The Weakest Guy in the Gym
It's not this guy.
If you put a bunch of strong people in a room, they'll find a way to make each other stronger. You put a bunch of weak people together, and they'll probably spend their time bitching about how life isn't fair.
I moved to Denver around six months ago, but still make the trip back to Spearfish, South Dakota every once in a while to keep an eye on our facility here, meet up with friends and train with my old workout partners.
A few days ago I was training with my friend Jesse in Spearfish at his facility. We were going back and forth on the deadlift; pulling a rep or two, adding weight and taking turns at the bar. We never stop working, but we maintain a casual conversation most of the time between sets.
The combination of random bumper plates and iron on the bar made it difficult to guess the weight at a glance, so I didn't bother counting the exact weight on one of my last pulls. I knew that it was heavy, felt my heart rate rise, my nervous system pick up and bumped my shins into the bar with the buzzing feeling that I get before a big lift. I flicked the chalk off my hands, took a deep breath as I watched it make a little cloud in the sunlight coming through the window, dropped down to the bar and drove my heels through the floor.
Jesse was at my shoulder yelling, "Hips!... Hips!..."
I locked the bar out, paused for a second and let it drop, then looked at it and cocked my head in the "curious puppy head tilt" as I tried counting out the weight and asked Jesse to confirm how much it was.
"505. Nice work."
I had pulled 500 a few times before, but this was a new personal record and the odd thing was that I hadn't even thought about it. In this environment, working with guys who squat, bench and deadlift 2,000 pound totals; the weights I work with seem insignificant, so I usually don't pay much attention to what's on my bar. I just try to keep up.
This is the great thing about being the weakest guy in a gym full of powerlifters. I inevitably find myself drifting up to their level. If I were training in a Bally's full of Jersey Shore wannabes screaming and grunting about their 225 pound bench presses, my frame of reference for strength would be altered and I would be less likely to push myself. I would look at them and feel strong enough. When you're lifting with guys who use your max weights on their speed days, that's just not gonna happen. You have to keep striving or leave.
I try to do this with everything. When I do conditioning workouts, I find guys who are going to be nearly impossible to keep up with like Marshall or some of our pro fighters like Joe Warren who seem to be capable of turning off the part of their brain that recognizes pain. Jesse often works out with us, facing his own weakness in our conditioning sessions. (This is how he earned the nickname World's Most Athletic Fat Guy)
In business, I try to have conversations with people who are already much more successful than me. If you ever think you're doing enough to justify a little complacence, sit down for lunch with guys like Nate Green or John Berardi. You'll realize how much further ahead in the game they are and how much unrealized potential you have.
When it comes to studying and reading, I try to talk books with the kind of guys who are actually writing them, like Dr. David Scarborough, a professor and client at the Barefoot in Spearfish. After reading his book, Neural Networks in Organizational Research I realized that I'm, well, not all that smart. But there is a lot I can learn.
Most of the people I've mentioned here who have in some way helped me become smarter or stronger are in this small 10,000 person town. A glance around the handful of people in our gym would show you a world class powerlifter, an incredibly talented A.R.T. Practitioner and a brilliant professor with a penchant for 4,000 mile motorcycle trips. This isn't the only place like this. If you were to look hard enough, you could find people like this somewhere around you.
Are you surrounding yourself with people who are going to make you a better, stronger, more capable person, or are the people around you keeping you complacent? If your answer is the latter, perhaps it's time to do something about it.
Comments for This Entry
I dig the post. Tell Jesse I said Hi, if he still remembers me :) I haven't been back to Spearfish for awhile but always hit the gym when I do. Can't say I've done a deadlift workout of that caliber but I can relate to the concept of pushing yourself farther because of the people you're surrounded by. I think part stems from competitive nature and the other part being pure determination to see what you are truly capable of. And if you're hanging with the 'just enough' crew, you're likely to follow suit.
cheers, enjoy the rest of your vacation ~
Simone
Posted on 04:10PM on June 30, 2010 [permalink]
On the contrary, I think you are quite smart but even better very wise. Your self possession is always apparent in your writing. Today was one of those days I needed this reminder of why I keep plugging away and paddling to make it upstream AKA " the Weakest Guy at the Gym" ( in my case, girl) . Thanks for that.
