Learning to be yourself is a subject I touch on quite often. It’s a challenge, because it is so easy to do what is expected and normal. But doing so leads to a dull life. However, discussing why we aren’t ourselves and why we should be isn’t the point of this post. I have discovered a song that describes the idea and act of being unique itself. It is from a song called Firewall, by Les Friction.

In particular, it is the second verse that inspires me, here are the lyrics:

This force is in love with you
It wants you safe
It wants you well
This force knows what you can do
And what you can make
With your tattered shell
Faith in your device
So quiet and precise
Just when, not how
You can feel it now
Deep beneath the light
A spark will now ignite
And you will see me now
This is our world now

Although I don’t care to analyze the entire song and it’s original meaning, I will analyze this section.

First of, the words “this force” and “it”, I interpret as meaning the real you. Deep within the shell we all think is us. It is your potential. Who you could be… and yet who you really are.

So when the song says “this force is in love with you/it wants you safe/it wants you well”,

I hear it meaning that You (capitalized You will stand for the inner you, normal you stands for… the normal you) want you to succeed. To survive and thrive.

“This force knows what you can do/what you can make/with your tattered shell”

Now this is your instincts, your goals, your desires, all derived from your potential that inside You know you can do. This is David growing angry at the mocking spirit of Goliath. This is Tyler Durden. This is you wanting to take a life changing risks. You know what you can do, even with whatever weak “shell” (the you that you know and everyone else knows) you’ve given yourself. This force, You, are urging yourself forward. Begging, demanding.

“Faith in your device/so quiet and precise/just when now how/you can feel it now”

When you finally give into what You know you can do, and let go of the inhibitions that we have been trained to have, things change. You become productive, energetic, creative, powerful, and world changing. This is where you must have faith, and get out of Your own way.

“Deep beneath the light/a spark will now ignite/and you will see me now/this is our world now”

This is probably my favorite line in the entire song. It describes the first moments of discovering who you really are. Underneath the shell you think you are, a little spark is lit which begins to shed light on your potential. Ignore it, and you will continue to be just like everyone else. Feed it… and you will change the world.

But there is a catch.

There is one line in particular that describes this catch so well.

“Everyone has to fall to the firewall”

In order to “become yourself”, that is, to no longer be the you everyone knows now, but who You could be, you must be put through the fire. The old you must pass away, leaving only the new You behind. This is why so many people struggle with being them self, with feeling unique. They have not yet fallen to the firewall.

The entire reason this site exists is because I am learning to step out of My way. I make people uncomfortable. They don’t know what to do. It’s even made some of my friendships challenging. Yet I continue.

We all have to fight for our lives.

Everyone hear the call to the firewall.

Everyone has to fall at the firewall.

I’m going into more detail today, so let me define a few terms I will be using:

• Anabolic: Building up of energy or using energy to make complex objects out of simple ones (building up)
• Catabolic: Unleashing/usage of energy or breaking complex objects down into simple ones (tearing down)
• Bio-energetic: A balance between anabolic and catabolic.
• Potential energy: The… potential energy… something has to use. It’s so simple I don’t know how to explain it. Think of a bomb that hasn’t exploded. It has lots of potential energy. There you go.

I expect you to act smart with me today, so hold on.

Music has very powerful effects on the mind and body.

We all have some music we love, and others we hate. Personally, I think whatever I like is the best and what I don’t like is the worst, and if you don’t agree with me your opinion is wrong. Now moving on.

For years I was perplexed trying to understand why certain people react certain ways to certain music. That question was pushed even harder on me when at 15 and 16 my dad asked me why I blasted stuff like Linkin Park and Breaking Benjamin while doing chores. Well here’s the answer.

Younger people have more potential energy. That is why they get into so much mischief (at age 2) and trouble (at age 20). There is more possible energy to be used, and more intense music is often desired because it unleashes that energy. It facilitates in the expression of the aggressive emotion all humans have, but younger ones naturally have more of.

