drive
Member
- Jul 11, 2017
- 38
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What it takes to be a Hard Core Lifter-
When I was in my early 20's I used to work in gym.. I lived ate, slept, and breathed BodyBuilding and Powerlifting. I trained like an animal. I lived in Palm Spring andI was the biggest guy in town. But I knew these old guys who still trained. One of them was 86 when I met him and still lifting, the other guys were in their 60's and 70's and still moving some respectable weight on the lifts they couldstill do. These guys were the Hard Core guys..The real hard core guys. I wanted to be hitting the gym when I was that age. Anyone can do it when our young,full of piss and vinegar.. But these guys had lived, they had lost loved ones,had bypasses, suffered car accidents, many had bad arthritis, and they were still there.
A couple had been professional athletes in a day when Pros did not make squat for pay. It was hard work for almost no pay, but they loved the sport..These guys were the bad asses, because they were still there.
I remember one guy had been a professional Base Ball player, He was 75 and still doing overhead presses with 70 lbs Dumbbells.. He would lift for an hr, go smoke a cigarette then go back and finish his workout. I really respected and admired these guys,they were tough, really tough.
I had a friend-Gorden.. grouchy, grumpy old guy, started lifting after a triple bypass at age 64. He could not even get the bar off his chest when he started, he would Bench Press every day, EVERY DAY 5-6 days a week. Everybody told him he was doing it wrong! You CANT Bench Pressevery day, but he did, and in time he was benching over 300, mind you this is drug free unless you count Geritol and Blood pressure meds. A lot of younger guys in really good shape ( doing it right) could not do that. This guy was Hard Core. I had the pleasure of competing with him at a USPF Push Pull meet, His one and only meet. It was the CA State Bench Press Meet. Gordon smashed theWorld Record for the Bench Press in his age group and weight class. He only got credit for a national and state record. You have to have specific Judges to break certain records. He Was HardCore!
Well, I am aging, I am 51 and still at it, I was ina collision with a Cadi that hit us head on at 100MPH, broke 10 ribs, 2 vertebra vertically, snapped the bottom 1/3 ofthe bottom vertebra completely off and moved it 4 inches from the spine. I have two torn biceps, L4-L5 titanium cage fusion, left knee has a full replacement, buried,my 8 year old son, and by the grace of G-d I actually feel pretty good. I plan to competein a BB Show in the Masters and Open class next year...I just remember these guys, how tough they were, and I think this isn't anything those guys didn't gothrough. If they can do it, it can be done. So, I pray and give thanks to G-d every time I lift, and G-d has been gracious to me. And when I die, I hope they mention this, and maybe, just maybe I will be remembered by a few, counted as one of those tough old guys who was truly Hard Core.
Blood, Sweat, and Steel till the day I die!
Drive
When I was in my early 20's I used to work in gym.. I lived ate, slept, and breathed BodyBuilding and Powerlifting. I trained like an animal. I lived in Palm Spring andI was the biggest guy in town. But I knew these old guys who still trained. One of them was 86 when I met him and still lifting, the other guys were in their 60's and 70's and still moving some respectable weight on the lifts they couldstill do. These guys were the Hard Core guys..The real hard core guys. I wanted to be hitting the gym when I was that age. Anyone can do it when our young,full of piss and vinegar.. But these guys had lived, they had lost loved ones,had bypasses, suffered car accidents, many had bad arthritis, and they were still there.
A couple had been professional athletes in a day when Pros did not make squat for pay. It was hard work for almost no pay, but they loved the sport..These guys were the bad asses, because they were still there.
I remember one guy had been a professional Base Ball player, He was 75 and still doing overhead presses with 70 lbs Dumbbells.. He would lift for an hr, go smoke a cigarette then go back and finish his workout. I really respected and admired these guys,they were tough, really tough.
I had a friend-Gorden.. grouchy, grumpy old guy, started lifting after a triple bypass at age 64. He could not even get the bar off his chest when he started, he would Bench Press every day, EVERY DAY 5-6 days a week. Everybody told him he was doing it wrong! You CANT Bench Pressevery day, but he did, and in time he was benching over 300, mind you this is drug free unless you count Geritol and Blood pressure meds. A lot of younger guys in really good shape ( doing it right) could not do that. This guy was Hard Core. I had the pleasure of competing with him at a USPF Push Pull meet, His one and only meet. It was the CA State Bench Press Meet. Gordon smashed theWorld Record for the Bench Press in his age group and weight class. He only got credit for a national and state record. You have to have specific Judges to break certain records. He Was HardCore!
Well, I am aging, I am 51 and still at it, I was ina collision with a Cadi that hit us head on at 100MPH, broke 10 ribs, 2 vertebra vertically, snapped the bottom 1/3 ofthe bottom vertebra completely off and moved it 4 inches from the spine. I have two torn biceps, L4-L5 titanium cage fusion, left knee has a full replacement, buried,my 8 year old son, and by the grace of G-d I actually feel pretty good. I plan to competein a BB Show in the Masters and Open class next year...I just remember these guys, how tough they were, and I think this isn't anything those guys didn't gothrough. If they can do it, it can be done. So, I pray and give thanks to G-d every time I lift, and G-d has been gracious to me. And when I die, I hope they mention this, and maybe, just maybe I will be remembered by a few, counted as one of those tough old guys who was truly Hard Core.
Blood, Sweat, and Steel till the day I die!
Drive
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