Dan John: Wandering Weights, Our Epic Journey Through All Things Heavy, Issue # 21

Spring is doing its best to appear here in Utah. The birds are singing and the pollen count is through the roof. Sneezing is a great ab exercise, by the way.
 
It’s also a holy time of the year. I thought this post from Tony Robbins summed something I believe: “Success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure.” 

That's a worthy of a few minutes of thought. At the Olympic Training Center, the sports psych guy had us write down our top ten highlights and top ten failures. Almost universally, the best moments came from overcoming the failures.
 
I guess I wouldn’t have minded being one of those trust fund babies, but I doubt I would have had the same drive as I do. “Striving to thrive” could be a new motto for me.

If you need a ton of inspiration—some thoughts of how to overcome the Dark Night of the Soul—you might find some in this emotional video from Matthias Steiner about his weightlifting in Beijing.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lssO92BNsJc
 
The idea of a monthly or weekly “read this” blog is becoming very popular. I always likewhen I stumble onto my work in one of those. Josh Hillis also makes this list, andthe infographic from OTP sums our new book well.
 
I’m a big fan of The Art of Manliness website (you know that already). These two articles have a lot of simple ideas about regaining more of your natural side. Office workers would be wise to read both of these.

• You Are Not a Zoo Animal
   
• Evan a Caveman Can Do It

Brad Pilon has been on a roll lately with his email messages. He had a nice post-Easter idea of NOT going crazy the day after “bad choices,” and instead, just eating clean and going for a walk. This entry is a primer for a long-term approach to successful training. I’m beginning to think that using fixed weights might be the answer to a lot of the questions regarding reps, sets and load, and Brad offers a nice take on this idea.
 
James Wilson, a good friend from Colorado, came to my “secret” workshop here in Utah. His review of the weekend sums the key points very well. 
 
He makes several good points, and his post also helps me “hear” what the participants are hearing. I'm a firm believer that the journey to any kind of truth demands assessment, reassessment and course corrections. Frankly, I don’t sue anybody when they find fault…or even a hint of fault…in my work. This isn’t universally true.
 
I'll be off to Orlando, and then Austin for workshops, but I'm planning to keep my ears and eyes open for the “truths” of performance, recovery and success. Until next week.

Dan
DanJohn.net

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