“I need slabs of beef to intimidate my enemy, and unfortunately you do not meet the job description”
Joseph Lucero-2009 Deadlift 585lbs
[1] Lifting with Intent
During my last semester at UT Arlington, I had to fulfill an internship of my choosing. I went on a few interviews and found my way to interning at the University of North Texas as a volunteer Strength Coach. During this semester, I would wake up three times a week at 330am, pull up to the parking lot at 430am and set up the weight room in order start lifting our cross country athletes at 5am. I would repeat this process with the staff until noon working all the track and distance athletes.
I was in a daze. It seemed like endless hours of work followed by endless stacks of classwork. But through the restless nights and endless visits to my local java taproom, I made it through that semester and learned a big lesson…
Lifting with intent.
Although that semester taught me about the approach of strength training for collegiate athletes, my biggest lesson learned came from my initial interview. Most of the questions asked were basic, following the typical protocol of any interview (what’s your strengths, what’s your weaknesses, where will you be in ten years?). Near the end of this interview, though, their strength coordinator asked me “What are the top 5 movements for any athlete?”. Although this seemed to be a fair question, I was completely blindsided and wasn’t sure how to answer. I had my “top 5”, but I was afraid it wouldn’t match his. I went down a list of movements I felt were necessary for any athlete, and then to fill in the gaps I preached about the concept of “hand cleans”…
That’s right, hand cleans.
His face was very puzzled and asked “What the hell is a hand clean?”. I told him it was an explosive movement that required dynamic skill with the upper body, and his reaction assured me that this positive experience was going to crumble before my very eyes.
He politely corrected me, letting me know it was a “hang clean”, and continued to correct me as this Olympic movement was meant for reactive strength, not upper body dynamic ability. He proceeded to ask me more questions about my movements, and then had an assignment for me…
“I want you to create a workout for me, anything you want, and we will talk about it tomorrow”
I sat there for hours trying to think of what to program and where to begin. I mean, I had already been a personal trainer for the last 2 years, this should have been EASY! But to skip the cinematics and all the other unnecessary literature, I learned at this very moment I needed to train with intent, lift with intent, and have a purpose. You can’t just arbitrarily write a workout, bust a sweat and think that’s okay. This is the typical practices of most local lifters who partake in any mainstreamed gym facility. The problem with having no intentionality is the fact that although you’re being active and you aren’t a lazy chum off your feet, you still need to be smart and mindful of how you train your body. Having a massive chest and arms is quit intimidating, but the part that baffles me is how flat your back is when you walk away. Judging a man goes way beyond what you see in the front, but also the frame as a whole. There is not much respect for someone who lacks to train their body as a whole, as the biggest indicator (to me) of any persons commitment to the iron is of one place: their back. Flat back=lack of alpha dominance. I’m not going to war with a fleet of flack backed jabronis who can’t row a dime. I need slabs of beef to intimidate my enemy, and unfortunately you do not meet the job description.
Whether you want to be a powerlifter, a strongman, the biggest stud on campus or the strongest employee in Scranton Pennsylvania…you have to lift with a purpose and have reasons for what you are doing. It’s time for us as a community of strength enthusiasts to set aside all pride, set aside all preconceived notions we have generated about the journey to the iron and dedicated time and effort towards understanding the logic behind weightlifting. Quit being that bozo asking questions to the wrong people, stealing workouts from faux lifters and thinking a case of protein is going to solve your problems. Start asking experts their opinion, learn from an individual who has the background and tools to help you get started, and understand that there are more muscles on your body than your biceps and chest.
Learn to lift with intent, and take your lifting beyond the reacreational lifter. It’s cool being the most popular lifter at your gym, but understand that somewhere else, someone is lifting way more than you.