enough.  I certainly did not believe I could be successful.  I was told by example, experience and sometimes directly that I would not be good enough to play with the big boys.

At about age 11 my life changed dramatically due to baseball.  In my first season, I made the all-star team.  Baseball was the first thing that I was told I could not have.  Baseball became an intricate part of my life and I was uniquely successful in high school as a catcher and a reasonable hitter.  But, the secret to overcoming other peoples expectations is found in total commitment to being good enough.  There is a quote by one of my bodybuilding heroes, Flex Lewis.  He states, “The Trophy is won during the hours when nobody is watching.”  I took this idea to ridiculous lengths.  Quite literally, anything I wanted to be successful at I would invest hundreds or even thousands of hours in practicing or training on the desired skill.  I became a very boring fellow.  I did things like, running in the alley after dark.  Lifting weights in the gym after everybody had gone home.  Running the stadium steps in the dark.  There were a hundred other disciplines that I worked at to be ready.  I was primed to take “the things that I was told I could not have.”

As a bodybuilder, I’ve drawn on these old lessons to stay on track with my quest to win.  Each morning I hit the gym for 1.5 hours of training.  When I’m done I get my diet into place.  I take my supplements and I set aside time to do 45 minutes to an hour of cardio.  Nobody thought or encouraged me to make bodybuilding or anything a priority.  The only person who believed in me was my wife.  She is my stabilizing power and my greatest fan.  She has been there watching me move from one skill to the next, from one trophy to the next.  Christine knows my struggle and has lived it with me.  By contrast many in my own family did not believe I could win in this arena.  Most of my most influential family members thought/think that I should not be a bodybuilder. But, I am winning and I have set my sites on the Nationals to win my Pro Card this year.  This is a goal that many did not believe was in me.  Now, “I am coming to take everything they said I couldn’t have”.

Lastly and in closing.  Listen to your heart first. Decide that what you want is worth having.  Put together a plan to get it.  Then, execute your plan with all your heart and strength.  Listen to nobody who talks your idea or dream down.  Put in the work.  Remember, “Miracles Tend to Happen to Those Who Work Very Hard.”

Until next time I remain,

Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (Ret), MHSM

Doug’s Back at Nationals in July 2015 outside hotel.

Sir Winston Churchill said, “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm”

Wow! What causes us to move forward despite taking one major hit after another?  What picks us up when we have been knocked down?  Is there a power that undergirds us when we have failed?  Each of us has a level of tolerance that defines us and our willingness to keep going in the face of extreme  discouragement of even defeat.  This “level of tolerance” is learned over time.  We engage in life as enthusiastic participants giving our all to succeed and when failure occurs we make a mark in our minds that establishes how far we can go safely.  We are fencing in our own expectations for our lives.  This lesson of self regulation is subtle but real and it limits our ability to be enthusiastic and forward looking.

We will FAIL!

Fear of failure is paralyzing.  Many of us, me included, have been taught by people and our life experiences that any failure is a sign of absolute personal annihilation.  We take on life by playing “not to lose” rather than playing “to win.”  We are already beaten and we are just going through the motions of striving to be better as we await the predictable result—-FAILURE! Maybe, it is better to say that we have programmed ourselves accept the inevitable rather than even develop a “fear of failure.”  We are so convinced that failure is the only outcome that we do not try to win.  Bottom line here is that we WILL fail but that failure is not the bottom line nor is failure what we must accept as OUR reality.

Enthusiasm in the Face of Failure

The secret to avoiding debilitating failure after a setback is to have the “end game” firmly locked into place.  We have to know WHAT we want and HOW we are going to go about attaining the thing we want.  Developing a road map to success is the key to staying enthusiastic when we experience failure, after failure, after failure, after failure.  The road map is our guide.  It is our reassurance that we are on the right path.  The knowledge that we are making progress despite the seeming crushing defeats provides an amazing boost to our confidence along the way.

I have had to invoke the admonition of my Bodybuilding Coach, Justin Dees who, on more than one occasion that I must “Trust the Process.”  The points of discouragement for all of us who do bodybuilding are many.  Most of the time our sticking points have to do with making size gains in our physiques, dieting for a contest, conditioning to lose that unwanted fat to get ready for the stage, selecting the best music, and ultimately remaining enthusiastic as we prepare to be better or to compete.  When we find ourselves “under performing” we must remember to “to trust the process.”  The Process is the road map that keeps us going.  Knowing what we want and following the plan will keep us on the right path.

“Success is our ability to move from failure to failure without losing our enthusiasm.”——Sir Winston Churchill

This is what defines us.  This is an ability that is learned. There is no other attitude that will carry us when failure is the order of the day.

My best training partner, Christine and I together.

Front Lat Spread

Final Thought: Being our best is a choice and it is imperative that we accept failure, learn from it, keep our excitement paramount, and never lose track of where we are going,  Keep moving and love the journey!  It belongs only to you.

Until next time I remain:

Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (ret), MHSM