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arsilva
12-09-08, 1:49 am
I often have random stuff I come up with regarding the life, and I never knew where to go with it. Now it'll all go here. Not daily or in a scheduled manner. If I come up with something, the legion will be the first to know. If I go days without coming up with something, deal.

I was thinking today about how the weightroom is one place where you can enter, do your thing, and leave, never saying a word, and gain the respect of dozens.
In most hobbies, jobs, etc, you have to say something, kiss someone's ass, speak all kinds of bullshit to climb the ladder and get where you want to go.
But in the gym, people notice if you work hard, put in the time, and that alone is sufficient to gain respect.
I guess it goes along with one of the things I like most about bodybuilding, which is that I'm putting in work for myself. I don't do it to impress anyone, and it's no longer about proving something. The more you think of it this way, though, the higher others seem to place you on the pedestal. Not that this is necessarily a good thing or a bad thing.
Some of the most looked up to, respected guys in the gym are the ones who hardly talk, and who put in the hardest work, not the ones who look the prettiest and are the loudest about the 135 pounds they're squatting.

"Shut Up and Train."

BB
12-09-08, 3:16 am
well said bro... i totally agree, when im in the gym its for me its not for anyone else and im the one who gains from what i put into it. Its the one place there is no BS you can either squat 400 or you cant, there is no chance of talking your way out of it

Aggression
12-09-08, 4:07 pm
well said bro... i totally agree, when im in the gym its for me its not for anyone else and im the one who gains from what i put into it. Its the one place there is no BS you can either squat 400 or you cant, there is no chance of talking your way out of it

Exactly. Keep your head down and keep truckin'.

You can either squat 400 or you cant. And we're talking about a REAL squat. I don't want to see some 150lb kid bending his knees and calling it a squat.

strivin for more
12-09-08, 5:25 pm
i respect the small kid in the corner thats working his ass off, but is using the PROPER amount of weight for his size. im talking bout my bro here. there are some big kids that go to my gym, and i cant say im one of them, but hes tiny. but he keeps his head down and does his sets. the right way.

Aggression
12-09-08, 5:27 pm
i respect the small kid in the corner thats working his ass off, but is using the PROPER amount of weight for his size. im talking bout my bro here. there are some big kids that go to my gym, and i cant say im one of them, but hes tiny. but he keeps his head down and does his sets. the right way.

Absolutely, I'll never knock on a small kid doing his shit right.

Feel The Power
12-09-08, 5:28 pm
very well said.. I see doctors, business owners, college kids, older people, average joes... all kinds of people and you know who puts in the time and who doesn't. Its a mutual respect you get from all different types of people for the lifting you do. Just gotta pay your dues and be able to look youself in the mirror afterwards and know you gave your best. Thats all that matters.

arsilva
12-09-08, 11:16 pm
As I was sitting here trying to think of something else to say, I realized that the fact that I actually had to think about what to write just proved one of the points of my previous post. As I thought about today's calf workout and something to write about it, I found myself thinking, "Whatever I had to say, is laid out at the calf machines where I hit the heavy presses and raises." What we Animals have to say, that which we represent and that for which we strive, is in every workout, every rep, every drop of sweat left behind on the floor, and in every ounce of inspiration left in the minds of those who see us hitting the iron day in and day out. The Iron Path that we walk doesn't stop with us, but we continue to pave it for others who in turn pave for those inspired by them.
An injured wrist that I'm currently dealing with has made me realize my mortality that can sometimes be forgotten as I go into the gym with increased lifts every week, and it's made me realize the balance that has to be struck, between hardcore lifting, and careless lifting. The injury itself is not from being careless per se, but it puts things into perspective.

That's enough word vomit for today.

Stay with it brothers. Stay humble but assertive, focused but aware.

Aggression
12-10-08, 9:54 am
As I was sitting here trying to think of something else to say, I realized that the fact that I actually had to think about what to write just proved one of the points of my previous post. As I thought about today's calf workout and something to write about it, I found myself thinking, "Whatever I had to say, is laid out at the calf machines where I hit the heavy presses and raises." What we Animals have to say, that which we represent and that for which we strive, is in every workout, every rep, every drop of sweat left behind on the floor, and in every ounce of inspiration left in the minds of those who see us hitting the iron day in and day out. The Iron Path that we walk doesn't stop with us, but we continue to pave it for others who in turn pave for those inspired by them.
An injured wrist that I'm currently dealing with has made me realize my mortality that can sometimes be forgotten as I go into the gym with increased lifts every week, and it's made me realize the balance that has to be struck, between hardcore lifting, and careless lifting. The injury itself is not from being careless per se, but it puts things into perspective.