This doesn’t mean it makes us break stuff. If anything, the music burns up that energy and passion, lessening the possible damage (unless they damage stuff while the energy is being released). This is also why hard music is popular when lifting weights. It unleashes energy to be used in exercise.

In short, catabolic music taken to it’s utmost is aggressive, explosive, and destructive.

Very much male energy (that’s a completely different concept to explain which I picked up from Elliott Hulse).

Anabolic music, on the other hand, is obviously very different. It is popular amongst the older crowd who’s already had their days being stupid and expelling such high level of energy. They have lower potential energy, and tend to favor the gentle, empowering and graceful feel of music expressing more anabolism.

It helps to express deep, powerful emotions we all have, such as sadness and passion. Not passion as in the roaring inferno we feel from catabolic music, but as in the massive energy held at the bottom of even the calmest ocean. Where catabolic energy is physically high (loud noises, jumping, etc.) anabolic energy is low (deep resonating noises, sleep, etc.)

Anabolic music is empowering, calming, and nurturing.

It is the female energy.

Where heavily catabolic music can be archetypically seen in a heavy metal or screamo concert with thousands of raving kids, anabolic music can be archetypically seen in a concert hull with a full symphony in process.

Both side have their legitimate uses. Especially when combined.

Right in the middle we have bio-energetic music. The stuff that makes you feel like you own the world. Not that makes you feel you can conquer the world, or makes you feel like the whole world gives you energy, but the stuff right in the middle.

If catabolic music is fire and anabolic music is water, bio-energetic music would be the Avatar

Awesome show. I wish they made a movie about it.

For a long time I actually had trouble labeling the stuff near the middle, because I didn’t understand the term bio-energetic. I recognized that many of my favorite songs had lots of dramatic contrast between anabolic and catabolic in the same piece, but didn’t know what to call it. Until I took biology and studied the metabolism. Then all my weird ideas made sense, so I  could make them weirder.

Now what’s the significance of this? I don’t know. I’ll just tell you what I do with this knowledge. Then you can go do something with. Change the world, grow a beard, adopt a gorilla. I don’t care.

With Anabolic Music:

• I listen to this after very intense workouts where my mind is to tired to hear anything catabolic. I also listen to it when I am in a very calm, peaceful mood or am emotionally drained. It builds my energy back up and allows me to recovery very quickly.

With Catabolic Music:

• I use it to get psyched up for something or when I’m really angry and just need that energy to get burned up doing something. Also since I’m still young, I tend to lean more in this direction anyway (though surprising less than most).

With Bio-energetic music:

• This is my favorite area to be in. My favorite band, Red, feels very balanced and bio-energetic to me. Also I’ve been listening to lots of neo-classical music, which has orchestras plus dubsteb, or electric guitar, or other modern/catabolic amenities to the classic anabolism. Here’s a playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDisK5c9JSmPD6S8C1ZCP3ohnjJvprpYb

Well that’s all folks. Now go do something!

Ego-centric, dishonest weight

I have been lifting weights for several years now, with various levels of equipment, dedication and success.Because I didn’t always have ideal equipment, I couldn’t always follow the routines I read as they were written, so for a long time I improvised based off what I had. I tried many routines that increased my strength, but none of them “clicked” as a strength training routine to me. Not one of them I felt drawn to return to.

Things changed when I realized my college allowed students free access to their gym. I could take my strength training to the next level. I spent semester after semester exercising both at the college (with all the free weights) and in my backyard (with a more limited selection).

I read many books, experimented with many exercises, modified many routines, and eventually I hit one of my favorite routines of all time. My very first “serious” strength routine.

Ready for it? Here it is:

• Front Squat 3×5 (3 sets of 5 reps)
• Deadlift 3×5
• Weighted Pullups 3×5
• Weighted Dips 3×5

And that’s it!

I followed this routine from October 30th to December 6th of 2012.

