If you’re wondering why there wasn’t a post yesterday, it’s because my ISP took a shit. Today, I had to use internet at a public location. I had a nice “Toe Angle when Squatting” post lined up, but the upload speed for the accompanying video is abysmal. Instead, here are some videos to wet your whistle.
Ask questions for tomorrow’s Q&A in today’s comments. I’ll gather up the good ones and use them tomorrow. Also, feel free to post interesting articles for me and other readers (if they are solid, I’ll add them to the weekly reading list).
Oh! I nearly forgot. Klokov was in my dream last night. We sat on a bench in Soviet Russia and had a conversation.. He was wearing a tank top. He talked about life and training. I came.
Here’s Norik Vardanian cleaning, then front squatting, then jerking 210kg (no big deal):
Shawn and I attended the finals of the Arnold Classic at the Arnold Sport Festival. We had sorta followed bodybuilding a few years ago and there’s still a few guys that Shawn is a fan of (like Kai Greene), but when we sat down, we both had that, “I immediately regret this decision,” feeling. It was mostly because we were subjected to at least 45 minutes of dudes posing (badly) to (shitty) music. I don’t know what bothered me more, the fact that Branch Warren won best poser with music choices of Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock, or that everyone was whistling, hooting, and hollering during the abortion of a performance. Seriously, what happened to the grace and artful posing I saw in Pumping Iron? The bottom line is that Shawn and I weren’t aroused by this type of stuff.
The culture of today’s bodybuilding is where the disconnect is. When I look at Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding, it just seems different than today’s bodybuilding. Yes, guys were still training to improve their physique, but the drugs resulted in a more streamlined look. They had good shape, and even the bigger guys weren’t uncomfortably bulky; the size seemed to fit each man’s frame. But the issue isn’t that the physiques are significantly different (as a result of the drug improvements), but instead the difference is the culture surrounding it. Remember the scene in Pumping Iron when Arnold visited a prison and did a posing routine? The thugs and gang bangers had an honest appreciation for the beauty of the human body. It seemed like the world was more impressed with bodybuilding and strength sports back then. There were powerlifting broadcasts hosted by Bryant Gumbel in the ’70s and routine public appearances by bodybuilders. It seems like it was all so new to society that there was still that “go see the strongman at the circus” aura behind it. It’s only natural since the preceding century saw the Civil War, World War I, and World War II; society didn’t have the luxury to bodybuild and it was fascinating because it was different.
Yet, today’s culture has gone through a metamorphosis that makes it…weird. The majority of attendees at the Arnold Classic finals were wearing designer clothes, plucked their eyebrows, and applied fake tanning solution — and I’m not even talking about the girls. This crowd also trains to only improve their physique, but there’s also that “we’re going clubbing” feel to it. It seems that if you integrate yourself into today’s bodybuilding culture by working out or competing, you inherently implement the “peacock” mentality of spreading your wings. “Look and be flashy” is not only standard ops, but what it’s all about.
And it doesn’t matter why this is the case, because it doesn’t matter. What matters is that there is a culture that not only prides itself on how good it looks, but on how flashy and shiny they can appear to others in the same group. Ultimately, that’s just weird to me. Sure, I want to be attractive, masculine, and muscular, but to me these traits (at least the latter two) are dependent on ability, performance, and health. Be strong and look strong. I’m not saying that the inherent level of narcissism in today’s bodybuilding is wrong, I’m just saying that it’s different and not my kind of thing.
We’re very accustomed to the “me” generation. Social media like Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter give people the impression that other people give a shit what they have to say. Posting pictures of yourself and how you look is not only standard ops, but expected. Perhaps it’s a result of a generation of bad parenting and society catering towards kids. Unfortunately, marketing to kids is a good idea because parents are able to spend money for their children. We see entire television networks and restaurant menus devoted to kids. Instead of getting told what to do, as they should be, kids get a choice about everything. They are given the impression that someone gives a shit about their opinion. This fills them with a sense of self-importance at an age when they shouldn’t be heard at all (especially in airports, restaurants, stores, or any other public place ever). Once they reach adolescence, they continue to spit their self-important thoughts and image to their peers, and this kind of behavior flows naturally into the bodybuilding culture.
Seeing bodybuilding online is different than seeing it in person. Since we’re subjected to people posting pictures of their clothes or body, it’s not abnormal to see that on bodybuilding forums. Yet when you’re in a building with several thousand people who are trying so hard to be noticed, it’s almost overwhelming. Shawn and I stood in the lobby as the crowds flowed out of the auditorium after the show. There were scarves, v-necks, and overwhelming stenches of cologne. I was unshaven in jeans, boots, and flannel, and I couldn’t have wanted to be further from that crowd (perhaps on the side of a mountain next to a river chopping firewood). It’s not that I thought everyone was wrong, it’s that I just know I’ll never fucking understand it.
(Video of Arnold’s speech at the Arnold Classic finals)
Monday’s are devoted to female related topics to help females begin or continue to train. This particular post is relevant to fellas as well.
