I was out riding my motorcycle over the weekend, thinking about my training goals and it hit me. A voice in my head said:
Voice (V): Life is to short kid, you need to retire.
Troy (T): What you are you talking about? We’ve got one more MEET.
V: Not we – you.
T: why you doing this?
V: Because you can’t hit the numbers you want at that MEET! Hell, the squat attempts needed would kill you inside three attempts.
T: Your crazy…
V: What else is new?
T: There just another set of numbers.
V: NO IT’S NOT JUST ANOTHER SET OF NUMBERS. Those numbers are a wrecking machine. The person to hit those would have to be HUNGRY and you ain’t been hungry since the Holiday Classic.
T: What are you talking about?
V: The worst thing that happened to you that could have happened to any Powerlifter…you got civilized. Started watching your weight….geez. Listen, Presidents retire, Generals retire, Horses retire, Man of War was put out to stud. Think about it.
T: I can’t retire. I want this MEET, just one more. I’m asking you to train me one last time.
V: NO…we don’t need it…I’m through kid.
I spent Monday and Tuesday thinking of what and how to do it. The decision was made to sleep on it. During the night I started dreaming about working out heavy and imagining myself deadlifting. Then it happened again, but this time…it was a different voice.
Nash (N): THAT’S NOT THE WAY TO DO IT, PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT!
T: Who’s that? Nash? What are you doing here?
N: Business
T: What business?
N: You need to let me train you.
T: Why you?
N: I don’t think you can pull it off without me.
T: If people knew we were talking like this they would think we were crazy… what’s the real reason?
N: Do you hear that?...............It’s to quit in here. When you retire it’s to quit, besides, I’m to young to retire.
T: Yea, but…why do I need you?
N: You’ve lost your edge. When we trained together you had the EYE OF THE TIGER, the edge. And now we’ve got to get that back and the way to get it back is to go back to the beginning. Do you know what I mean? Haha, maybe we can hit those numbers together. EYE OF THE TIGER man.
T: Why’d you come here?
N: I’ve got a plan, to get it all back.
T: You’ve got me curious.
N: You’ve got us all curious inside here.
Today is now Wednesday. The following discussion takes place as I arrive at the gym.
T: What the hell are we doing here?
N: This is like the place we first started.
T: So – that’s your problem.
N: So this is the place where we get it back.
T: Let’s leave before they leave us for dead. This place is disgusting, why don’t we train some place else?
N: Look, I think your missing the point. Let’s sign up and get stated.
T: In my opinion we don’t need this place, it’s below our standards.
N: Let’s give it a try?
T: I don’t even got a gun?! Look at this place, even the rats have more pride than to be caught dead here, I mean…LOOK AT THE DUMPER!
As I go inside and see the regulars sizing me up nash says:
N: See that look in their eyes? Gotta get that look back…EYE OF THE TIGER, come on – come on – let’s go. We’ve been living modern but now were gonna train old.
THE BAR IS LOADED….
And so it begins: EYE OF THE TIGER – Fear & Pain
When I was in high school our first weight room was in the original boys locker room in the gym. Very small. They had built a new Football locker room & coaches office just off from the gym connected by a covered breeze way and that is where male students changed for gym class. My sophomore year the school built a free standing weight room. 30x40 concrete floors with a ten foot ceiling. Once completed students could take "weight lifting" as an elective. We did not have Heat or AC until the END of my Senior year. I was a player so they made sure my class was last period.
The HARDCORE GYM I'm going to now reminds me so much of the one's in high school. No heat, no air. All the weights are old (some older than me). The weight trees are unorganized, dust bunnies on the window ledges and yes.......chalk on the floor. One of the benches needs some wielding done, I don't think I found a pair of the same 45's. I'll give it time but this sure fells like home.
BENCH
Rotator therapy: a little
Bench
3x30x bar
3x10x135
3x5x185
3x5x225
2x3x275
1x3x315
1x2x315
2x1x315