My first entry looked like this:

• Front Squat 145lb 3×5
• Deadlift 175lb 3×5
• Pullups 20lb 3×5 (that means bodyweight plus 20lbs)
• Dips 45lb 3×5 (bodyweight plus 45lbs)

I started at weights I knew I could lift fairly easily, to build momentum with my gains. Initially I could jump up weight quick, but after a couple weeks it was really only dips and deadlifts that were progressing quickly. But even those hit the point where each workout was a battle.

At the end of the semester, my final entry looked like this:

• Front Squat 190lb 6×1
• Deadlift 230lb 3×4
• Pullups 35lb 5/5/3
• Dips 70lb 3×5

Once I had hit the 180lb area on Front Squats, I moved to doing triples and then singles, as I couldn’t finish the lifts safely with higher reps.

Later that week I decided to test my maxes, and discovered I could max out on 215lb for front squat, 275lb for deadlift, and 200lb for bench.

Here are a few interesting notes about my maxes after this routine. The semester before, I had thrown my back out deadlifting 195lb for reps improperly, and a couple months before that nearly threw my back out attempting 235lb, but when I lifted 275lb I felt no pain or discomfort.

Also, the entire semester I was on this routine I hadn’t actually done a bench at all. Before that semester I could only max out at 180lb, but just by focusing on the weighted dips, I increased my bench by 20lbs.

If I were to change this routine, all I would do is add overhead press (also for 3×5). It is a very simple routine that increased my strength a lot.

It’s not very pretty, but it works. And the numbers I lifted my not have been very big in comparison to the ego-centric numbers posted around the web, but they are honest (see above picture). And probably better than 90% of gym goers anyway, especially at a bodyweight of 165lb.

So there you have it, my first strength routine. It’s incredibly simple, but it works. You can start it right now with just a barbell, squat rack and couple hundred pounds of weights, which most gyms have (even many of the pathetic ones).

Now my fellow Spartan, go get strong!

But an hour before writing this post, the idea of it didn’t even exist.

Writing something this spontaneous isn’t normal for me.

However, while checking my facebook newsfeed, I saw this picture:

It was humorous on the surface, but as I kept on scrolling down my feed, I kept thinking about it. I realized that there is some “truth” to that statement.

Oldschool trainers, strongmen, and bodybuilders (early 1900′s and before) achieved very impressive physiques and did many impressive feats of strength that we still strive for. What has changed in the time since is they way we do so.

It is now in vogue to focus on isolation exercises, low fat diets, protein shakes, supplements, and more weird stuff I can’t even recall.

The irony of this situation is that many people are trying to repeat results done by someone else, by using different methods, and expecting the same results. While certain oldschool trainers (that’s the general term I use) would eat lots of meat, drink every night, lift using heavy compound movements, and live a healthy lifestyle, people try to do just the exact opposite and expect to gain similar results.

That is where the humor in the above photo comes from. Where a modern trainer would worry about getting his protein drink in, an oldschool trainer would simply poor himself a drink knowing he had trained hard that day and eaten well.

Where a modern trainer would focus on the right machines, blasting the biceps, leg curls, bulking and cutting, supplement cycling, etc. The oldschool trainer would simply lift heavy things and eat good food; some of their most popular lifts included the deadlift, bent press, overhead press, picking up heavy/odd objects, and many bodyweight movements (the period I’m referencing was before and during the popularity of the squat, so it’s not on the list).

Oldschool trainers didn’t worry the way we do. They were much stronger and healthier than us. They were also more productive than most of us. So if you want a healthy, maintainable physique like an oldschool trainer, study what they did! They would laugh at how most of us try to become “healthy” and build good looking physiques.

Train like a Sir!

This person doesn’t lift weights (that I know of).

This person doesn’t go around shooting bad guys in an expensive piece of super armor.

This person isn’t even a guy!

But, she does make music.

