I Want To Be Batman... (*spoiler alert*)
Almost all of us grew up dreaming of becoming a super hero; whether it was G.I. Joe, Superman, the Ninja Turtles, Spiderman, etc. When I was growing up I wanted to be just like Batman. I had all the Batman toys, I watched Batman the animated series, I constantly watched the movies Batman and Batman Returns, I even safety pinned a towel around my neck and pretended to be him. At that point I probably couldn’t tell you why. Maybe it was the cool gadgets, or that he was a normal man who could kick ass, perhaps the sweet batcave and huge mansion, who knows but I wanted to be him. Luckily, at the ripe old age of 25 I finally figured out why I want to be him after all these years, because anyone can truly be Batman… I know that might seem like a weird statement but its true. I don’t mean that as far as jumping from building to building, taking down mob bosses and psychopaths, or striking fear into the hearts of criminals. Anyone can be Batman in the sense of what he stands for and the ideals he instills. After watching the last installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, I found myself in an extreme amount of deep thought. I was truly inspired by the trilogy and wanted to understand why I felt so strongly about all three movies, why they hit such a chord with me. I decided to watch all three movies again and pull out quotes that I felt really exemplified the essence of what batman is and what he stands for and how it can apply to everyday life.
Batman Begins
“If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, then you become something else entirely…. A legend, Mr. Wayne.”
Henri Ducard says this to Bruce when he has found Bruce lost in the shuffle, searching for a way to become something more. We were all like this at one point in our life, being 25 I’m young and still feel like this. When you’re young you search for a way to do something great, to be something more. The problem is that somewhere down the line you start to believe that you’re not great or that you have nothing to offer. If this becomes your mindset then not only do you become lost in the shuffle, you may stay lost your whole life. I don’t know about you but when it’s all said and done I want the people most important to me to know I stood for something more, that I made a difference. And that’s the point of the quote; devote yourself to something bigger than you and you can truly help people and become something else entirely. Why do we know about people like Louie Simmons, Jim Wendler, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Mel Siff? Because they devoted themselves to a purpose bigger than them; they stayed out of the shuffle and on their own path. We can all do this it’s just a matter of choosing too.
“It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.”
Batman says this to Rachel towards the end of the movie as almost a thank you to her for never giving up on him. Deep down I believe I am something more, that I’m a good person, that I have the potential to do great things. These are all just feelings though, not actions. I found myself asking do I put these feelings into action in my everyday life and the answer was no, or really, not as much as I could. Too many times do we make excuses for why we don’t live the way we believe we actually are. How often have you not held an elevator door because you were in “too much of a hurry?” How often have you half-assed your job or your workout because “you just weren’t feeling it today?” I’m not trying to be high and mighty because I’m guilty of this as well and I’m tired of it. As corny as it sounds Batman doesn’t do this so I’m not going to either. Because like I said I can feel that I’m this or that but that’s not what counts that’s not what defines me; my actions define me. I can realize my potential, I can do better… You can do better.
The Dark Knight
“Endure. You can be the outcast. You can make the choice that no one else will face - the right choice. Gotham needs you.”
Alfred says this to Bruce when he feels Joker’s rampage has become too much for Gotham to handle and believes turning himself in is the only way to end it. In life when problems arise there will always be an easy way out, and a lot of people will take that route. Can you be different? Can you make the decision that no one else can? This is something we should all strive for because when it comes down to it the easy way out usually only benefits one person, yourself. This opportunity really hasn’t come full circle yet for me but when it does I hope and I feel that I can endure, I can be the outcast where other people cannot. This problem may arise for you and the hard solution might be one that causes people to not think as highly of you, it may cause you to lose a friend but the strength to endure may help those people in the long run. Maybe it arises in the form of a job opportunity that pays a boat load of money but you have the choice of another job that may not pay as much but where you know you can make a real difference in people’s lives. It can come in any form really but we all have the ability to endure we just have to realize it.
“Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now...and so we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not a hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector...a dark knight.”
