Hail to the Dinosaurs!
I spent all day working on a big Dinosaur
Training project, and by the end of the day,
I was beat.
It wasn't physical work, but it was mental
work: writing, editing, and more writing.
It's fun, but it's tiring in its own way. It
takes a lot of concentration and focus.
And then it was training time. That takes
a lot of concentration and focus as well.
I wrote down my workout for the day in my
training journal, changed into my workout
clothes, put on the old pair of glasses I wear
for workouts only, laced up my lifting
shoes, and filled up my water bottle.
I went out to the garage and opened the
doors, and it was hotter than an oven.
One of my high school wrestling coaches
worked a summer job shoveling coal into
the blast furnaces at a steel mill. He said
you could do it for about 15 minutes at a
time, and then they gave you a break and
sent in another guy.
The garage wasn't quite that hot, but it
was hot.
I did my warm-ups, got ready to go, and
started to work on the clean and jerk.
There was a niggling little pain in my upper
back -- by the shoulder -- on the right side.
It made it hard to hit the groove when I
was trying to lock out the bar.
I worked on it in-between sets, trying to
loosen it up. There was a tight spot that
seemed to be causing the problem.
Did I say it was hot?
It was hot.
About half-way through the workout, I
began to wonder if I should call it a day.
That was the point where it would have
been nice to have had a training partner
or a coach or a gym full of serious lifters
so I could borrow a little extra energy
and enthusiasm.
But it was just me and the barbell and the
lifting platform.
We have two cats, but you know how cats
are. Not very supportive. They were sleeping
in the shade on the back porch.
I decided to try one more lift.
This time, I drove the bar overhead without
that weird shoulder tightness.
So I decided to keep on going, and I finished
up with a hard, productive workout. I was
tired, and covered in sweat, but I felt pretty
good. It was dinner time, and I knew I had
earned my meal.
I share this story because I think many Dinos
deal with similar issues from time to time --
or perhaps pretty much all the time.
Many of us train at home -- alone -- and many
of us go to gyms but avoid the crazy stuff that
most of the other gym members are doing --
which means we train alone even in a crowded
gym.
And sometimes, it gets lonely -- and sometimes
we wish we had a like-minded workout partner.
And then we put more iron on the bar, chalk up,
and tighten our lifting belts -- and hit the next
set.
I've written a lot of books and courses, and I
continue to do so, in part because it's a way
to help keep your motivation as high as
possible.
One of my favorite publications is The Dinosaur
Files Quarterly. I like it because each issue contains
a nice mix of my own material with articles, letters,
workouts and training ideas from other Dinos. It
helps remind us that we are all part of a world-
wide movement -- a brotherhood (and sisterhood)
of chalk, sweat and iron.
And whereever we are, and whenever we train,
we're never alone.
We're all part of the Dino Nation.
And that's important to remember.
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. We have three big issues of the Dinosaur Files
Quarterly so far. They're available in hard copy
right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html
Issues 1 and 3 of the Dinosaur Files Quarterly are
available as Kindle e-books as well -- and we'll get
issue no. 2 up on Kindle very soon. The e-book
editions of the DFQ are here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurquarterly_01_kindle.html
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurquarterly_03_kindle.html
P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and Dinosaur Training
DVDs, t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and Legacy of Iron
novels -- and links to my other Kindle e-books -- are
right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "You're never alone
when you're part of the Dinosaur Nation." -- Brooks
Kubik
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