I introduce you to Lindsey Stirling:

She inspires me two ways, with her story and her music.

And I will talk about them in that order as well.

Lindsey Stirling has had several challenges. She once battled anorexia and when she did have her first big public appearance, she was told that her music sounded like “a bunch of rats being strangled”.

Over the past several years, she has had an amazing turn around. She now has toured both the US and Europe, with sold out concerts. She has more views on Youtube than many Pop artists, and still retains the freedom of being unsigned.

There is much more to her story, but I gave you a brief summary. The part about Lindsey’s story that inspires me the most is her determination in doing what she enjoys, and learning to act the way she believes she really wants to. Too many people these days are discouraged by being told to do something other than what they enjoy most, as in the case for Lindsey Stirling, was playing the violin in non-traditional ways but being told it wasn’t marketable.

At first, I couldn’t stand Lindsey’s music.

Having just attended a music appreciation class, seeing the violin combined with dubstep (the very first video of her’s I saw) just seemed wrong to me. However, months later I succumbed to her talent and originality and she become one of my top favorite artists.

After I learned to appreciate her music, I was able to learn from and be inspired by it.

Watching hours upon hours of her videos over the course of many months, I actually learned how to better empathize with music. I could feel more emotion and energy from it. I could use music like a tool, like a drug. That is when I made my discovery of Anabolic and Catabolic Music.

Since making this discovery, thanks to the assistance of Lindsey Stirling, I have been able to improve my life greatly through music.

Her music in particular I feel is “dancing” music, very energetic and makes you want to move.

That feeling does amazing things for mood. That energy from the music drives me to do more. It’s helped me prepare for and recover from more than one workout (mentally, as workouts require both mental and physical energy).

Finally, amidst her music and videos, I noticed something very intriguing. Here was this extremely talented artist, who not only made good music, but was humble and modest as well.  And not stopping there, she was also very vibrant, and radiating health, energy and happiness.

Once I noticed this health and vibrancy, I used her as an example (especially for other women) of what health looks like. It’s not about a specific body type, weight, or size, but about how that energy seems to radiate from an individual.

Beyond that, I also say a great physical example that I could point other women towards for an attractive and healthy body, but that would be a different post.

 Lindsey Stirling serves as an excellent example of how to truly be yourself, and not listen to naysayers when they talk down about your passion.

And that’s an example we all need in life.

It’s what happens when we encounter a stressful situation and our body/mind either decides to face the problem or retreat from it. This is how we also are able to respond to anxiety, either by facing what’s causing the anxiety or ignoring the problem.

My Biology professor actually made a nice little image which sums up this process, so I promptly stole a picture of it:

We naturally try to find equilibrium,

or our “comfort cycle” as it’s called in the illustration. When something tries to take us out of this (good or bad), anxiety can build up. Once we reach a threshold (which we all have), we try to decrease anxiety to bring us back to our comfort cycle.

I’ll use an example that happened to me right before writing this.

I needed to go to the bank and deposit a check, but I didn’t want to disrupt my daily norm, my comfort cycle, in order to do so. This went on for a couple weeks, with me always finding something else to do.

Eventually anxiety began to build up over this situation, especially since I needed to pay for my Aweber service soon and my account didn’t have the money. My response had been “flight” for so long, that I had just one day left to get the money in. Knowing this, anxiety built up more (over such a little thing!)

I did finally decide to step out of my comfort cycle and take care of the problem, which put me into the “growth cycle” (by making my bank account grow), which then had the anxiety quickly decrease. And it didn’t even take two minutes!

Driving home I remembered that picture and illustration, and also realized what I had just done. I had used the fight or flight as a way to decrease anxiety, but without solving the problem, instead of actually taking care of the problem, which also would have decreased anxiety.

