I stood heaving leaned over my bar on my last set of squats on Friday and watched a young man (maybe 19) walk into the gym and over to the squat rack adjacent to me, load the bar to 95lbs. and begin what would be the first set of many barbell curls.
Now, I have nothing against the barbell curl, in fact, I could stand to do a few more of them. I have a nagging left bicep injury from a run in with a tire in 2007. And, I try not to get discouraged when I see people like him, just wanting some beach muscle. Those type of people who lift strictly for fitness or "buffness" have as much right to the squat rack as I do. But it got me thinking...
As a beginner, I used to read bodybuilding magazines from cover to glossy cover, and digest every single word of their supplement selling garbage articles. I thought about all the time I spent wasted on eating like a bird, supplementing like a OCD chemist, and trying to get strong simultaneously. I thought about how if I were 17 again I would do it all differently, and build everything on the deadlift, squat and overhead press. I would have been there for the small scale NASS contests, when amatuer strongman was in it's infancy, and people were just figuring this sport. I would have gained experience regardless of strength level, or having never touched an implement before. In other words, some of the things that seem almost un-do-able to me now, I would have been able to grow into had I done a lighter version of them then.
But... Had I been there for all that, and fixed myself on such dedication to strongman... I would have missed out on a whole lot of living. And I've got memories with me now I wouldn't trade for millions of dollars, or hundreds of pounds on my deadlift.
So, maybe my hobbie will amount to somthing one day, maybe it won't. Maybe I'm doomed to be the natural nobody, or maybe my aging body will still let me turn pro by age 40, who knows...
I do know this. The path to strength is not paved by reading glossy magazines, or internet "experts", or taking supplements that only make your urine more expensive. There are no "secrets", magic beans, or miracles to be had, especially here. The only trick is years of steady, thoughtful, consistent training.
By the time all these things went through my mind, the young man was done defiling the squat rack, leaving his plates on the bar, he began wasting his time somewhere else. Had I been him, I would have curled that bar one time, to place it in the J-hooks, and put it on my back where it belonged.
