Why I do what I do!

Today I was talking to a friend, and I was trying to help her understand why I do what I do, and what it takes to be someone who wants to push the limits of human capability. She was asking me how I could ignore certain distractions in my life, and still function as if they don’t exist, and how can I tune out people that I care about because they might be distractions. I’ve thought about this all day, and I am going to explain the best that I can.

First, I am going to try and explain how I became so obsessively driven. I grew up in a very small town, where my mom was married three times. This kinda got me left out at times, but I dealt with it. We moved about 23 times growing up, which left me a little insecure about getting used to things, and feeling comfortable. I had a stepfather that I admired very much, but could never satisfy. My senior year in high school, I had a football game where I scored two touchdowns, I had two interceptions, ten tackles, four receptions, 150 yards of total offense, a fumble recovery, and two sacks, and all I got from him was about time. I’m not whining because he was just a tough man with high expectations from his kids and himself. This started the whole obsession to be the best. It was something that I could control, would never leave, and at the end the world would respect me.

Over the last year, I lost my dad to cancer, and I lost my fiancée to who knows what. I was at an all-time low, and I had to make a decision: quit it all and fade away into life, or seize the moment? I have chosen to seize the moment! I am not going to go through life saying that I will get to this or that next year, or I should’ve could’ve, etc. One thing that I learned in the last year is that there is no guarantee of tomorrow, so if you have a quest in life, make it happen now. Now I’ve committed to continue breaking records in powerlifting, making a bid for the summer Olympics in Weightlifting next year, and the Winter Olympics in Bobsledding 2010. Talk about a life change! Now I am sprinting, Clean & Jerking, and I am still squatting big weight. Not to mention that I am doing all of this at 33 years old. This is my quest! I might not know the questions, but I don’t have to. I just have to take the gifts that God has given me, and take them to the outer most limits. This is what I am going to do, and I can’t let anything distract me from this for the same reason as why I can’t wait till tomorrow to begin them, because there is no guarantee until tomorrow. In my mind I have the next five years to leave my legacy in life, and it can be one excellence or one of almost. I say damn, almost! I am going to give every last ounce of my heart and soul to reach all of my goals, and in turn show the world that it is never to late to start as long as you commit and form a plan. I am determined to never say tomorrow, only today! I’m not sure if this explains why I am so focused on my goals, or why I do what I do, but I hope it helps.

Dynamic Snatch and Clean and Jerk 2-3-07

After the Martial Arts exhibition, Lavan and I put the fighters through a workout.

Snatch- 110/1 x 6
Cambered Bar Bench- 185 + minis/3 x 5, 225 + Minis/3, 275 + minis/ 2 , 315 + minis/1
Tons of Plyometrics
Fat Bar Millitary Press- 225/5
Rows- 3 x 8

Sled- 160 x 55 yards x 2 sets and almost died. The MMA guy pushed the da#n thing six times and was barely breathing hard. However there were others that went down for the count. I believe that the sled has now claimed at least 25 victims (puked). If you meet Lavan and he wants to train you, RUN!

Today's Guests at Gym 365 and Dynamic Snatch and Bench Work

It's hard to believe that in a small gym in Mocksville, NC on a Saturday Morning that we had a Collegiate Wrestler, Professional MMA Competitor, Professional Boxer, and Gracie Ju Jitsu third degree Black Belt, myself and Lavan "The Man". The fighters were all training together on our wrestling mats, while Lavan and I were training our young athletes. What a great day at the gym! I am now training a Cheerleader, and before you laugh, she is bad! She is only 8th grade and was pushing a 160 lb sled as fast as some of my football players. So now I have these athletes: Shorty my 11 year old basketball/football player who gets pissed all the time, but it's kinda funny, Lance "The Rock" who is a twelve year old phenom with strength and power, Cody who is also 12 years old with speed and explosion that could take this kid as far as he wants in sports, Heath also 12 that is the son of a Race Car Man and you can tell because if you are not watching carefully he will take the rules to the bitter edge, but he is one of my most improved athletes, Meat who is 16 and is the strongest 16 year old that I have come in contact with, and has dropped his 40 from 5.3 to 4.9 in only three months, Devron who is 15 (at 6'1" and 295 lbs) and is partially deaf is by far the most improved athlete that I have, and last Tanis is my all-star that started varsity his 10th grade year at one of our biggest high schools in North Carolina at Defensive End and is now running a 4.65 40 and can jump through the roof. As you can tell I am super proud of the amazing athletes that we have gathered at our super gym, Gym 365 in Mocksville, NC.