Being aware of the problem can go a long ways in helping fix it. That is how you can battle anxiety. Know that anxiety will come, and that you will experience it one way or another. However, if you choose to solve the problem that’s giving you anxiety, moving yourself from the “comfort” to “growth” cycle, the anxiety will decrease and your problem will be solved. Avoiding the problem simply causes the stress to build up, until finally you do decide to take care of it or the event passes and you suffer the consequences (which causes more anxiety and problems).

This principle works the same with a healthy lifestyle.

You acknowledge you will go through pain in your life no matter what you do or don’t do, so you take things into your own hands. Saying no to tasty yet unhealthy foods and exercising until you feel like dropping may hurt, but it’s pain you chose so it’s “under your control”, so to speak. However, if you don’t do anything, you will feel the pain of sickness, weakness, and basically being a pushover.

Our lives will have highs and lows no matter what, we can’t do anything about that. What we can do is take it upon ourselves to choose when many of those lows happen (solving a problem causing you anxiety, exercising, saying no to parties so you can get proper sleep, etc.), which eliminate a vast amount of the lows that can come without warning and are outside of our control and may even be more painful anyway (missing a deadline, getting sick, failing a class, etc.)

You will have anxiety no matter what. Instead of fearing it, use it. Have it push you to the growth cycle, which will make your new equilibrium better then your previous.

That is how you battle anxiety!

Embrace pain!

and most people reference the fact that it’s a new year and we should do something with this new period in our lives… yeah, whatever. Me being me, I saw January 1st 2013 just the same as any other day, such as December 31st 2012 before it. However, I did finally cave. I am writing a post about the New Year. Just like everybody else…

I didn’t make a New Year’s Resolution.

Everybody does that. Most of them fail, too. My goal for the year 2013 is the same as it was for 2012. The same goal today as it was yesterday, and will be tomorrow. To become a better person, to improve myself and the world. My plan is to reach 2014 and see how much of a better person I am, my plan is also to reach February and see how much of a better person I am.

The ways I can do this are simple. Bring in money, strengthen friendships, start a Bible study, train harder, gather clients for training, become a better servant, better time management, more dedicated self education, etc. These are all based off my goals for myself, some reaching decades into the future. In order for me to have a great New Year, I will take things step by step, day by day, and try to always improve a little bit over last time. The same way I do with the barbell.

Now for you.

No matter your circumstances or history, you can make this New Year great relative to you. Not by focusing on the idea of a new year, but on the idea of a new day. When the sun sets, it is symbolic of the old being washed away, and when it rises it is symbolic of new opportunities being birthed to us.

Take the year day by day.

There are several ways to do this, and they all rely on you! No matter what happens, you can choose to have a great year. But in order to guarantee that, you must first change yourself and learn to see the blessing, the challenge, the opportunity in everything.

Here are some things I have done, am doing, or am planning in doing:

• Make use of the Sabbath Principle.

This simply means choose one day (be it weekly, monthly, etc.) where you will do no work, and any work (meaning anything that you must do which would also add stress to your life) is completed before that day. All bills paid, homework complete, phone calls made, or whatever you need to do, must be completed by your appointed day and no more can be done that day.

• Fast regularly.

When your mind and body becomes accustomed to temporarily going without necessities (such as food or even drink), it becomes very easy to go without things that aren’t a necessity (including many forms of stress or poor health, such as late night parties and junk food).

• Take cold showers.

 They make you a stronger, harder, better person.

• Meditate daily, at least 5-10 minutes.

This basically means sit or lie down (without falling a sleep) and breathe deeply and slowly, letting your mind and body relax.

• Take risks.

 Progress and greatness always comes from risk and danger.

• Make a list outlining why you do or don’t like everything and why you do or don’t do certain things.

 This will help you better understand yourself and make future decisions. If you don’t have a reason liking or doing something, then why continue with it? It doesn’t have to be written out, as long as you acknowledge why or why not in your head.

• Be very selective with your media (music, movies, books, etc).