That's enough word vomit for today.

Stay with it brothers. Stay humble but assertive, focused but aware.

Not too bad of a post bro.

arsilva
12-10-08, 11:27 pm
With this wrist setback, I'm not doing upper body this week. On Sunday, I told myself "Legs three times this week." And like a true Animal, so far so good. Monday I hit leg press, hacks, ham/glute extensions, single leg extensions, double leg extensions, and hamstring curls. Yesterday, I did some calf and ab work. Today, i hit squats, hacks, glute presses (lol, leg press was being dominated by some 18-plate quarter pressers), leg curls, standing leg curls, and leg extensions. During the squats and hacks, i was pretty sure i was dying. but naturally i wouldn't give up, much to the amusement of my friend who works there. After the workout, though, as I knew would happen, i was so fucking glad i pushed through the stomach pain/not-quite-puking sensation. tomorrow, some more abs and calves, then Friday, this week's final leg day. i would be doing lunges, of course, but with my wrist the way it is, i can't be holding dumbbells or handling a bar over my shoulders very well. I find myself not even looking forward to the weekend, because that means the pain will be over, unfortunately.

arsilva
12-13-08, 1:29 am
ahhh...I've officially completed three leg workouts this week, each not as hardcore as the last, but all three relatively animalistic lol...resting this weekend and taking it easy with the wrist, and hopefully i'll be able to hit the iron with a vengance next week.

Bartles
12-13-08, 2:10 am
Good stuff bro. I got forearm splints or tendonits ( Don't know the diffrence) in both of my forearms, so I'm stuck working legs all next week. Well legs and what little upper body I can get in with out putting pressure on my forearms.

Sucks, but you gotta do it : \

arsilva
12-15-08, 7:00 pm
as I near my month and a half winter break, i find myself more and more in the zone. it's hard for me to study for finals right now. this break is going to be eat, lift, forvm, sleep, repeat. gotta do what i gotta do to compete in 09.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one PAVED BY IRON,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost

RENFRO
12-15-08, 8:19 pm
as I near my month and a half winter break, i find myself more and more in the zone. it's hard for me to study for finals right now. this break is going to be eat, lift, forvm, sleep, repeat. gotta do what i gotta do to compete in 09.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one PAVED BY IRON,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost


I hear ya with the finals bro. As I'm writing this I literally have a book open on my table and my notes open for the final I have to take tomorrow, and yet, here I am on the forvm...thinking about legs tomorrow, thinking about whats for dinner tonight, and about how freakin hard i'm gonna hit it over break. Best of luck bro.

Cellerator65
12-15-08, 9:45 pm
I hear ya with the finals bro. As I'm writing this I literally have a book open on my table and my notes open for the final I have to take tomorrow, and yet, here I am on the forvm...thinking about legs tomorrow, thinking about whats for dinner tonight, and about how freakin hard i'm gonna hit it over break. Best of luck bro.

x2... i got a final tomorrow night and a take home due tomorrow... all i can think about is eating and lifting.

arsilva
12-19-08, 2:36 pm
Alot of times, it seems like the life is somewhat monotonous and unchanging; lift, eat, sleep, repeat..
But lately, I've been thinking alot that once you actually start living the life, you start realizing the many things that can actually change in an instant. In the gym yesterday, i was realizing how one major thing that changes for a lifter is what is actually done in the gym. Training routines are always changing, and even these predetermined single sessions may change based on availability of equipment, or even just how you're feeling on that particular day.
But that's not the significant change i'm experiencing right now. Mine has to do with the impact of plans and injuries changing everything...So i had the wrist issue, which is still more or less in full swing, but I was training through it fairly successfully. Then, last night during dips,i feel a sharp pain in my chest, and now there's something protruding from my sternum and i couldn't lift anymore. This literally 2 days before i was to start my winter break, when i was going to do literally nothing but eat, sleep, and lift. Now it looks like i'll be doing nothing but eating and sleeping for 3 weeks or so, depending on how my chest is.

I guess the moral of the story is, the Life is anything but unchanging. it may seem so to an untrained eye, but when you're in the thick of it, you realize everything can change in an instant, for better or for worse.