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Guest
Guest
Picture, if you will, a 14 year old Mister A: 5'9" 190 pounds. Been training almost a year. I am obsessed with getting stronger and putting on enough size to start varsity football as a sophomore. I'm training at the high school weight room, in my older cousins basement, and at a commercial gym filled with big boy juiceheads.
It's about 9pm. I'm at the big boy gym. I'm a child in a sea of monsters. But I know I want to be where they are. So I surround myself with them. I observe. I listen. I feed off their intensity. I do my best to emulate them. I make mental goals after seeing their awesome feats of strength.
One guy - 6' 250 - walks into the gym, Squats 405 for 10 reps over 5 sets and leaves. Probably to go flip over cars or something.
Another guy - 6'4" 235 - is ripped to the bone with and wingspan that makes it impossible for anyone to be anywhere near him while he's doing incline dumbbell flyes with 90 pound dumbbells.
I grow up and I look back on all the feats of strength I've seen: these guys, my uncle close grip benching 315 for 20 reps, our all-state lineman leg pressing 1500 pounds his senior year, and countless others and now - none of them really seem that crazy anymore. Some of them I've actually been able to accomplish myself. Others I've seen numerous people match and beat.
But there is one guy, on that fateful night at 9pm, who is still etched into my head as being one strong ass motherfucker. He was about 6'3" 275. I had overheard his conversation with another guy who was also admiring his strength. If I didn't have the memory of that guy commenting on what he did I may be inclined to believe it was just my boyish mind exaggerating things. But I saw it. And then another guy saw it and commented on it. And ever since then I've been in awe of it.
I was on my last set of Hammer Strength Machine Preacher Curls. The plate loaded machine everyone loves. This giant walks over and asks, very nicely, how many sets I had left. Whenever someone his size asked me how many I had left the answer was always 1! The hell if I'm gonna tell this guy I have 4 more sets.
I rack the 25 pounds plate I was curling with both arms. I watch him throw a 45 pound plate on. He does a set of 10 with both arms. Then he throws another 45 on. Another 10 rep set with both arms. Makes it look easy. Then, he throws a 3rd 45 pound plate on. I do the math in my head. 135 pounds! That's what I was benching for 8 reps!
He sits in the seat. Reaches for the handle. And does 10 clean reps with 3 plates on - with one arm! He switches arms and does the same with his left hand. He does this 3 more times for 10 reps each set!
I like to consider myself as having strong biceps. I can barbell curl 135 for 10. I can do dumbbell curls with 80s for 6 reps without swinging much. But the absolute most I can do on the Hammer Preacher Curl with one arm is 2 plates for about 5 not so great reps.
It still blows my mind that this guy did 4 sets of 10 with 3 plates with one arm. I can barely wrap my head around it even now. That will always be a goal of mine as long as I live.
It's about 9pm. I'm at the big boy gym. I'm a child in a sea of monsters. But I know I want to be where they are. So I surround myself with them. I observe. I listen. I feed off their intensity. I do my best to emulate them. I make mental goals after seeing their awesome feats of strength.
One guy - 6' 250 - walks into the gym, Squats 405 for 10 reps over 5 sets and leaves. Probably to go flip over cars or something.
Another guy - 6'4" 235 - is ripped to the bone with and wingspan that makes it impossible for anyone to be anywhere near him while he's doing incline dumbbell flyes with 90 pound dumbbells.
I grow up and I look back on all the feats of strength I've seen: these guys, my uncle close grip benching 315 for 20 reps, our all-state lineman leg pressing 1500 pounds his senior year, and countless others and now - none of them really seem that crazy anymore. Some of them I've actually been able to accomplish myself. Others I've seen numerous people match and beat.
But there is one guy, on that fateful night at 9pm, who is still etched into my head as being one strong ass motherfucker. He was about 6'3" 275. I had overheard his conversation with another guy who was also admiring his strength. If I didn't have the memory of that guy commenting on what he did I may be inclined to believe it was just my boyish mind exaggerating things. But I saw it. And then another guy saw it and commented on it. And ever since then I've been in awe of it.
I was on my last set of Hammer Strength Machine Preacher Curls. The plate loaded machine everyone loves. This giant walks over and asks, very nicely, how many sets I had left. Whenever someone his size asked me how many I had left the answer was always 1! The hell if I'm gonna tell this guy I have 4 more sets.
I rack the 25 pounds plate I was curling with both arms. I watch him throw a 45 pound plate on. He does a set of 10 with both arms. Then he throws another 45 on. Another 10 rep set with both arms. Makes it look easy. Then, he throws a 3rd 45 pound plate on. I do the math in my head. 135 pounds! That's what I was benching for 8 reps!
He sits in the seat. Reaches for the handle. And does 10 clean reps with 3 plates on - with one arm! He switches arms and does the same with his left hand. He does this 3 more times for 10 reps each set!
I like to consider myself as having strong biceps. I can barbell curl 135 for 10. I can do dumbbell curls with 80s for 6 reps without swinging much. But the absolute most I can do on the Hammer Preacher Curl with one arm is 2 plates for about 5 not so great reps.
It still blows my mind that this guy did 4 sets of 10 with 3 plates with one arm. I can barely wrap my head around it even now. That will always be a goal of mine as long as I live.