 Whenever you finish one of those items, you should feel a better person. If you listen to songs glorifying wasting money or watch comedies about fat slobs being idiots, how exactly are you improving yourself?

• Lift heavy and lift hard.

You can learn a lot about yourself through strength training. I have learned more life lessons in the gym then I have through formal education.

• Eat like a lion.

When you eat, train, and live like an animal at the top of it’s respective food chain, you can’t help but become the top of your’s.

 Basically, don’t act like everybody else. If you don’t act like others (which is a pathetic norm), you’ll have a much better year than others (and based off social networks, most of theirs suck).

So you want to have a great New Year?

Go make your New Year Great!

That is the Noah Webster 1828 Dictionary definition for century, and the one I will be using.

Century Specialization is using the number 100 to specialize in training a physical weakness. It can be used to bring up a lagging body part, or for training a weak movement.

The goal is to reach 100 reps in one way or another, depending on movement and goal. I will visit two ways I personally have used century specialization, as I call it, to further my goals.

First is for bodybuilding, muscle isolation specialization:

For this you pick an isolation exercise that you can do for one large set of 100. I chose calf raises, since I wanted larger calves (one of few body parts not being worked by the heavy lifting I was doing). I performed a single set of a hundred 5-6 days a week for about four weeks, and noticed significant size increase in my calves. You can pick any exercise for this, just make sure you can do 100 straight reps. If you can’t do 100 reps, decrease either weight or range of motion. For calf raises, it is best to do them flat on the floor, or else you may not finish the set.

Curls could also be used, by picking a light stick that can be curled 100 times. Or maybe a pressing movement by using a book. Any movement that hits a muscle lagging behind in size, pick a movement for it you can perform one hundred times and do so once a day, 5-7 days a week, for for weeks. Stay faithful to it, keep up a good diet and sleeping schedule, and watch the muscle get bigger without breaking a sweat.

Second is done in multiple sets, training for a more balanced result of size, strength, endurance, etc:

For this pick a movement you want to reach 100 reps on (such as pushups) to increase reps, or one you can do far few of but hits a desired muscle (such as chinups) to increase strength and size.

I previously followed a century specialization to increase arm size by attempting to hit 100 chinups each day. For this type of specialization, not all the sets have to be done at the same time, and the goal is not to eventually hit one set of 100 reps. You can spread the sets out over the course of the entire day (do this 5-6 days a week for 4 weeks to increase size), or try to achieve them all within the course of an hour (to shock the muscle for more growth, don’t do this nearly as regularly to start off). When I did this for chinups, I spread the 100 reps out throughout the day, in sets of 5-15 or so. I only stuck with it for about two weeks, but I did notice in size in my arms in that time, and my ability to hit more reps also increased. I believe it was around this time, or not long after, that I hit my record of 21 chinups.

Second form of this specialization I am currently doing with pushups. The goal is to eventually hit one set of 100 pushups. I will do my sets 6-7 days a week for the next month, trying to do them in fewer and fewer sets each time. To ease the body into it, it is best to start off achieving 50-60 and ramp it up 10 each day until you’re doing a total of 100 across however many sets each day. Once you begin hitting one hundred reps total, start elimination sets. The goal for this is to achieve one set of 100 at the end of four weeks (or however long you choose to do this).

Only specialize on one movement/bodypart at a time.

You can perform your normal workouts unhindered, by only specialize on one thing at a time. If you want to increase pushups (as I am), then only use century specialization (or any other type) on pushups only, so all that special growth is put into one place. Also, don’t specialize for more then 4-6 weeks without a bit of a break, as your body does need a chance to recover. If you want to specialize for more than that period of time, take a week of of specializing (but not normal training) so the body can recover.

Each form of the century specialization can be used to add around an inch popular muscles, such as arms, calves, chest, etc. in a month’s time, if used effectively.

Yes, even a Spartan can go along with internet memes and a few laughs

…and it is customary to buy/make gifts for others to give to them on Christmas day.