Posted on 04:12PM on June 30, 2010 [permalink]
Great article! Makes me miss all the people I look up to at home, but also makes me curious to all the people I will meet that will teach me so many new things! I can definitely say that meeting new people or achieving a new personal best can give the best mixed feeling of "wow who knew I could do that... and how will I ever get to where the people I look up to are!"
Posted on 06:27PM on June 30, 2010 [permalink]
Dave says, " Nice article. Thanks for the plug & stay thirsty my friend!"
Posted on 09:30PM on June 30, 2010 [permalink]
The first few sentences of the post are so so rocking! So true! And the last two. I think lot of people who stay mediocre all their lives - their defensive mechanism kicks in when they are surrounded by great people. They immediately start finding excuses as to why they can't achieve something better. I see this among my friends in their weight loss and fitness efforts. If I tell about about resistance training or fasting or cutting down grains u can actually see the mental barriers go up! Walking for one hour daily is a big achievement - does'nt matter if it has'nt given any results for years.
I think you're wise too - for your age. I have noticed a lot of people who are seriously into fitness write great blogs. As if lifting heavy weights allows the creative juices to flow:)
Congrats on the deadlift again.
Posted on 12:38AM on July 01, 2010 [permalink]
Working out with Jesse and my fellow power lifting gals is the thing I miss most about Spearfish. I definitely agree that surrounding myself with these people pushed me to higher limits. And we formed such a bond and great friendship. Without a doubt, we made each other stronger.
Posted on 06:35AM on July 01, 2010 [permalink]
Craig, you forgot to mention Mrs. Spine killer in Spearfish. Good stuff, I wish i could convey my thoughts as well as you do. Defining yourself and levels one thinks they attain is like locking yourself in conex box and going to sleep at lunch.
Posted on 07:45AM on July 01, 2010 [permalink]
JB, You're just jealous that you didn't steal a conex box to make your own tree house for lunch time naps.
Posted on 12:02PM on July 01, 2010 [permalink]
Awesome article Craig.
Posted on 06:47AM on July 02, 2010 [permalink]
Craig, well done on the 505. That is big time weight for anyone, especially guys your size. I wish I could workout in a more hardcore gym setting and be surrounded by stronger more fit individuals, but right now I'm at a small corporate gym. It works for now. I get strange looks from everyone when I'm doing my lower body work barefoot, and doing tabata sprints on the t-mill. I miss my old workout partners, especially my brother. He was, and still is, way stronger than I am. I was probably at my strongest when we worked out together. There is nothing like trying to be as strong as your older brother, great motivation.
Posted on 09:52AM on July 08, 2010 [permalink]
I think you are absolutely right about who you surround yourself with at the gym. I am a personal trainer and a gym owner and I know when I go to the gym I am motivated when I work out with people who are stronger than I am. I also hate working out with people who quit on sets or stop workouts prematurely because they are mentally weak. Great post as many people don't speak about being stronger mentally in the gym, and it really is important.
Posted on 06:30PM on September 20, 2010 [permalink]
505 is a ton of weight for anyone in the gym. Congrats on that! And I completely agree with you on getting people to work out with you who have similar goals for each workout and long term goals. If you wish to go to Bally's and oil up and look like a few Jersey Shore guys then go do it. However, if you want to make some real gains on strength or over all fitness in the gym you better start working out with people who want the same out of their gym workouts. Great post!
Posted on 06:34PM on September 20, 2010 [permalink]
Great point. I've found myself slowly moving from gym to gym and every time I switch the guys at the new place are bigger and stronger, which further motivates me to eat big (where I struggle most) so I can consistently add weight to the bar.
My trainer partner is great, too. I got lucky there.
And congrats on the 505! That's huge.
Posted on 12:23PM on November 29, 2012 [permalink]
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