It’s the times that you don’t want to train that will show your true desire and will to win… How often do you wake up and just do not want to go to the weight room, batting cage, football field, volleyball court? What do you do in those situations; do you roll over and go back to bed? Do you make compromises because you just aren’t feeling it today? Do you say “alright starting Monday I’ll get back after it?” We have all been in these situations but as I said these are the situations that define us. I’ve talked a lot about being average in past posts and how I refuse to be it and this is one of the ways I “beat” the average out of myself. I have to train no matter what and no matter how I feel because I know the average person just rolls over and goes back to bed, the average person makes compromises. I’m not trying to be high and mighty, there have been times when I’ve succumb to the state of averageness, and I absolutely hate it. So when I feel the average part of me trying to take over I have put things in place to make my better half overcome. This is usually in the form of watching a video or reading an article that really makes me want to get after it. I’m not really sure why doing these things work for me. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m seeing someone rise above their own feelings of being average and it makes me realize I need to do the same. For you it might be something different but it’s up to you to find something to make you conquer those bad days, to rise above your negative thoughts and feelings of inadequacy. We all have the ability to be great but it is only you that can unlock the potential. Am I being corny? Maybe, but corny is what we need sometimes to get through those rough days; and I’d rather be corny than average. This was a short and to the point rant, but a rant that was needed. If you’re like me and get jacked up watching inspirational videos and reading inspirational articles then take a look below at the things I currently look to when I’m having those lazy days.

ARTICLES

The Walk On by Jim Wendler

A Letter To My Younger Self by Jim Wendler

VIDEOS

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By far my favorite video to get me jacked up to go train

Former SAPT coach Chris Romanow is one of the people who got me interested in powerlifting so seeing him smash heavy weight makes me want to do the same

SAPT client and friend Ron Reed inspires me to achieve goals, his work ethic is second to none

I have no idea who this guy is but he is dedicated

Just a few random thoughts that have been running around my mind and some training videos for everyone out there. Random Thoughts:

I’ve been struggling as of late when it comes to high school weight training either as a class or after school for sports. It seems to be very few and far between that you have sport coaches/weight training teachers who know what they’re doing in the weight room (I’m not saying all of them). Just talking to athletes about what they do in there blows my mind such as maxing every three weeks with terrible form, crumpling under the barbell during a squat or rounding their back and hitching a deadlift just to get the weight up. Most of these kids can’t do a bodyweight squat correctly, why are they maxing with a barbell on their back? I’m not trying to make people angry but it just seems ignorant when there is so much good/free information everywhere that would help these coaches and their athletes immensely. I attribute this to one of two things, they are to prideful to admit they don’t know what they are doing or they just don’t care to find out that what they are doing is wrong and harmful. Either way it’s unacceptable.

The previous thought kind of led into the idea of being average. I’ve heard people for as long as I can remember talk about how they are better than “average” or that they don’t want to be just “average”. I always thought that thinking like that was arrogant, or that they felt they were superior. I used to be of the mindset that in order to be above average you had to be something like an astronaut, sports superstar, movie star, bill gates, you know things along those lines. I’m assuming I thought that way because from the time I was in elementary school to the end of high school that’s what I felt I was, just average. Why? Because I was led to believe that’s what I was by OTHER people. It wasn’t until college when I started taking my physical education and exercise science classes that I started to realize that I wasn’t “average” and that I never want to be “average”. I started becoming more confident in my intelligence and through weight training I became more physically confident, and most importantly I stopped listening to negative people. This all lead to me understanding that it’s OK to NOT want to be average. Nobody should want that. Whatever it is that you are currently doing you shouldn’t be satisfied with being average at it. Whether you are a student, strength coach, teacher, sport coach, attorney, grounds keeper, etc. you should STRIVE to be better so you can look back when it’s all said and done and be able to say you left your mark. Anyways the reason why this all got sparked was because I’ve been hoping this is the message that I am instilling in the athletes I work with. There is enough negativity in the world and I REFUSE to be a negative influence when it comes to working with these kids.

My last thought as of late is that I want to buy a truck. Really not for any other reason than to buy a Prowler to leave in the bed of the truck just so I can always have it on hand in case the mood strikes to push it. Weird right?

Videos:

And without further delay, here are some videos to take your mind off the incoherent rant you just read….

Here are two of our female high school volleyball athletes. I think they are just realizing that they are really strong. SAPT is really proud of all their progress…

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The next video is of one of my training partners and GMU’s S&C graduate assistant John Delgado. He’s currently doing Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 and he decided to get real squirrely with this 315 deadlift for what I believe is 13 reps…

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The last video is of me getting in some work for my upcoming powerlifting competition. My training is going really well and my squats and pulls feel really fast and smooth (bench is still feeling a bit weird and wild). I’m about 7 weeks out from the Richmond Open and I am getting all sorts of jacked up about it.

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