PDA

View Full Version : "Lift the Pain"



TheGreatWhite
03-13-10, 1:04 am
I always seem to have some thoughts in my head about life on a daily basis, and I've posted a few things on here, so I just decided it would be easier to start my own thread instead of making new ones each time.

To get an idea of who I am, here's some basic info. My name is Lucas, 20 years of age. I work as a personal trainer in my hometown of Evansville, IN and roll with the Southern Indiana ABC. I'm an Exercise Science major and a Nutrition minor at the University of Southern Indiana. I love my job, it's a fantastic way to help people who want to help themselves.

As I was driving home tonight from work, I wondered what my college peers may be up to on this damp Friday evening...I hit a few up, all of them were hammered out of their minds....I realized that's what seperates me from the norm at home.....people go out on Friday nights and get shit-faced, I'm finishing up work, lifting and heading home ot get my meals ready for the next day.....not saying if you drink youre a bad person, because we've all had our share of a few good times lol, but it feels good to be apart from the normal college life....it gives you a good feeling about yourself, that you're above the rest and on a higher playing field....

westlake345
03-13-10, 11:05 pm
hey man I hear ya...same basic deal with me but on the high school level. We have like a 60% alcohol use at my school and Im very proud to be one of the 40% that actually respects themselves. Keep at it buddy.

TheGreatWhite
03-14-10, 3:24 am
Today was a good day...hit some hamstrings, here's how it went down...

Rack Deadlifts 6 x 4
Stiff Leg Deads 4 x 12
Weighted Hyperextensions 3 x 12
Seated Hamstring Curls 3 x 12

I got to thinking today about how people always make appointments for others, but yet they always bitch and complain about how they have no time for themselves. Brothers, one thing I'm learning as I get deeper into this iron game is that to make it work, you must make appointments with yourself before anyone else. Make sure your shit is in line first before you help anyone else out. You come first, no matter what. Call me selfish, but that's how you get things done. Especially in this lifestyle, this game. A bad day in the gym, a missed meal or cardio session, it's all on you. Don't let that burden come upon you. Take care of business, and everything will fall into place.

TheGreatWhite
03-14-10, 3:25 am
hey man I hear ya...same basic deal with me but on the high school level. We have like a 60% alcohol use at my school and Im very proud to be one of the 40% that actually respects themselves. Keep at it buddy.

you keep at it too my friend, especially while you're still in high school! things will work out for you, just stay consistent.

TheGreatWhite
03-15-10, 1:50 am
Is there anyone out there that has reached their goals? Anyone at all that has reached every single one, achieved that perfect physique? I know myself, I am extremely far from it. But I'm okay with that, and here's why.

When some people reach a major goal they set out to reach, they become complacent. One thing I've learned is that complacency kills, my friends. They lose that burning fire, that hunger. They don't feel like they have to work as hard, and all they're doing in "maintaining". That word isn't even in my vocabulary, you can always improve on things.

I've seen far too many people with life in general get complacent after achieving success, and boy do they go downhill. Brothers, in this game, stay hungry, and when the time comes, eat hearty. Don't ever get complacent, because it will kill you......

C.Coronato
03-15-10, 1:53 pm
Always searching and always growing. Keep doing your thing my man.

TheGreatWhite
03-16-10, 12:03 am
Always searching and always growing. Keep doing your thing my man.


TTL, I'm trying to get to your status lol...it sure was a pleasure to meet you at The Arnold! Keep doing your thing as well man, put in that hard work

TheGreatWhite
03-17-10, 12:00 am
Brothers, be glad you don't follow the norm and stick to comformity. Be proud that you go in and get work done, don't fuck around and most of all don't take people's shit. Don't be like the rest, tell them to shove it up their ass. Too many people in today's society are scared to speak their mind or "man-up" to their own words. Always take responsibility and claim your words and/or actions. People will learn to respect you a lot more...I found that out this evening...and I sure am proud I didn't back down.

TheGreatWhite
03-18-10, 11:59 pm
So, the other night was pretty rough, and a good hard quad workout ensued. Tried adding more volume into leg training. I've been doing a lot of heavy compound lifts, so for a change I thought about mixing things up.

