This week i have had the pleasure of watching a handful of my college athletes return to the fold while they are home for break. and in watching them, i realized a few things that maybe we all need to understand about the gym, life, and what it takes to be successful. of course, i'm going to start with the gym. isnt that where it always starts for me?
I've got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end. ~Larry Bird
my gym is not for the faint of heart. both by intent, and by result of my clientele. i have had many a person offer me words of wisdom on how to "grow" my business. but what most people dont understand about SiB is that its NOT a business. its my passion. it fills a void for me, and others like me, that i couldnt find anywhere else in the fitness community. SiB is not about lowering the level to bring in more people. its about building people to rise to the level. and that is not to say we are better at anything. there are better athletes and stronger people virtually everywhere. what sets us apart is the MINDSET of the people who want to be there. if you are looking for easy, we are not for you. WE, not the gym. SiB is the people. and what all of those people have in common, aside from a small (or large) amount of crazy, is the desire to continually push their personal boundaries. there is no "status quo" here. only the desire to keep pushing.
“The key is not the will to win… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” Bobby Knight
how does that relate? or happen even? it struck me watching these kids. these college athletes, and college bound athletes, who have a drive that can not be taught. you have it or you dont. that drive is what we all have in common. it is not about athleticism. there are millions of athletes. and better ones than i know. what sets the competitors above the rest is heart. and drive. and SELF motivation. to do the things most people just do not, or will not, do. it takes a special kind of mentality to make yourself do the hard thing. to push yourself to be better when you may already be better than those around you.
when i tell people that SiB is not for everyone, i mean it. and it is in no way meant to be an insult or a criticism. what we do, for the most part, is NOT fun. it has its moments for sure. but mostly, it is a necessary part of WHO we are. the mindset at SiB is that there is no such thing as "too" hard. its ALL hard. its supposed to be. because pushing through the hard things is how we handle LIFE. its as much a mental workout as a physical one. i may not want to do this, but i am going to anyway. it sounds kind of brutal when i write it out. but its true. the heart of the gym is the competition we feel daily. with ourselves and with the rest of the crew. to be BETTER. to push HARDER. to compete. and feel successful. you have accomplished something when you leave SiB. and you should feel good about that, even when your legs are still shaking.
“Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.” John Wooden
i often find myself in the position of saying some version of "everyday is leg day at SiB". and it is. which stems from my own personal experiences with fitness. most days are also core and arm day as well. but i live and die by my favorite quote from Miracle....."legs feed the wolves, gentlemen". and they do. both in reality and mentally. DRIVE is everything. in sports your drive comes from your legs. its your power source. the stronger they are, the better YOU are. and same with your life. a strong drive - to succeed, to be kind, to kick ass - whatever it is for, the stronger it is, the better. it's a strange kind of deni concept, but there you go. I am not going to push you. YOU have to push you. if you need me to hold your hand thru a workout, this is not the place for you. because it is TOO HARD if you are not all in. the work has to be worth it TO YOU to make any progress. i will provide the vehicle to help you, but YOU have to provide the gas.
as i watched one of the young men make us all want to throw up while he was doing sprints on the assault bike (with his headphones on), completely in his own world, all i could think of was "where does THAT come from?" THAT thing that some people have and some people dont, that makes you just keep pushing and pushing your limits. its the heart of the competitor and if i could bottle it, id be a bazillionaire. its amazing to watch, and its easy to recognize when you see it. luckily for me, i see it alot. and its not always in the "best" athletes. it doesnt have to be. believe me. there are plenty of amazing athletes that DONT have it. that slide by on talent. i can appreciate talent. its also fun to watch. but i will ALWAYS choose drive over it. and if you've got both, there's no stopping you.
It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Lou Holtz
well. except for injury. which is another place you get to see it. how do you deal with those injuries? we all get them. some are serious. some arent. but how you deal with them ultimately is one of those defining things. let me tell you that NO ONE - i mean NO ONE - likes the assault bike. but when you are injured and need to keep your cardio, you have 2 choices - swim or bike. well, maybe 3. you can wait it out. you can become one of those "i have bad knees/shoulders/feet/whatever" people. those people are the ones that wont like SiB. and believe me, we have alot of those issues. the difference is how you deal with them. if you want to modify, great. if you feel you can push thru, great. if you want to use them as an excuse, we are not for you. and im not judging you or hating on you. im just being honest. hard work is THE answer. often it is the ONLY answer.
so i harken back to the good old Brown University Pizzatola, where all of the athletes would jockey for the 2, yes 2, stairmasters that were available in the varsity weight room. for all of us. yes, i said 2. but i digress. you could not go into that gym and find a time when someone was not on BOTH of those damn things. we LIVED on them. and that assault bike workout today reminded me of that. 30 years ago (yes, 30), i started on this path. fighting for every bit of cardio i could get along the way. 2 a days in college, gym before (and sometimes after) work when i graduated. teaching 14 classes a week for years and years when my kids were little. not because anyone was making me. because I was making me. because, to me, it is necessary. and FOR me, it is. that is who SiB is for.
To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others. ~Buddha
i laughed typing that because, as always, im the example. i am NOT the most athletic person in my family - either of them. but between the 5 of us, we all have different variations of the athletic/motivated dichotomy. Kris is definitely more talented. but im pretty sure he was NOT one of those kids waiting in line for the stairmaster :). and he was still a more "successful" college athlete. so all of this is not to say anyone HAS to work like this. or want to. there are a TON of successful people out there without this crazy drive. or maybe i should have just stopped with the "crazy".
as i venture into 2019, i look back at what the last 5 years has brought into my life as SiB has grown. i am so proud that the kids who i tortured training in high school walk back in, give me a hug, and get right back to work. this is a family. its a versatile, admittedly crazy, bickering, competitive family. and that's what makes it so great. it feels just like home. maybe you should be worried for my boys :)
No man who is occupied in doing a very difficult thing, and doing it very well, ever loses his self-respect. ~George Bernard Shaw
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