There are TOO many excuse makers out there.
Age tends to get the blame most often, or is it time that gets the blame?
Check this video below of Laird Hamilton and then read on with me....
Laird Hamilton has not allowed age to limit him, and since following him as a kid, I have noticed that he has only become stronger and better at everything he does. NO Excuses.
35 is around the corner for me, and I have changed things up to keep me "under the bar" where as most men I run into make excuses to keep their ass on the couch. The male species is becoming weaker and weaker and I see way too many following suit.
Heck, even kids nowadays are following suit. They sit on their ass all day and show less and less willingness to become a Warrior. With weak parents how can we expect the kids to have the desire for strength in mind and body?
This is why it's always refreshing to me to work with wrestlers, they chase the pain and desire to be a Warrior. Certainly not the norm nowadays!
I'm sure you've run into those "men" who are glued to the couch - I can't believe we just gave them the honor of being considered "men".
Being a warrior you tend to wanna listen to your mind rather than your body, so even when you need to back off you still go balls to the wall with your workouts. Backing off takes mental discipline, so I have made many changes to my way of life, my training and my nutrition since I have gotten older, but none of them hold me back from being STRONGER as a Man!
As Bruce Lee said, "Absorb what is useful, discard what is not."
My Changes:
1) 2 or 3 Intense workouts each week + 2 or 3 bodyweight workouts each week.
2) More variety in my training implements and NO machines: more kettlebells, more bodyweight, more dumbbells, more sandbags
3) Less loading of the spine via back squats and deadlifts
4) More soft tissue / recovery work
5) Less red meat, more fish, veggies & fruits
6) More movement / athletic training: sprinting, swimming, surfing, skateboarding, trail runs, mountain biking
7) More intuitive training: Remember, I'm a "Soul Lifter" - I simply love to lift and move so the rules of program design are completely modified for my own instincts
If you look at the above, in essence, I am becoming a kid again.
Less structure, more "playing" and movement and more overall athleticism. Being big without the ability to move or play with my kids is of NO use to me.
A smart man will adapt and adjust to his own needs and will not copy me.
A Man of NO Excuses will continue to train and go through the battle and still find a way for intensity. If you're getting injured or feeling mental burn out this is your body's way of sending you messages to back off, change it up but DON'T Stop altogether.
Always find a way to blaze a trial.
NEVER allow yourself to become the guy who tells a younger man, "I used to be just like you....."
NO Excuses.
Shut the F**K Up and Make it Happen. Period.
Lead from the FRONT.
--Z--
PS: Here's where I give the blue print on how I "Make it Happen". NO Excuses, this is the REAL Deal inside my life of lifting AND living:
==> Underground Strength Coach Trial
PPS: New Web Site, please check it out & share with as many kick ass peeps you know!!!
14 Responses
Hey Z nice blog really like it, I feel the same bro. Keep up these great work.
Curt..
PS. New website is great!!
Hey Zach, keep it up. Can’t say I have been comitted to training the entire time since getting out of the Corps in 1990, but I have allways tried to do something. I am 44 and can still get 465 up for deads and 435 back squat. Bench has allways been an issue for me. Still plugging along and out working all the young kids I work with. Keep up the great blogs.
Zach, you’ve summed up my attitude at the moment exactly! Earlier this year I had two lots of major surgery (an ileostomy – my large intestine was removed and replaced with an external ostomy bag). Despite shocking wounds and a new, artificial digestive system, I took the decision that I would not only get the fitness I lost from the surgery back (I’ve practised martial arts for 7+ years), but aim to get even more. No rest, no mercy, no matter what – no excuses. Thanks for being a beacon of strength in a world full of people who are forgetting how powerful they can be.
Curtis, thnx bro, I’m gonna have to get some of your JUDO Beast vids on http://GetWrestlingStrength.com
–z–
Neil!!! HOLy S**t bro, you’re freakin’ MadMan!!
Thank YOU for your inspiration!!!
Mike, you’re awesome, great to see you STILL keepin’ the edge after being out of USMC for 2 decades!
MOST fall off, YOU kept going!
MUCH respect!
Hey Zach,
Anytime you want to use a vid go right ahead i would be honoured to have my vids on your site. lots more coming and there only getting better!!
Thanks Zach.
Curt…
Laird’s book is awesome. Some great workouts and recipes in there. The guys is just a true athlete. There is great show on Fit TV about him. Seems like a real cool guy.
Dan
LUV this post Zach!
Age has NOTHING to do with it.
I’ve seen 80 year old men who could lift more and run further than most 20 something guys. It’s All a Mental thing.
Keep on keeping on Zach! you’ve barely hit your peak!
PS: pics & videos are Awesome!
Great post Zach! I Have been reading a great book called the Exuberant Animal by Frank Forencich where he talks about the importance of play and creativity in one’s healthy activity and training. It’s very interesting. From the stand point of being human we were not designed to follow programs like robotic machines but rather to play, frolic and romp and that brings not only better physical gains but mental as well.
In the FitTV show about Laird (I believe “Art of the Athlete”) Paul Chek calls him a Lion. After watching what he eats and how he trains it puts my life and goals into perspective. Someone can do it, and Laird is the physical representation of my dream. Now I need to make my dreams real.
I like to refer to the movie 300 when someone asks me what I do for a living. Some people work in retail, medical field or teach. Plus they workout, but if you ask them who they are they are teachers, nurses, and managers. If I am asked “Strength Athlete” and a “AH-OH”. Often they look at me weird and wonder if that is a job. How I get paid and who I am are two totally different things. I may teach people about exercise, but I am not a teacher/trainer/guru. I am a Strength Athlete with a side job.
I love this stuff dog! Keep sending them! My sons(3 & 5yo) love watching them with me, and discussing the videos after. They may not totally understand my message, but sometimes when I least expect it they recite it word for word.
Great stuff again Z! Your ‘My Changes’ is pretty much the same thing I have transitioned into over the last four years! The Red Meat part just now going on 6 months! And that was a BIG one and I’ve seen a HUGE increase in my energy levels! Your #3 loaded of spine I’m not sure what you mean(except the obvious)! Gave up gym membership 5 years ago…now my house/carport is stocked with dumb bells,sand bag,(home made)TRX-rope,BIG tubing AND sprints up the Oakland Hills I’m blessed to live in!!! HIGH INTENSITY makes ALL my problems go away!!!!
There really should be a note right below the tittle of the post saying “This blog post contains a Bruce Lee quote” 🙂 I was like “ok I don’t know who the first dude is…omg Bruce Lee, what where what, what is this about, what what??” :p
But seriously, you’re dead on with the point on the men and kids these days ZEE, also I think you should just remove the word age from your dictionary cos you know you’re only 35 dude, so if you live to be a 100 or more and I really hope you do, you’re like what 1/3 way there, that makes you a kid – feel like one, move like one, think like one, heck even act like one, I know your kiddies will like that 🙂 don’t even think about age, just…be a kid and have fun 😉
P.S. Hey Neil, dude find a nice place for a monument in your city, cos we really should build you one…I suggest some large square where you can inspire as many as possible.
Great post,
I will be 45 soon…
I am in the best physical shape of my life. I have been practicing, coaching and training for more than 20 years now and truely believe that age has nothing to do with growing old.