BB Squats 10 x 12
Leg Press 10 x 12
Quad Exts. 10 x 12

Needless to say I felt like thourough hell afterwards lol. Just had a rough night with a dickhead I don't get along with at work...he thinks he runs the place and people owe him all sorts of shit....dude didn't respect me the minute we met, and Tuesday night it was time to tell him off....pushed my buttons far too many times. Anyways....tonight felt good, did some shoudlers and traps, did some HRT on em, boy it killed! Tried the HRT out on chest last night, fucking ripped it lol....Rage and rev8ball really hit a winner with this training style.

With that said, don't be afraid of change my friends. Like Tuesday night, my quads haven't been pushed that hard in a while. I did everything possible to gut those sets out. But this goes for everything. Sometimes it's not the best, but other times it's needed. Besides, variety is the spice of life, right?

C.Coronato
03-19-10, 9:41 am
TTL, I'm trying to get to your status lol...it sure was a pleasure to meet you at The Arnold! Keep doing your thing as well man, put in that hard work

Pleasure was all mine my brother. Always good to put faces to names. Keep doing your thing!

TheGreatWhite
03-20-10, 8:46 pm
So, I just got back from getting a new tattoo.....talk about hurt lol.....made me think of something though.

When we lift, we obviously deal with pain. When we have to deal with other things, like a break up, a death of a close/loved one, a lost job, etc, we deal with pain yet again. And if you have ever gotten to the point where you just can't go any further, you yet again feel the pain of goals not reached. Here, we have 3 different kinds of pain.

1.) The Pain of Enduring
2.) The Pain of Loss
3.) The Pain of Regret

The 2nd type we cannot help...types 1 and 3 are a different story...

The pain of regret sucks. No lie about it. Pushing your body to it's limits and yet you still fall short....the feeling is one of a kind brothers. You either regret that you didn't put in enough work or you regret not finishing. When I was younger, I made the mistake of under-preparring, and I felt the consequences. I refuse to be there again......

The pain of enduring is a much better feeling. You know while you're training that you're enduring much more than your opponent(s) can handle. You know you're something special, you feel like you're one step ahead at all times. It's because you are. And you aren't just ahead of the competition, you're ahead of everyone who doesn't have the balls to do what you and I do. They don't have the courage to bust your ass in and out of the gym day in and day out. They don't understand what we do, and honestly they never will.

Choose your pain wisely, my friends.

Survivor831
03-21-10, 3:42 pm
So, I just got back from getting a new tattoo.....talk about hurt lol.....made me think of something though.

When we lift, we obviously deal with pain. When we have to deal with other things, like a break up, a death of a close/loved one, a lost job, etc, we deal with pain yet again. And if you have ever gotten to the point where you just can't go any further, you yet again feel the pain of goals not reached. Here, we have 3 different kinds of pain.

1.) The Pain of Enduring
2.) The Pain of Loss
3.) The Pain of Regret

The 2nd type we cannot help...types 1 and 3 are a different story...

The pain of regret sucks. No lie about it. Pushing your body to it's limits and yet you still fall short....the feeling is one of a kind brothers. You either regret that you didn't put in enough work or you regret not finishing. When I was younger, I made the mistake of under-preparring, and I felt the consequences. I refuse to be there again......

The pain of enduring is a much better feeling. You know while you're training that you're enduring much more than your opponent(s) can handle. You know you're something special, you feel like you're one step ahead at all times. It's because you are. And you aren't just ahead of the competition, you're ahead of everyone who doesn't have the balls to do what you and I do. They don't have the courage to bust your ass in and out of the gym day in and day out. They don't understand what we do, and honestly they never will.

Choose your pain wisely, my friends.

Very well said.

TheGreatWhite
03-23-10, 1:13 am
So tonight I decided to let my new ink show a little bit during my back training. I went Saturday and got a huge barbell bending across my back and the phrase "Lift the Pain" across the top. I knew there would be atleast one person who said they didn't like it.