Chances are if you’re trying to buy something for someone, they already have a list of things they want. That is fine. However, here is a list I made of a few programs you could get to give to any “health freaks” you know, or fellow Spartans.

I’ll give a summary of each program along with a mini review. And yes, I am affiliated with some of these programs, so if me making money of these recommendations offends you, I don’t much care.

I only recommend programs I have either done myself, or programs made by people I trust and would use myself. So without further ado…

How To Get a Classic Physique:

This is amongst my personal favorites…

…and one I have used myself. I’ve written a previous review about it, so I won’t stay long on it here. The focus of this program is to build a body similar to that of old school strongmen and bodybuilders.

Left: Eugen Sandow, Famous Strongman and Bodybuilder
Right: Matt Marshall, Author of How To Get a Classic Physique

Main focuses are on diet, strength training, lifestyle and conditioning. Also mentions other Spartan principles that I have grown to love, such as meditation and cold showers. Great for someone who already has a passion for strength training, has access to equipment, and knows how to do the basic lifts.

Body of a Spartan:

The name itself is good. Simple and to the point. That’s what this program is.  Focuses primarily on lifting, going in excellent detail how to perform each lift (the program is worth it just for that alone). The workouts seem very modular, allowing you to decide which exercises to do on which day depending on a few basic criteria. By focusing on strength and size, it is also a great base for any aspiring bodybuilder.

Author Victor Pride Before and After. He sure got big and strong.

Costing only $14, with pages upon pages of pictures showing how to perform the lifts, and  simple, flexible, modular workouts, it’s a great program to get for cheap. Especially for those new to lifting. This would probably be my recommendation for anyone new to weightlifting, strength training and bodybuilding.

 The Grow Stronger Method:

The shortest and simplest program on the list. Workouts are also very modular, presenting a few choices that you work on hard. Strength is the primary focus here, in order to build a solid foundation for everything else. It’s designed to be plugged into whatever other routine a person is doing in order to, well, grow stronger.

The principles outlined in this program allow for you to gain strength and not size or gain strength and size. Excellent for athletes to build a base of solid, useful strength, especially for those that want to get strong while not putting on weight. Also very useful for the more bodybuilding types who want to get big but remain strong, all they need to do is plug some of these techniques into their current workouts. As a strength training program for an athlete, or as a program for a pumper to use to build dense and strong muscle, I would recommend it for sure.

So there you have it.

Three simple ideas for gifts to give to a Spartan in your life, or just to grab yourself for your own personal development. Any one of these can be used on their own, or information from them and others can be combined. The principles in each individual one of these programs can keep a person in good shape making progress for years.

Remember above all, these programs are only for those who want to fight through pain and suffering to reap the rewards of their hard work. Don’t get these for sissies who just want to push light weight, not sweat, and take things easy.

These gifts are only for Spartans.

They complain about their job, but say they have to do it. They complain about how boring working out is, if they do so at all.

A Spartan enjoys his workout.

And chooses a job he enjoys.

The normal person is to “busy” to play, or if not to busy, he has “grown up” and thinks it to immature. A Spartan sees his workout as play and enjoys it like a child.

If a normal person works out, they lift sissy weights or walk on a treadmill watching tv. A Spartan lifts heavy weights, wrestles, runs and sprints, or carries heavy objects.

The normal person is reluctant to workout. The Spartan longs for it.

The normal person is stressed out day and night. The Spartan makes it a game, a challenge.

There are many differences between a normal person and a Spartan.

A normal person gets sick every year, is weak, never satisfied, and doesn’t know how to have fun. The Spartan is never sick, very strong, always satisfied, and most certainly knows to have fun.

He does this because he makes time to play. When you play you learn to enjoy life. It makes exercising easy and fun.

So next time you life weights, don’t be a normal person. Be a Spartan, and have fun. Next time you run, have fun. Make time to play, and your life will begin to improve.

Go have fun!