Commissioner Gordon tells his son this when he asks his father why the police are chasing Batman at the end of the movie. This goes hand in hand with the other quote from above. The right decisions may not always be the easiest but that’s not the point of a right decision. The point is to make the decision that will benefit your life, your family, and your friends later down the road. They may not like you for it but you didn’t make the hard decision to be liked you made it because you knew it’s what they deserved. I imagine this is something parents are confronted with on a daily basis. I can’t imagine what it’s like to watch your child as you tell them something that might crush them but you know it’s a decision that had to be made. I hope I can be as strong as my parents were and some of the parents I know when it comes time to make a decision that has my kid questioning whether or not I’m truly their “hero.” But sometimes parents and mentors aren’t heroes; they’re silent guardians, watchful protectors.
The Dark Knight Rises
“There’s a point far out there, when the structures fail you. When the rules aren’t weapons anymore, they’re shackles, letting the bad guy get ahead… “
Commissioner Gordon says this to Detective John Blake when Gotham finds out that it was really Harvey Dent (Two-Face) who killed those people instead of Batman. TDKR brings everything back home and relates a lot back to Batman Begins and this quote does just that. Bruce Wayne couldn’t work within the constraints of the law in order to shake people out of apathy. He saw Gotham’s judicial system as a constraint and their rules at that point in time were letting the bad guy get ahead. This goes back to what I was talking about toward the beginning. We know when we are young that we can do great things but soon the rules we feel we must follow become shackles and we no longer feel we are great, we become lost. It’s up to us to overcome these rules, these shackles, we just have to figure out how and if you don’t it’s only a matter of time before you start losing belief in yourself. I have faced this before in terms of a career. When it came down to making the hard decision I realized that if I went the easy route then the rules that would have been put in place by the structures over me would have prevented me from becoming something more. I would have become lost in the shuffle. I chose to take the hard route and devote myself to an ideal. As a side note, this is why I’m so happy with the people I work with because they’ve all been faced with these decisions before. They made the decisions no one else could have.
“A hero can be anyone- even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulder to let him know the world hasn't ended.”
Batman says this to Jim Gordon when he asks Batman who he really is because Gordon feels Gotham should know that it was Bruce Wayne who gave them everything that he was as a man. I’m going to go a little more in depth in just a little bit about why this quote sums up the whole point of the trilogy. You may not know it but you could be doing something heroic everyday of your life. You could be helping someone and not even know it. I recall a couple weeks ago I was having a conversation with one of our athletes and she was talking about some rough stuff she was going through and all of a sudden she started to cry. I felt awful I really had no idea what to do. I felt helpless and all I wanted to do was to help and I didn’t know how. All I did was give her a hug and told her that everything will work out, it may not work out like you want it to but I promise it will work out. I still felt I could have done more, I don’t and still don’t feel what I said was heroic by any means. But maybe what I did was something simple and hopefully reassuring to her. The point is that we can all have an impact on people every day if we just take the time.
This was a long article I know, but it was an article I really wanted to write. You can view it as corny, I don’t care. In the time we live in, there are so few opportunities to be inspired and these three movies were one of my opportunities. As I read different articles about the trilogy when attempting to shape this blog post I stumbled across a blog by just a random guy who I believe really summed up the main theme of this trilogy and really my main reason for writing this post. He said “A major theme in the story is “Who was Batman? He was just Batman; the person under the mask doesn’t matter, because ANYBODY can be Batman.” We hear this several times, and it speaks back to the longstanding concept in the Nolan trilogy that a symbol is eternal and cannot be killed or destroyed, and that is what Batman became — an eternal symbol for Gotham, a symbol that would be anybody.” I couldn’t have said it any better.
We all have these ideals inside of us, these feelings, and this potential to do great things and to make an impact. Right now though, those things are all just underneath and are irrelevant, because it’s not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines us.
Some More Female Awesomeness: Achieving Her First Bodyweight Chinup
All of us coaches at SAPT always get fired up about females making awesome progress in the gym (see A Witness to Female Strength and Some Female Pushup Goodness for a couple examples). There's something ridiculously cool about them realizing just how much they can achieve in the weight room, and how empowering it is for them to continue to make progress in that sphere. A few months ago, we started working with a young woman, Meredith, who signed up for our Distance Coaching program. Upon asking her what a few of her specific goals were, she replied with:
"I feel like I could use some help in designing a program and also most importantly to make sure I'm doing everything correctly. I realize that now is the time to do this because its only going to get more difficult as we get older.