As I'm doing my Hammer Strength low rows, a girl who is a member at the gym comes up and notices my new tattoo. She asks to see it, so i popped off my Animal tank and showed her and she started to laugh....."Why would you get that? It's just not you!" I replied in a firm, but yet polite manner, "I'd explain it, but honestly you wouldn't understand". She just gave me an odd look and hopped back on the Eliptical.

People don't understand what we do, and it's alright. That's what seperates us from everyone else. Let everyone else take the pretty paved roads....we'll take the roads less traveled, and smash down their's in the process.

StateChamps

TheGreatWhite
03-26-10, 2:05 am
As I was in my Humanities class Wednesday, our professor came across the poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley.

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

No one cares about what you say and what earthly things you leave behind when all is said and done. Your actions will speak volumes over your words.There are so many idiots in this world that think they are the shit. This really hit home that same night at the gym....

There's a guy, rolls with two others, and they have zero idea of what they're doing. This guy is giving them the wrong advice 24/7.....he's some dumbass who gets all of his info off bodybuilding websites and shit...I'm hitting chest and I hear him telling his boys how they should press with their toes the whole time they're doing leg presses.....telling them they should focus on their calves while leg pressing.....

Brothers, don't think the world of yourself. You may think you know this and that, but there's always someone who knows more. There's always someone stronger, someone faster, someone bigger no matter where you go. Have confidence in yourself, but know when to speak and know when to listen.

TheGreatWhite
03-31-10, 4:42 pm
Yesterday was one of the longest days I've had in quite some time....3 exams within the past two days, plus 10 appointments yesterday at the gym, man you talk about beat....physically AND mentally....

It seems though when you have every reason to just hang it up for a night, go home and rest, you have the best workouts, at least in my opinion. That "back against the wall" mentality is unlike any other.

I finish up with my last client around 8:30pm, then it's my time to smash the weights.....usually there's a good crowd at this time, but to my surprise, not a soul was in the gym besides myself and Ruthie, which is one of our front desk receptionists.....she was finished cleaning for the night, so I was the only person in the back where the free-weights are....talk about a feeling....that sense that youre the only one who's put in the time with school, work, whatever your day may bring and having the balls to still get it in, it's unlike any other feeling....even though I'm by myself at this particular gym, I know I'm not alone in the struggle. Animals across the country are burning that late night oil, screaming down that winding road to the perfect physique. We throw excuses to the side and get it in, no matter what. Keep bustin' that ass, Animals.

violator
04-01-10, 10:30 am
while everyone else is sleeping, your getting ahead...gotta admire that...

TheGreatWhite
04-02-10, 10:44 am
while everyone else is sleeping, your getting ahead...gotta admire that...

Had another night like that last night. Thanks for checking in bro!

TheGreatWhite
04-03-10, 12:51 am
I asked myself this tonight while hitting some arms with one of our other trainers, Owen, after our appointments for the day ended. A lot of shit has just been fake as hell the past 2 months or so...it's definately taken a toll on me....

Lately, this guy at work that I (along with most other people) can't stand is trying to get with a girl I had a thing with back in jan/feb. We do work together, but when things ended, he went right for her, and they have been playing some stupid BS game to piss me off, and I don't even care much really. But it made me relaize how fake a lot of shit is anymore. It's like when people say they like you one minute then turn around and diss you the next....me and this guy hashed it out one evening at work, thought we were atleast on decent terms, then I find out he's been talkin shit and trying to threaten my job just because he's unhappy with his life.....it's pathetic....

The only thing some people have in this world are the weights. The weights don't bullshit you, they don't run from you....they're there whenever you are and ready for punishment, to take and recieve, and welcome you back with open arms the next day. One thing that will stay constant is the shit in the gym. It's one place where you know you're welcome....because we're all in this game, this struggle, for a common cause : the perfect physique.

There is one spot in this entire world where fake is shunned and truth is put on a pedistal higher than you and I can even concieve, and that's every brick and stone corner, laid waste with rusted barbells, iron plates, chalk dust, places like the old "mom and pop" gyms of yester-year that still standout from the normal....in these places I find solace, I find truth...I find what I cannot fathom during my normal day as a 20 year-old college student with his whole life ahead of himself....I seek more than most, I have that hunger, and boy when it's time to eat I clean my plate, and people don't seem to like that. It may freak them out, so they rain you with praises, then once you're gone they strike you down with lightning behind your back to others.....I say fuck that, go get yours and make the nay-sayers run for shelter when you unleash the fury of 1,000 Hells on them by getting your's and taking their share from the tree of life....

