http://masculineheart.blogspot.com/2009/03/henry-rollins-iron-and-soul.html
It wasn’t until my late twenties that I learned that by working out I had given myself a great gift. I learned that nothing good comes without work and a certain amount of pain. When I finish a set that leaves me shaking, I know more about myself. When something gets bad, I know it can’t be as bad as that workout.
I used to fight the pain, but recently this became clear to me: pain is not my enemy; it is my call to greatness. But when dealing with the Iron, one must be careful to interpret the pain correctly. Most injuries involving the Iron come from ego. I once spent a few weeks lifting weight that my body wasn’t ready for and spent a few months not picking up anything heavier than a fork. Try to lift what you’re not prepared to and the Iron will teach you a little lesson in restraint and self-control.
I have never met a truly strong person who didn’t have self-respect. I think a lot of inwardly and outwardly directed contempt passes itself off as self-respect: the idea of raising yourself by stepping on someone’s shoulders instead of doing it yourself. When I see guys working out for cosmetic reasons, I see vanity exposing them in the worst way, as cartoon characters, billboards for imbalance and insecurity. Strength reveals itself through character. It is the difference between bouncers who get off strong-arming people and Mr. Pepperman.
Muscle mass does not always equal strength. Strength is kindness and sensitivity. Strength is understanding that your power is both physical and emotional. That it comes from the body and the mind. And the heart.
I prefer to work out alone. It enables me to concentrate on the lessons that the Iron has for me. Learning about what you’re made of is always time well spent, and I have found no better teacher. The Iron had taught me how to live.
Life is capable of driving you out of your mind. The way it all comes down these days, it’s some kind of miracle if you’re not insane. People have become separated from their bodies. They are no longer whole. I see them move from their offices to their cars and on to their suburban homes. They stress out constantly, they lose sleep, they eat badly. And they behave badly. Their egos run wild; they become motivated by that which will eventually give them a massive stroke. They need the Iron mind.
Through the years, I have combined meditation, action, and the Iron into a single strength. I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts. Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate. I wallow in a thick depression. My body shuts down my mind. The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back.
The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.
While gymnastics movements cover everything from pushups and pullups to parallettes to falling and flipping to hand stands to ring work (dips, muscle-up, static holds etc) and much more, the overall focus is on balance, coordination, agility, flexibility and power generation. Core control is necessary and every attendee will leave with a much greater general body awareness and greater understanding of controlling their body.
"Your my boy Blue"...
New year always seems to bring a new phase of strength training for me and I have sought this year again to structure and intensify my training. I have a renewed energy in this new year to focus deeply on my strength training and incorporate a more structured approach to training.
The program is relatively simplistic, built on an EDT principle of not defining sets, but looking to maximize work load in every session (either through increasing total reps, weight or both) and building each week through 3 phases; accumulation, intensification and peaking. The rest/ recovery phase is also arbitrary and dependent on my at the moment capacity to recover.
Ive adapted and borrowed heavily from a program that was posted on t-nation and saw the potential to use in my own strength practice. Thanks also to Stef for once talking me down in volume in my original draft program.
Already completed the first squat day and already feeling the effects of the increase intensity and volume. WIll also incorporate a week off this type of training between phases.
Any questions, suggestions on this drop me an e-Mail or post a comment to this post. At the end of the program ill write up a summary and reflection of the efficacy of this program.
Sweat Blood
Damon
Day 1: Squat Day
Phase 1: Accumulation (4 weeks) Target rep range: 6 reps/set
Phase 2: Intensification (4 weeks) Target rep range: 3 reps/set
Warm-up: C2 Row for 2 min then split lunges for 30 sec 4 rounds
Movement 1: Back squat /Front Squat/OH squat (20 minutes) (note only one exercise per session)
Movement 2: Power Squat clean (15 minutes)
Movement 3: Full Snatch or BB Thrusters (10 minutes)
Phase 3: Peaking (2 weeks)Target rep range: 3/2/1 wave
Warm-up: C2 Row for 2 min then split lunges for 30 sec 4 rounds (10 minutes)
Movement 1: Back squat /Front Squat/OH squat (20 minutes) (note only one exercise per session)
Movement 2: Power Squat clean (15 minutes)
Movement 3: Full Snatch (10 minutes)
Day 2: Press Day
Phase 1: Accumulation (4 weeks) Target rep range: 6 reps/set
Phase 2: Intensification (4 weeks) Target rep range: 3 reps/set
Warm-up: 6 way barbell 10 minutes)
Movement 1: Military Press (20 minutes)
Movement 2: Incline DB press(15 minutes)
Movement 3: Ring/Hindu push up or dips (10 minutes)
Phase 3: Peaking (2 weeks)
Target rep range: 3/2/1 wave
Warm-up: 6 way barbell (10 minutes)
Movement 1: Incline DB Bench press (20 minutes)
Movement 2: Military Press (15 minutes)
Movement 3: Ring/Hindu Push Up or dips (10 minutes)
Day 3: Deadlift Day
Phase 1: Accumulation (4 weeks) Target rep range: 6 reps/set
Phase 2: Intensification (4 weeks) Target rep range: 3 reps/set
Warm-up: Kettlebell complex (10 minutes)
Movement 1: Deadlift (20 minutes)
Movement 2: Full clean and Jerk (15minutes)
Movement 3: Sumo Hi Pulls (10 minutes)
Phase 3: Peaking (2 weeks)
Target rep range: 3/2/1 wave
Warm-up: Box jumps, vertical jumps, jumps with a knee tuck, etc. (10 minutes)
Movement 1: Deadlift (20 minutes)
Movement 2: Full clean and Jerk (15 minutes)
