Shine & Rust

Shine & Rust

Shine & Rust Cardio sucks. There's no beauty or grace in it. You're not moving huge weight. It's just painful. But you do it because you have to-a necessary evil. Whether you're preparing for a show or just trying to get in top condition...

I've never been one to run between the rain drops. I always figured we all need to get a little wet from time to time. The world is made of dust and water, diamonds and rocks. It is wonderfully ridiculous and supremely sublime, all at once. This life... It's everything and it's nothing at the same time. It's beautiful and disgusting and that's okay. It's messy, it's nasty and lowdown, and that's okay too. It's all okay. It's okay because all these elements have a distinct and necessary purpose in this realm, in this world, and in our lives. You have to be willing to accept the dirt if you want the diamonds.

We want to sit down to a steak dinner fit for royalty. Well guess what? Someone has to kill the cow. While a man is buying a $2000 suit in New York, another man is digging a drainage trench in Indiana. There is beauty, and there is sweat, and that's okay. There is life and there is death and I know that my time will come too, and for me, that's okay. Truly there are many, many wonders to behold in this world, but can there possibly be one more wonderful than our own lives? To walk, run, swim, drive, even to fly… All we need do is simply conceive of these notions and then act them out. The wonders are part of the mundane. Wait… Are we onto something here? To think, to conceive, and then to act. This process is simply amazing.

I say this because the simplicity of the concept is so obvious, it often eludes even the most wise of us. The first step of any journey is the most difficult. It is also the most exciting. We come from dust but we can shape diamonds. Our bodies are fragile yet we push through pain and disability, through triumph and defeat. Our minds are cluttered, and yet we create beautiful objects and art. We are the underdogs of the universe, and we will beat back the shadow of our mortality with defiance and rage. We will fly forth with swarming energy and one resolve. We will not be forgotten… Strength lies in those who would not look away from truth. We are, we will be, and we must remain. Some of us will shine, but if it's all the same to you, I prefer to rust. Rage and focus be your guide. We will find our place.

You Might Surprise Yourself

Your boss doesn't care if you put a half inch on your bicep. Your Mom doesn't understand why you want to be so big. Who wants to look like that anyway? You know, girls don't like guys who are that big. Your friends are too busy chasing ass and styling their hair to realize the commitment you are undertaking. All this, and they say we are self-absorbed.

What more noble and dignified pursuit could there be than pushing the envelope of what we were meant to be? What is wrong with wanting more than the regular? Let me tell you what is wrong… NOTHING! When it all comes down, and its time to pay the tab, you know you are paid in full. Let those others stand there looking at each other, waiting to see who has a mid-life crisis first.

Damage to one's being and mind cannot be undone, and likewise, strength and size cannot be pounded into place without much strife and struggle. After many hours of sacrifice and many days of physical stress, you will come to know who you are and what sets you apart from others.

Please do as I have tried to do and do not be discouraged, no matter how long your path is. It is for the best. Remember, if it were easy, everyone would do it. Champions are built brick by painful brick and that can take a lifetime. Sometimes it can happen without anyone even bothering to notice. Take heart. The mountains you climb can't always be seen by an audience... Still, you must not stop climbing.

The "In Between"

What happens when you run out of road? What happens when you reach down to grab another gear and there's nothing left? Questions like these take me back to when I was a kid and my father would take me for a ride and talk to me about things. One day we were in the car driving and he stopped just outside the gates of a cemetery. I was a little nervous, but I knew my dad had a unique way of teaching me lessons. We didn't move for a while and neither of us said a word.

After what seemed like forever he looked at me and said, "Son, for the most part we are all the same. We're all born into this world, and we all end up here. It's what you do in between that counts. It's how you live it." Chills ran down my spine. I wasn't scared to die. I was scared I wouldn't live loud enough to leave a mark. That day I decided to go through this life and let the world know I was there.

I've talked to many people through the last few years and some of them don't get it. Others get that same look that I got that day in the car. The point is you have to live loud enough to make the world remember you, and sometimes you can do that without saying a word... Our battlefield is the in between. We are not pop stars, we don't get manicures, and we can't pronounce the word "surrender". Remember, it's about the work you do in between, so don't wait around thinking you have ten lifetimes. Live like there's no tomorrow, before there really is no tomorrow.

The Cart Before The Horse

So many times people ask me how you know when you're ready to compete. I don't believe this time exists, at least not the way we may think about it. However, for the purposes of practicality, I will say that according to your height and weight ratio and the way you look in general, there are some guidelines.

Shine & Rust Let's say for the sake of argument that you are a 230-pound man and at that weight (let's be honest) you're sporting around 23% bodyfat. Depending on how much muscle is actually under that fat, you are either a middleweight or a light heavy weight. I would speculate that you would come in at round between 180-190 realistically.

This means I would (and have done in the past) pick an imaginary show date, then diet for about 16 weeks and see what lies beneath. Get a common sense diet approach. Don't try anything complex. Just stay low carb and use low glycemic sources. As a general rule go no lower than 75-125 grams of carbs per day.

Use all means of cardio. Start the cardio gradually, first once per day, then twice per day as time allows. The body fat should drop away. Have someone take your bodyfat measurements until you can do it yourself. The important thing is to pay close attention to what's going on with your body during this time. You make peak to soon or you might realize you need longer to get tight. Take the diet to its full course and see what your bodyfat is at the end. Two things of note are the final bodyfat measure and your end weight.

But the true test is what's in the mirror because outside of separating the weight classes, no one cares what you weigh. It is better to be told you were ripped, but you need more size than to be told you had decent size but you came in fat. Let the mirror be your guide and stop only when you breathe your last breath.

The whole experience is one big experiment that you won't perfect until many times out. Don't be discouraged by anyone. For the people who support you, be grateful. To the people who doubt you, remember this--even if you won odds are they would still find something bad to say about you. What's important is your long range targets, so don't get caught up in tiny battles that waste your ammunition. Strength and honor.

Walk Away

"In for the kill." This has always meant more to me than just a statement of aggression. In all things a man must establish a certain level of commitment. In bodybuilding, there are many opportunities for success on so many levels -- winning a show is far from the only way. Remember Ronnie Coleman lost for a long time before he won the big shows. If winning was the only meter he measured his career by, he would have quit long ago.

Shine & Rust The road I walk down has had so many turns for someone as young as I am… So many trials, so many hurdles have stood in my way. The only way for me to succeed was to become totally committed to the idea that greatness wasn't something you went out and bought like a truck or a house. Greatness was having to become so ugly that you were beautiful, so rusty that you shined, and so driven you could run through a wall if there was even a chance to get one step closer to the truth.

In my life, situations, people and negativity became chains that tried to hold me down. I won't be chained to the earth. As the phoenix rose from the ashes to soar free above the clouds, so will I. In all things that you do, do not strive to be admired or loved for the battles you have won. Keep your head down, your shoulder square to the wheel, and drive yourself beyond anything you ever thought possible.

In living this way, you will soon be admired for the courage you have shown, the will to fight against all odds. You will be loved as only a true warrior can be loved. Bodybuilding is strength and suffering, beauty and savagery, freedom and chains, all at the same time. Praise any man who chooses to pursue this life and walk it the way it's supposed to be walked. If you're not in for the kill and lack the strength and commitment, then just walk away...

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