Don't get caught up in the fake-ness of life brothers.....be the bigger man and rise above it, just like truth rises above lies and deceit....and while you're at it, toss some weight around just for fun.

TheGreatWhite
04-08-10, 11:58 pm
One thing I contantly find doing to myself is questioning whether or not I have what it takes to go harder than anyone in my gym.....soon as I staart lifting, those questions go away. now, not saying that I'm the most badass person in my gym, but I try to have that mentality that no one else is willing to put in the work I put it, and it really helps.

I took a page from Neil Hill's book tonight with legs.....sickest leg session i've ever had....

Leg Press, 3 x 70 (rest pause) 5 pps
-SS-
Barbell Squats 3 x 15 @ 225

Stiff Leg Deads 3 x 15
-SS-
Barbell Step Ups 3 x 12 each leg

Quad Ext's 4 x 12
Hammy Curls 4 x 12

After the first SS, i found myself lying face down on the gym floor in our squat rack, panting like a fish out of water....I felt like I couldn't move for a bit....never felt like that before. I've trained legs hard, but this required a set of balls....

I love nights like these when you have every reason NOT to be in the gym, yet here you are, banging away at a leg session while everyone else is at home. Nights like these challenge you as a person, physically and mentally. It's so easy to hang it up, call it quits. But we don't do that, because we're Animals. We bleed for this shit.....when you find yourself on the opposing side, climb back over that tall fence and put in that work. You'll be glad you did.

TheGreatWhite
04-24-10, 8:36 pm
This past week has been great, simply for the fact that I've helped a dear friend of mine get back on track in the gym.

My best friend Jarod fell out of this iron life-style that we all cherish, so I decided to go to his gym and help get him back on track. Monday was back, where I finally convinced him to deadlift, and boy did he eat it up. He's always kicked my ass on chest days, but I hung with him! Wedneday was legs, and boy was it intense. Triple dropsets galore after squats, leg presses, reverse hacks and RDL's.....holy fuck lol....

It sure felt good to spend some time with one of my best friends, and help him gain his edge yet again. That's the thing.....when he's alone, he has some trouble, but when we're together, no one in the gym is training as hard as we are...balls out style is what we live for, and it's what all Animals live for. He now has a few new outlooks on the iron game and will be joining us at our next ABC's from here on out. The point is, brothers, when you see someone falling off, throw your hand over the ledge and pull them from the sea of stagnation and complacency. Everyone has troubles along their way, jsut be there to help get them back on track.

TheGreatWhite
04-27-10, 1:36 am
Since I started working as a trainer, I had no idea I would see into the lives of so many people on a daily basis. Complete strangers, who are schedueld for an "orientation" get a chance to vent to someone, and that someone, most of the time, seems to be me. Now, although I have a job to do, I'm always ears for someone who wants to talk. The other day at work really hit home.

I had the pleasure of meeting a lady named Joetta, and as we sat down for her orientation, she just let loose. When I asked her what her goals were, she jsut said "I want to be able to play with my grandchildren and not worry about having so much pain." It took me by surprise, she didn't care so much about herself and her health, but just wanting to play with her grand kids was enough. She also has type II diabetes, has a cist on her left knee, and has no fluid or cartilage in the same knee, and has a broken ankle that hasn't healed properly. Did she have surgery on any of these? No, couldn't afford it....

I was so pissed off.....life is not fucking fair.....instead of charging her for training, I gave her an entire week free. I've got plenty of clients who can afford to buy training, but Joetta, shit I just wanted to help someone out who, needless to say, hasn't been dealt the best hand of cards. This job has really opened my eyes, and I'm so grateful to be able to lift and exercsie on a daily basis and do something I love and that I'm passionate about. It's just bullshit.....I can't get things like this off of my mind......