I walked into the OLD wrestling room and the energy literally consumed me.
But....
No one was wrestling.
There were a few wrestlers getting ready for me to put them through a training session, but no one was on the mat, just me.
As the Wrestlers laced up their shoes I walked to the walls where countless black and white photos of wrestlers lined the walls.
As I walked around the wrestling room from the 100 + year old wrestling program I heard them.
Yes... "Them"....
I heard their feet moving on the mat.
I heard them breathing heavily and intensely...
No music was playing.
No Coach was yelling to motivate them.
They were SELF motivated.
I saw it in their eyes.
I saw it in their physiques, which looked to be carved from stone, shoulders wide and round, arms that looked as solid as steel.
Wide necks.
That look in their eyes.
They pierced through me.
I knew right then and there that the BEST music is simply the sound of your heart beating, your lungs breathing and the sound of your body as it moves.
No cell phones, No excuses, No distractions.
A time where men were MEN.
A time where pride was taken in being a part of history, knowing they were the original Gladiators who fought in man to man, hand to hand combat.
The place?
The original Lehigh University Wrestling Room.
If you didn't know, Wrestling was in jeopardy of being removed from the Olympics. Between running and Wrestling, those are 2 of the oldest sports known to man kind.
The sport of Wrestling has taught me more about life than anything else.
As of Sunday, Wrestling is back for 2020 and beyond... I hope.
If you're a Wrestler or not, it doesn't matter. Pay attention.....
I want you to take away the lesson from this article that you need to shut off the music. Not necessarily the radio or your IPOD.
This is what I mean....
Shut out the noise...
The "noise" that stops you from being a dangerous man.
The noise that allows you to accept being "normal" and fitting in.
The noise that turns you into the guy that says, "I'm too busy to go to the gym", "I'm too busy to train" or "that's too expensive for me."
Last time I checked your health isn't "too expensive" and you're not "too busy" to be strong and healthy until you're laid up in a hospital bed and your family requires you to take care of them.
My Advice To You:
- Stay dangerous
- Get stronger
- Train harder
- Eat better
- Read powerful books
- Ditch the lazy friends who bring you down
- Drop the people that hurt you
Embrace Living STRONG.
Get out there and move. Today.
Get lost in the sound of your feet as they move, the beating of your heart and the breathing of your lungs.
For THAT is the most amazing music anyone can ever hear.
If you're a parent, then it will be the beating of your loved ones heart.
Health and strength does NOT have an off season, pre season or in season.
It is a year round, every damn day thing.
I am NOT motivating you today.
Today, it is up to you to stand tall, stand strong and LIVE strong.
Why am I NOT motivating you?
Because you don't need it.
Today, you prove to yourself that you have the power to live any way you so choose to. You want to be weak and lazy, spewing excuses out of your mouth and lying to yourself? Be my guest.
There has to be a food chain in LIFE, NOT just in the Animal Kingdom. I prefer to be at the TOP of the food chain and that's why I DO Shit!
Today, and every other day, the choice is yours. Rise above or become the hunted.
Talk soon and hope to see you at an up and coming Underground Strength Event.
The calendar of our events are listed HERE, check em' out and get after it.
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Live The Code
Honesty, Integrity, Commitment, Work Ethic
--Z--
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10 Responses
One of your best posts yet, Zach!
Your advice could not be better. A lot of folks think they got this covered, but most of them need to look deep down inside.
Every Saturday, my bro-in-law and I get…dangerous.
During the week, we are constantly getting stronger, healthier, edgier, because come Saturday—-if one of us is not prepared, there will be hell to pay and that comes with a heavy dosage of shame.
Even on our worst days, we’ve learned we can still be as dangerous—it requires a strong man to get it done, it’s all mental most of the time.
As you know, every saturday we been pushing ourselves with a pair of 50lb dumbbells and one hour + 1 lift. Sometimes with barbells. Our latest one is 1,110 1-arm rows in one hour. And believe me, we get plenty of heavy lifting done during the week, a healthy dose of bodyweight exercises, and I am working 12 hr shifts.
Dig deep, boys. Push one another. Find it inside yourselves to be a champion, no matter what it takes. But, always remember–God and family is first. Strength is where the heart is.
Dustin,
thats freakish.
But never forget: train hard, but smart!
You’ll need those joints and tendons hopefully for another couple of decades.
Cheers
Sven,
no doubt! I train purely on instinct. I do not follow a rigid template, but attack the basics. I always listen to what my body tells me what i am capable of. I train smart by heeding what my body tells me, and I do see your point. That kind of training is not something we can do on a daily basis.
Secondly, you always want to stay dangerous. It does not have to be every saturday, but everyone needs to find a way to push themselves way out of their comfort zone some how. Believe me, I am NOT comfortable most Saturdays. Sometimes, the good ole’ Nike slogan works best. “Just do it”
Thanks, buddy.
😉
keep rokin!
This is the plain and simple truth Zach. All life is about is problem solving. That was one of the first things my dad taught me. Life is about solving problems so in context to your article if someone has a problem with their health then they need to solve it. If they “don’t have time” to get to the gym then “solve it.” Leaving it unresolved only builds on itself and as you put it the “noise” gets louder! Thanks for sharing.
Brother, I got goose bumps just reading this. Frickin awesome article and definitely sharing this with everyone I know! I believe in the same thought of Living STRONG, not just physically but also mentally and spiritually. In Hawaii, It’s something I believe has been lost especially amongst our indigenous people here. The Native Hawaiians are the leading statistic in obesity, diabetes, heart disease, crime, drugs, and the list goes on. It’s all about the Mindset that needs to be change. Keep doing what you do Coach! Aloha and Mahalo for your mana’o (knowledge).
Great article! I passed it on to the wrestlers and coaches. People go on trips or excursions to far off lands to “Find themselves”. To find a purpose in life. I say load a bar up with some weight and squat down. When you are sitting in the hole on your last set and your legs are screaming you will learn a lot about yourself. Fast for 24 hours and then do an intense bodyweight/sprinting routine for an hour.
To rephrase a line from “Apocalypse Now” “I love the smell of steel in the morning! Bloody shins and screams of every rep!”
Go heavy! Go Deep! Only greatness will you reap!
Zach – you’re pushin those buttons, man. Great article. Will print it out to read regularly.
Although most crossfitters get on my nerves lately I love the training.
Yesterday I did FRAN (21-15-9 thrusters followed by pullups) with two heavy kettlebells. Nothing whupps yr pretty little butt like FRAN in those couple of minutes.
I was annihilated going into the second set. The little man in my ear started yelling at me to give up, to surrender, to let go.
I love it when he starts talking – then I know that I’m getting into deeper water and where it counts.
I put a grin on my face and started thinking of my children and the grin grew. After that I went for a 5k run and felt content and very happy. Killer.
As it stands – it doesnt take much to get us to the frontier where we start thinking of surrender. You need to feel those fields regularly to start being comfortable there. When you do that a lot of other things become fairly easy.
Cant wait for saturday to see Matthysse-Garcia and the great Mayweather weathering another storm in Canelo.
Cheers
Great article. My father is Terry DeStito pictured in the article. I am truly speachless.
I totally agree you learn many life lessons on the mat and the sound of your heart beating louder then your breathing is the best feeling for me