From the archive :
5/9/18
There’s a truth in our needing to be patient, truth that our journey with the weights must be viewed over the long haul, as a trek (I’m dodging using the term marathon), and not as a sprint.
Your numbers may not rocket up. For some they will, for some they won’t.
Then I saw…
•the longer you maintain a size the higher quality it will be, and the better you will perform there
•greater consistency at a performance metric IS stronger. Example: I can walk up cold under any circumstances and power clean 225. A little over 2 years ago I couldn’t even clean 225.
•your strength cold and under less than ideal conditions is your baseline and walk around strength.
This is the best metric of how strong you truly are.
•the bigger #, doesn’t necessarily mean stronger…if it requires programming, peaking, form “tricks”, sleep, food, preworkouts, and so on and so forth. This is related to the last. Between 2 guys if similar size who’s stronger the one who peaks, and under lovely conditions pulls 600, or the guy who can pull 450 multiple times daily, up to and including within 30 seconds of an abrupt middle of the night alarm going off and sergeants screaming at you type situation.
•some gains just come with time, see the consistency point
•a lifetime of labor gives strength that gym goers do not expect…a physical resiliency…and the ability to just keep doing more and more.
•a farmer or mason as your father is likely the truest way to get a kid stupid strong by college age.