Screw Your Genetics.....

[BrotherIron]

I posted part of this article in my training journal but I think everyone should read the whole thing. Ryan Burgess wrote it and it's worth reading so I'll shut up so you can read it......


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For those interested in athletics, we are without a doubt living during exciting times. During the 100m sprint of the summer Olympics last year we witnessed numerous firsts, including 7 of 8 athletes running sub 10 seconds, the top 5 running sub 9.9, and the top 3 running sub 9.8 seconds. Lifting records continue to be broken, professional athletes in team sports are turning in amazing performances on an almost weekly basis, and you know what I have to say? So what.

The human condition is one of the most fascinating things in the world to me, but what I find intriguing is not what has been or is currently being done, but what could be done. I didn’t write this article to hold your hand and make you feel good about yourself. I wrote this to light a fire under your ass and get you moving towards YOUR true potential. Right now, somewhere out “there” is an athlete that is bigger, stronger, and faster than you. And if by chance Adrian Peterson, Usain Bolt, Benedikt Magnusson, or Lebron James find this article in their hands, there is a crop of athletes out “there” that have the potential to be bigger, faster, stronger, and better. So are you going to quit, or are you going to compete? It’s time to stop sitting around and gawking at what other people are doing and start putting in work towards achieving something yourself.


“But Coach Burgess, ‘they’ are just so much better/cooler/more amazing than me.” Screw that! Get your mind off of your genetic floor, and start looking towards your genetic ceiling. So what if you weren’t born to squat 900 pounds? Don’t use that as an excuse to not work towards 600, 700, or even 800 pounds. Just because you aren’t the 1% of the 1% doesn’t mean you should give up. And for you team sport athletes battling for roster spots, stop worrying about the guy in the locker next to you. Can you honestly say to yourself that, at this moment, you’re as fast, strong, and athletic as you’re truly capable of? If the answer is no, then go to work! Everyday wake up on fire to go to bed that night a better version of yourself, and then repeat that process daily.


No one else on earth is like you. They haven’t walked in your shoes, gone through your trials and tribulations, or experienced your joys. So why the hell are you wasting your time trying to be like ‘them’? Become the best version of yourself, not some second rate version of another person. Enhance your strengths and attack your weaknesses. If you commit right now to grinding way and getting just 1% better every damn day, in a year you’ll be almost 400% improved. Greatness is daily- it doesn’t just happen in a day. Shun the short term pleasure, instant gratification culture we’ve become, and sacrifice- I mean truly commit- to something greater. Can I guarantee success? Hell no. Only one thing in this life is guaranteed: you will die. Yep, that’ll actually happen (shocking). So it comes down to how you want to enjoy your ride. Do you want to sleep walk through the weeks, being entertained by others, punching the clock in a job of daily mediocrity? Or do you want to compete for something more? Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.

 

[Tatlifter]

Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.

This^^^

 

[MS1605]

Reading the title of this I thought this article was going to go in a completely different direction and I'm glad it didn't.


Unfortunately I believe that the type of people that are sitting around and saying some of the things the author is quoting are the type of people that will never really do anything with their lives. They are the type of people that no matter what they are going to have an excuse. You see it all the time with a people that are overweight but swear that it's because they don't have time or money to cook healthy meals, and they don't have time or money to go to the gym. And we all know those are just all excuses. Nobody works for a living for 24 hours a day. you can always get up earlier to train, you could always stay up later to train, you could always find time and money if you want to. But we all know the type that I'm talking about so I digress.

Hopefully this message does light a fire under some people's ass unfortunately with how lazy society is these days I doubt much will impact these types of people.

 

[snake]

Truthfully, the people that have longevity and success would all write the exact same thing.

Here's an example I have used. 6% of High School football players will play in college, no full rides, just play and that's not all D1. 1.5% of them will enter the NFL draft. So knowing that, are you not going to tryout for the team when you're a Freshman in H.S.? The odds of success, if measured by those standards are slim at best but not trying provides a 100% failure rate.

As for the topic of genetics, see my signature below.

 

[Ardennes]

As for the topic of genetics, see my signature below.

Precisely this. It's like the 'IQ' debate. I've seen countless people with lower IQs become actually 'smarter' than people with higher IQs. Why? They actually worked at learning and improving their thinking skills.

 

[Gabriel]

Snake has a valid point.. people with natural ability often toss it to the wind.. I've witnessed this when I used to teach MA..but the guy that wants it,has that hunger,that guy that's there an hour before and after class..that internal spirit..
I was that guy at 10..grew up watching B rated Martial Arts movies at the theater..I wanted to be able to do what they could..
At 10,I started Judo..at 12 Karate..at 15 Tae Kwon Do... at 16,I was fearless..Competed for a short run..Learned a lot of weapons,knife fighting,Close Quarters Combat and taught for years..
I had no natural ability..none..But I wanted it and that's all I thought about..I now hold several degrees in MA...
Point being...if someone wants something bad enough,pines for it,wakes up and goes to bed each night craving it...Stats don't matter,records,or even the nay-sayers..It can be and has been done..!

 

[rawdeal]

Lamar Gant was the absolute PL king at 132 back in the 1970's, back before much of today's helpful super-duper supportive equipment came along. Extreme scoliosis should have crippled him, but it instead improved his leverage in the deadlift by shortening his spine during the lift, which was also genetically gifted by his long arms. His nickname among fans was "PlasticMan," btw. Pretty lucky, except long arms are a disadvantage for benching, huh?

The thing is, he held world records in the DL, the Bench, and the Total for years ... he was just too dumb to worry about genetics. For reference, he was the first man to DL 5 x his bodyweight.

 

[Bugeyes]

Thank you for posting this.

And may i add: screw age as well. I am lifting heavier now than i did when i was a lot younger. It is indeed about discipline and not putting a mental limit on what i could do.

Still a 600lb deadlift seems unachievable - but i am hopeful that with enough training, I will start to believe that it will be within reach.