I like Erin Stern. She’s not weird and trains hard with sprints, plyos, squats, and (sorta) does Olympic lifting. The “being athletic” part makes me like her over regular figure competitors, but she’s also positive and likes to inspire other people. Lastly, she eats pretty much the same in her “off-season” as her “in-season”; her fitness is a way of life instead of something she cycles.
She posted the above picture on her Facebook page, and it had received a lot of responses. It’s obvious that she’s not out shape in the picture on the left, but there is a significant difference in her development between the two pictures. Erin’s caption was, “If you want something badly enough… you will push through every rep, each set, the tears, and the sweat! Through patience and perseverance, you can achieve anything :)”
Kinda corny, but Erin’s goal was and is to be win the biggest figure competitions in the world. 8 years separates the two pictures above. 8 years of training hard four to six times a week and making consistently good decisions in her diet. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s goal was to become the best bodybuilder in the world. Then the greatest bodybuilder in history. A successful businessman. A Hollywood star. A politician. Successful people aim their goals high and bust their ass to achieve those goals.
I looked at the comments on Erin’s photo, and some of them irritated the shit out of me.
“ya, like we’ll ever look like that”
“so how do u stay so lean now without gaining all that back with one cheat meal… do u eat “diet food” all the time?”
“Ordinary” people think that extra-ordinary feats are out of their reach. There were also other comments from people who were fawning at Stern’s feet, expressing how AMAZING it was that she could accomplish this change and how MOTIVATING she was. The former group doesn’t think that they can do it all and the latter didn’t think they could until they saw someone else do it. I have a secret for you: successful people never feel either of those things. In actuality, successful people don’t have a set of skills that are different than you or “ordinary” people. Instead, they have an extra-ordinary desire to “get after it”. They look at the pinnacle, or beyond, and say, “That is where I want to go, and I won’t rest until I’m there.” They will fight, bite, and scratch their way to get there. They will push harder and farther, they will bloody themselves nearly to death, but they will never second guess themselves. They know only one thing: they should go forward and never look back.
It pisses me off when someone looks at a picture of Erin Stern or a video of Chris deadlifting 705 and voice how they think that the performer just “has something” that they don’t. They see the end product and compare themselves to it. What they don’t realize it that there are hundreds, thousands of hours of sweat, grit, and pain to get to that point. What they don’t realize is that the person they compare themselves is not any different than them. It’s just that the successful person made a decision a long time ago to be the best that they could possibly be.
I can also tell you that a successful person is never satisfied. Do you think Erin Stern is okay with not winning the figure competition at the Arnold this year? Do you think Klokov is content with the fact that he hasn’t won an Olympic gold medal? Do you think that Arnold thinks he has peaked? Some in the Army consider Ranger School as the pinnacle of success, but I know guys who get their tab pinned on and then quietly walk away as they think, “What’s next?” Chris didn’t go home and think about how he’ll deadlift 705 for the rest of his life. No, each person craves the next challenge and busts their fucking ass to get there.
Someone recently commented on the site and said something like, “Some of us aren’t trying to be mega jacked and just want to get good, healthy workouts in.” I responded respectfully, but I honestly don’t understand that statement. You don’t want to be as strong or jacked as you can be? What does that even MEAN? It’s totally fair if someone’s family and work are the focus in their goals of success, but you’re never going to have any meaningful progress and success if you don’t step into a gym and aim to crush your god damn enemies.
Male or female, weak or strong, make a fucking decision to be great and never, ever look back.
There were five events spaced out on Friday and Saturday. Shawn and I attended the bodybuilding finals that (thankfully) also included the Strongman Classic final event and awards presentation.
View all of the competitors HERE.
View all of the events HERE.
I’ve known of Jeff Martone (owner of Tactical Athlete) since I got into CrossFit in early 2008, but I had never met him. After Shankle lifted in the 105 session on Saturday morning, Martone was sitting at his booth by himself and Jeremy and I decided to try the 90 pound pull-up (for a free t-shirt). I, of course, missed it:
Then I asked Jeff he was going to do any kettlebell juggling, but he only had 90 pound kettlebells (a bit heavy for KB juggling). Then I asked if he was going to do any Turkish Get-ups, and he said he needed a female that weighed 135 or less.
Mission: Find female who was 135 or less.
I went up to an over-cooked-tan blonde girl, and said, “Hi. I realize this isn’t a question a guy would typically ask a girl, but how much do you weigh?” I didn’t get slapped because I’m a little more suave than that, but she was 155. Then I saw a little gal walking with her husband. I politely asked the husband, and after hearing the question he chuckled and said, “Ask her,” while pointing to his wife. Well, we already know that that MISSION WAS ACCOMPLISHED, and here’s the vid (she weighed 110 pounds):
Jeff Martone has tons of experience in a variety of things including kettlebell training, martial arts, SWAT, self defense, and more. Read his accolades HERE.
And here’s an interview with Jeff Martone by Tyler Haas.