One goal of mine is to master a pull-up. As a former dancer, my upper body strength my whole life has been pretty weak. I have tried using the assisted pull-up machine and have progressed to assistance of 20lbs but then when I try to use just the pull-up bar, I am nowhere near where I need to be. I think Ryan would be impressed if someday I could master a pull-up :) "
(Note: Ryan is her husband, an awesome dude whom I actually had the pleasure of meeting a few months ago.)
Given that one of Meredith's primary goals was to perform a complete, non-assisted chinup (she had never done it before), we embarked upon a program with a "chinup specialization" component in order to help her reach this goal.
Well, merely two months into the program, I received the video below of her performing not just one, but two bodyweight chinups, along with an email from Meredith:
"Steve -
Thank you so much for your help in achieving my first ever pull-up! Honestly when I signed up for the 3-month distance coaching program, I thought I would get stronger, but I never imagined being able to do not just one but two pullups within my first 2 months of training. I have really enjoyed the distance coaching and the programs you have created for me. I feel a sense of accountability to make sure I get all my workouts in each week and for once, I actually look forward to my workouts and seeing what I can accomplish each day. Thank you so much for all your help and I can't wait to see what the next 3 months holds for me!
- Meredith"
In a word: Awesome!!!
The point I want to derive from this is that Meredith's success is NOT primarily attributed to some magical program I wrote for her (while popular opinion may hold that SAPT performs magic, I, personally speaking at least, was never instructed by Dumbledore over at Hogwarts), but rather, her success stemmed from the fact that she attacked each and every training day with focus, determination, and confidence. Also, once a month, she showed up at SAPT to go over the proceeding month's programming, to ensure that her technique was sound that she was executing everything correctly.
And, not to mention, while she knocked her chinup goal out of the park, she's also well on the road of "Picking Up Heavy Things" by hitting a pretty impressive Trap Bar Deadlift PR, nailing 140lbs for six reps:
In exchanging a couple emails with her husband, Ryan, he told me, "Since she started with you guys she hasn't missed a single training day and has been completely dialed in when she gets to the gym. She's working extremely hard and is focused and believes in your program. As you can see, she's getting awesome results. Hopefully you can use her story to help others experience what she has achieved."
I hope this serves as some encouragement to you reading what can be accomplished when you set your sights on a goal (be it a heavy deadlift or squat attempt, fat loss goal, or simply being able to lift pain-free), and refuse to waver in your quest for that particular accomplishment.
Random Thoughts: Facing Challenges and Gallagher
I have two random thoughts for the day. The first is just about the positive changes going on with SAPT and its crew and the lesson you can take away from it. The second is a training update from… MY GIRLFRIEND!
SAPT and its employees have been going through quite the change as of late, and it’s been all for the better. Sarah had a handsome little boy Duke while simultaneously working as a full time strength coach at a D1 university AND running a full time business. Kelsey has become fully adjusted to her job(s) at SAPT in terms of coaching and also dealing with current clients, potential clients, new contracts, old contracts, answering a million emails a day, defeating Voldemort, etc. all while swinging a kettle bell. Most people wouldn’t be able to handle ONE of Sarah or Kelsey’s jobs; they manage to do it all. Stevo’s still taking over the world one book, one cue, one article, one program at a time, in his quest to become the best strength coach in the industry and trust me, he’s closer than you think. And just when you think he can’t do his job any better he somehow proves you wrong. In the immortal words of Sir Ludacris, he’s coming for that number one spot!
Then there’s me. The past couple of months have been eye opening for me to say the least and it’s a great feeling to know that SAPT has become my home with a family I love dearly. I’m in the midst of coming into my own with my own discernible differences from my peers in my personal life, coaching style, and even business. It’s truly calming when you realize what is truly important in your life. These are all huge, awesome changes and we’ve done all this while moving facilities. These are the times when you find out what you and your team are made of. Do you see a challenge, look at it in the eye and run away? Or do you stand toe-to-toe and GO GALLAGHER ON IT AND SMASH IT WITH A SLEDGEHAMMER! That’s really my point of telling you all this. You, your friends, your family, your business, your schooling, YOUR TRAINING; it will all be presented with change and challenges. It is how you confront and tackle those changes and challenges that will define you as a person. I always talk about being average and this goes hand in hand with that; the average person will become consumed and beaten down by changes and challenges. The above average person will get up, dust themselves off and go Gallagher on it….
