Category Archives: mental toughness

Work capacity still matters outside the gym

“Back in the day” it was a given that hard work was going to be done day in and day out. Hard physical labor was a way of life. Today, few people know what hard physical work is like. It was often dangerous work, too.   I recently saw a photo from my buddy DonContinue reading “Work capacity still matters outside the gym”

“Rat” bikes & shiny new Harleys–the value is in the riding not the shine, the same applies to gyms

Years ago I was living  in the Harley-Davidson world. I have some very good memories from those days, and some not so good. One thing that stands out to me is how much I loved to ride, and my Harley showed it. It was what they call a “rat” bike. I rode it hard and often,Continue reading ““Rat” bikes & shiny new Harleys–the value is in the riding not the shine, the same applies to gyms”

Things that make coaching worthwhile

Why do I coach? Why do I still like coaching? It’s not the money, that’s for sure, though we make enough for what we need. If anyone wants to open a gym or be a coach because they think they will get rich doing it, they are delusional. Anyone whose main motivation in life isContinue reading “Things that make coaching worthwhile”

Following your own path in training

I have always liked venturing into new, or relatively unexplored, territory in training That has been a habit of mine for decades. For example when I was heavily involved in  martial arts, our dojo was doing full-contact fighting years before it became popular, and televised, of course. Did we have all the answers? Certainly not!Continue reading “Following your own path in training”

Now that the Cave dust has settled, and the tests are over

I want to commend all of our Cave girls and Cave men for giving it all you had this past week and a half! Yes, I expect a lot from all of you, but I expect even more from myself, as your coach. I am probably twice as old as some of you, but I feelContinue reading “Now that the Cave dust has settled, and the tests are over”

What our testing is showing us so far

We are just over 1/2 way through our quarterly strength/work capacity tests, and overall everyone is doing quite well. Both strength and work capacity have improved as our training records have proven. There are still some technique issues to correct, but that is not the biggest issue I am seeing (though it is vitally important). The biggestContinue reading “What our testing is showing us so far”

I thank the teacher who gave me an “F” in high school (it’s what I deserved)

There was a time when teachers weren’t afraid to fail someone in their class. I know, I was that guy. The teacher knew her subject well but I just couldn’t see any relevance of it to my life and didn’t care to learn it. I developed a really bad attitude about it and consequently failedContinue reading “I thank the teacher who gave me an “F” in high school (it’s what I deserved)”

quarterly strength/work capacity tests start on Jan. 9

We will be testing 5 barbell lifts and 2 bodyweight exercises each test is 10 minutes in length barbell lifts use 70% of the 1RM for that lift maximum number of quality reps will be done technique must be correct 1 test per day unless prior arrangement is made