Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The Key to Progress by Dr Squat.

Fred Hatfield. the lightest and oldest man to squat 1000lbs. Hatfield knew discipline and committment to the goal.

Got this quote of Dr Hatfield from Boris Bachman's blog


Dr squat says:

"Look, 'routines' are just that! I have written much on the subject. I have probably given the subject more careful thought than most. Here is yet another thought that I should've written at some time... maybe I did... can't remember.In order to achieve ANYTHING in life to the pinnacle of your capabilities, you must 'marry' the thing! Become a 'priest' to it. Live, eat, sleep and breathe it! You MUST NOT succumb to whoredom and meander from one routine to another in the false hope that one of them is gonna 'work'.

It will not! You may get a quick fix from it, but it'll only be because you re-injected some adaptive stress into your routine.Do this instead.
THINK IT OUT!
Now, most lifters cannot do this because they are not educated in the discipline, and because they have never been taught to REALLY think things through! So, the alternative is to find yourself a bonafide guru who HAS, and hang your hat on what that person has to say! So, find one! ONE!"- Dr. Fred Hatfield

Do not fall victim to "random acts of variety' if you have a serious goal, a real goal.You must start at the end( the goal) and work backwards( to where you are now, starting) to see what must be done to achieve the goal.If you can't or won't do what is necessary at least you will know why for real why you didnt achieve your goal, instead of pretending that it wasn't possible for you or that you 'really didnt care' about it.
Don't be afraid to care 100% about something and try 100% to achieve it in case you cannot. It's not failing that counts , its the giving up. One is either getting stronger or weaker each day with EACH act we do. We are either going towards what we say we want or deluding ourselves and going backwards.
Realizing the price to be paid is too high is not deluding oneself or failing as long as one is honest about it.Great things are never accomplished without a high cost.And while they might not be great in the grand scheme of things to others,everyone know what they consider great and whether that quest is worthwhile.

Challenges don't build character, it is said, they reveal it.

7 comments:

Keats Snideman CSCS, CK-FMS, LMT said...

Wow, great post! Dr. Hatfield definately is spreading some words of wisdom there.

I have often been victim to the "whoredom" of fitness routines, being bamboozled from one approach to the next. In the end however, I always keep returning to what works and what will continue to always work:

BASIC FUNAMENTALS, HARD WORK, & PERSISTENCE!

Obviously, doing the same thing over and over again eventually leads to total stagnation and NO RESULTS. This is where a little healthy variety (like "Same But Different Principle) comes in. In the end though, you can't get too far away from what delivers the goods!

For me, with goals of improving my short sprint times, it boils down to fast sprints (with more or less full recovery), and lots of basic barbell movements (Squats, deads, cleans, presses, and chins, etc.) in the 1-5 rep range mostly. Of course I like to throw some odd lifting and kettlebell movements in for fun, variety and "core" training if you will. I am anxious to see what high-rep kettlebell training will do for my conditioning.

Mark Reifkind said...

Keats,

good to have you on my blog!I think a few things are so key:
1) goals
2) deadlines
3) an knowledgement of weak points
4) a plan to attack the weak points
5) a total committment to doing what is necessary to make progress.
6) discipline and committment verging on the religous.
7) always keeping one's eye on the prize.

thanks again for posting!I really think the hardstyle kb work can only help your sprints. keep us informed please.

Franz Snideman said...

Rif,

Frickin awesome wisdom by good old Dr. Hatfield. I like my brother have succumbed to the "whoredom" in my training history. Now I am starting to focus in on what I really want and that is priceless!!!!!

Mark Reifkind said...

good for you franz.I think one can do it all, you just can't do it all similtaneously. simple is good.hard is good.

Mark Reifkind said...

and oh yeah, focused is critical.

Christine said...

"random acts of variety" i like that.

Mark Reifkind said...

thanks christine,
that's one of my favorites :))

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