My last random thought is in the form of a training update, not from I, but from my girlfriend Shannon. Since we started dating she has been incredibly supportive and has now shown interest in moving weight (either that or she just wants me to stop bugging her). Nonetheless, I am extremely proud of her quick improvements in confidence and strength. I recently had her start Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength as I believe novice, intermediate, and even advanced lifters can stand to benefit from its simplicity and concepts (I recently started this program as well). Shannon has already seen great strength gains as well as a huge refinement of technique as Starting Strength exposes her to the same barbell movements multiple times per week. Plus, I told her if she lifted consistently for 3 weeks I would take her to see Magic Mike in 3-D. As I said before I am extremely proud of all of her improvements and hard work as well as her commitment and consistency. The video below is a clip from one of her recent squat sessions. Look at that technique! She must have a good coach.
SAPT's New Facility: Q's & A's
Well, we've been in the new facility for about 10 days and I've already been able to spend more time at my desk than I have in ages. This is a pretty big deal because I'll have the baby with me - something that was simply not possible at the other space. That space was always either too hot or too cold for small children (and most other humans, ha)... and on the few days of the year when the temperature happened to be ideal, then I'd have the dirt floating in from outside to worry about. I suppose because of the speed with which we made the move, we've had some questions and curiosities come up from a few of our clientele regarding certain decisions.
So, here is a bit of a Q&A about our new digs:
Q: Seems like you guys just up and moved overnight. Why such a fast and abrupt transition? A: I figured it was better to aggressively make the transition over when we were 85% ready than wait for the next 100 degree days (ahem, there happen to be another cluster of them coming today). Thus, why we've needed an bit of an adjustment period for training floor flow.
Q: The new space is smaller than the old one... what gives? A: Well, I hate to break it to you, but we actually had TOO much square footage before. In fact, I have been experimenting with session size over the last 9 months in an effort to make the most of the abundant square footage we had. But, after careful thought and review of how sessions were flowing, observation of both coaches and clients during sessions, I made the decision to STAY SMALL!
We've actually decreased the session size for each hour with our move to the new space. Shocking, I know - you are officially in the presence of someone who has fully committed to quality over quantity. As a side note, our new space is STILL larger that the weight rooms I've worked in at both VCU and Mason. In both places I've witnessed in excess of 50 athletes training simultaneously. So, have no fear! We can make a session that's capped at 8 work pretty well in comparison.
Q: The temperature on the training floor seems a bit warm - didn't you say we have A/C now? A: We sure do have A/C! But that doesn't change the fact that I'm one hell of a penny pincher AND that I genuinely can't stand training areas that are kept too cold. Plus, I generally consider 78 degrees an ideal day in the outdoors! The point is to get warm and sweat a bit, you know? It's all part of the fun! Some may prefer cooler, some warmer, but at least it's not 110.
Q: Those offices are pretty nice. What do you guys do all day that you need offices? A: This may be an "Ah-ha" moment for some people, but we actually spend a great deal of time at our desks planning programs, researching training methods, engaging with clients via phone and email, writing blog posts, pursuing new business, etc. There's a reason we're as good as we are: preparation!
The offices are actually a very big deal to me, personally, for several reasons: 1. We need them (see above). 2. As the owner of a business whose primary concern and "claim to fame" is the best quality with the best coaches in the DC Metro area, I NEED to keep the SAPT coaches happy, comfortable, and feeling a sense of progress at most times. They deserve it! 3. SAPT was started with Chris sitting on sandbags, while I occupied a folding camp chair, and we huddled around a folding card table from Chris' college apartment. So, to come from that distant point 5 years ago to these beautiful and comfortable offices is something that I will never take for granted. 4. You probably work in a building with modern, clean offices, climate control, and a conference table. We've wanted to achieve the same thing!
Q: Where can I park? A: ANYWHERE - none of the businesses have assigned parking, so take your pick! The whole lot is at your disposal. And if anyone suggests differently, let me know.
Q: What's happening at the old facility? A: Secretive and magical things! Haaaa, I wish I had some magic to work with. Actually, we're retaining the space to begin offering some new services (team training and batting cages). And if one more wannabe Crossfit owner calls me to ask when I'm moving out, my head will probably pop off!
Q: You've cancelled Buttkamp?!? A: I have no problem admitting when I've made an error and this was an error. Buttkamp classes will resume next Tuesday. Thanks to all for letting us know how much you love the class and Kelsey!
