Hail to the Dinosaurs!
It was a beautiful day in the early
summertime. The year was 1940.
Two men sat in a park bench and chatted
quietly as they admired the view.
One of the men was Harry Paschall, the
creator of the inimitable Bosco and a
world-famous Iron game author who
wrote a hugely popular monthly column
for Strength and Health magazine.
The other was Tony Terlazzo. Pound
for pound, the 148-pound Terlazzo
was the greatest weightlifter in the
entire world. His list of achievements
staggered the imagination -- he was
an Olympic gold medal winner,a World
champion, and a World record holder.
As you might expect, they talked about
lifting. Or rather, Terlazzo talked
about lifting. Paschall simply listened.
Terlazzo talked about the human body,
and how even the greatest of lifters
were nowhere near the maximum weights
that men could lift.
With deep conviction and quiet confidence
he spoke of a day when men his own weight
would lift more than the heavyweights
of his era.
With the same conviction, he spoke of
men his own weight raising his current
records by 50 pounds per lift -- by 75
pounds per lift -- or even 100 pounds
per lift.
Terlazzo could clean and jerk a 330
pound barbell. But he calmly spoke of
the day when a man his weight would
clean and jerk 400 pounds.
The two men sat for several hours, and
Terlazzo dreamed of greater and greater
lifts, and heavier and heavier records.
Terlazzo lived in a world where the weights
he lifted in competition and in training --
which were World record poundages -- were
"light."
They were far less than his body was capable
of lifting.
He lived in the future. In his mind's eye,
he was handling weights far greater than he
could lift at the present time. But it was
only a matter of time -- only a matter of
regular, hard training -- before he got
there.
Paschall remembered that conversation for
his entire life. He wrote about it -- and
he shared his belief that Tony Terlazzo's
dreams were one of the great secrets of
his success.
"Let us have bigger and better dreams,"
he wrote. "For they will lead us to bigger
and better men."
There's a very important message there.
It's about the power of the human mind --
and about developing the same sort of quiet
confidence that made Tony Terlazzo the
strongest man of his weight in the entire
world.
Dare to dream -- and when you do, dream of
great lifts and great lifters.
The train -- and make your dreams your
reality!
As always, thanks for reading and have a
great day. if you train today, make it a
good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. You can learn more about the mental
aspects of strength training and muscle
building in Dinosaur Training, Dinosaur
Bodyweight Training, and Strength, Muscle
and Power:
1. Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength
and Development
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html
2. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html
3. Strength, Muscle and Power
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
P.S. 2. Thought for the day: "Dreams of iron build
men of iron." -- Brooks Kubik