I think that about wraps up the main questions that have come up over the last week and a half.
It's always wonderfully humbling for me to (re)discover how much our clientele care about SAPT and the health of our business.
Thank you for all the questions and comments!
A Tale of Two People
I'll admit, despite the fact that I do genuinely love my job, there are still days where I feel "off" a bit. This could be due to any excuse ranging from a poor night's sleep, to having an enormous To-Do list for the day, or maybe the fact that, as a self-proclaimed introvert, sometimes I simply become exhausted from spending the entirety of my afternoons and evenings surrounded by people, blaring music, weights crashing, and questions thrown my way every few seconds.
However, I've found that the scary thing is, you never know how you may permanently impact someone - whether for good or for bad - by a simple "off the cuff" statement directed their way. And you need to be especially considerate of this during those hours that you're particularly tired, edgy, when your patience has worn thin.
One of my favorite short stories - to remind me that you just never know, and to always be cognizant of how you treat other people despite your external circumstances - is A Tale of Two People by Alwyn Cosgrove. For those of you who haven't read it, I hope it impacts you as much as it did me.
A Tale of Two People - Alwyn Cosgrove
What's Different About Your Training?
Do you remember the good ol’ days when you used to wake up and be excited to train? The times when setting a new PR was as satisfying as waking up on Christmas morning. I certainly do, sadly there will come a time when life gets in the way and your training sessions won’t be as awesome as they once were. Sometime last week after yet another lack luster training session of mine I sat down for about 30 minutes and thought about my training since my last meet. My training frequency has stayed the same (four days a week) yet each session seems progressively lazier, as if my head just isn’t in it. So I’m sitting there thinking what’s different, what is different now compared to a few months ago? So I made a list of the things that are different in my everyday routine that could potentially be causing my sessions to be as awful as watching a Keeping Up with the Kardashian’s marathon.
- No Training Partner: All 3 of my previous training partners are off doing internships with their respected teams University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, and the New York Jets. My training partners kept me on track and pushed me which made training fun. We were able to give each other feedback and make fun of each other which always led to good sessions. But I haven’t always had training partners and my training was still productive so what was different then? Music
- Music: It’s clear that if I don’t have a training partner I need to bring back the old days and put the ear-buds in and zone out. I need to be focused on the task at hand and I clearly can’t be trusted to do that when people who are not my training partners are around. They just become an unneeded distraction, not intentionally, just happens. Listening to music on my iPod will block out all the distraction, get me jacked up, and allow me to focus on the task.
- AM Training: For as long as I can remember I trained in the morning before I did anything else. It wasn’t until recently that I started training in the afternoon. And looking back on the situation I am much better suited to train in the morning. It sets the pace for my day. It clears my head and it allows me to take my time rather than rush to get in a workout. I also work better if I get my training out of the way early, I can just focus on work after instead of worrying about getting my training in.
- Food: Recently my nutrition has taken a back seat, out of pure laziness than anything else. My mentality used to be eat to train. I would eat 5 meals a day and I would feel awesome during training sessions. Lately I have been skipping breakfast, A- because I have been lazy and B- because of dumb people in the fitness industry, but more on that in my next point. It’s definitely time to get back to my old eating habits. I AM THE PEANUT BUTTER KING!
- Fitness Professionals: Even a professional strength coach like me can still fall victim to fitness propaganda. You’re probably asking what do other fitness professionals have to do with your training. That’s a good question, and the answer is a lot more than I should have allowed. There is so much crap written by people just trying to sell you stuff that it’s almost impossible not to succumb to it at least once. And sadly it almost made me doubt my own knowledge base. Then I woke up and realized what a bunch of BS it all is. I know this point kind of got off track but it’s something that I realized I didn’t used to let impact my training/nutrition so it’s important that it not impact it now.*
You may be asking what the point was to writing all of this. The goal of all my posts is to get YOU to train better or to help you reach YOUR goals. The best way to do that is to learn from others mistakes so you can in turn avoid the same pitfalls. Hopefully this post has allowed you to evaluate your own training, figure out what the problem is and helped you to get it back on track. The points I listed above are all excuses to not have a good training session. An excuse is a problem that can be rectified, I chose to do so. Will you?
*People I'm currently reading to block out internet BS Mark Rippetoe, Jim Wendler, Dan John, Dave Tate, and Louie Simmons.
