I remember seeing Vision Quest for the first time when I was in high school. In case you haven’t seen it, it’s a high school wrestling movie that takes place in Spokane, Washington. It’s Louden Swane’s senior year (only his second year wrestling) and he’s going to drop down a few weight classes to wrestle Brian Shute, the two or three time state champion at 168. Everyone thinks he’s crazy to do this because Shute is a killer.
When I first saw this movie I couldn’t have weighed more than 97 pounds. I know this because I wrestled at 103 lbs. my sophomore year. As soon as I saw this movie my goal was to get up to 168 pounds to be jacked like Shute. Also, because I had a foster brother that was jacked and strong as hell who looked like Shute. I hit that weight a few years after high school while in the Marine Corps. At one point I actually got up to 196 pounds.
My point is I had a goal, something to shoot for that I couldn’t stop thinking about.
Just recently this movie came back up while training at the Gracie Barra Jujitsu Academy where I train at. A few guys had never heard of the movie which blew me away. My friend and training partner Ryan ended up watching it. We ended up throwing some lines around like you always do with good movies and he had a good idea to write a blog about
- vision quest
- making your mark
- doing something that others would think absurd
- looking back and regretting that you didnt put more into something when you had the chance
I didn’t know what the hell a vision quest was so I looked up the definition.
vision quest: an attempt to achieve a vision of a future guardian spirit, traditionally undertaken at puberty by boys of the Plains Indian peoples, typically through fasting or self-torture.
So this didn’t apply at all so I had to come up with my version.
Vision: Having a goal or something driving you that’s so powerful you can’t get it out of your mind.
Quest: How to get to that goal. Your plan is your quest.
Training without a vision quest is like getting in your car and having no idea what’s your destination, driving around the block a few times and ending up right where you started. When it comes to training I think most people are on auto-pilot. I’ve been a victim of this several times myself. know one can tell you what your goals should be. I’m merely suggesting that you should have some. And here is some great guidelines on how to set them up and measure them.
Making your mark: The only thing you have to prove anything to is to yourself. At the end of the day you’re the only one looking at yourself in the mirror.
Doing something absurd: I think people that don’t challenge themselves knock the people that do, not because they usually think it’s absurd, but to justify their own feelings of insignificance. Often times our society likes to label laser focused people as obsessed. What’s the alternative?
Looking back with regret: Who hasn’t experienced that and who won’t experience it again. Just remember, all we have is now. Yesterday is gone forever and tomorrow hasn’t happened and might not. I’ll paraphrase Billy the kid here, cause he said it best. “The day you stop testing yourself is the day you die”.
Einstein had some of the best quotes ever (my opinion of course). One thing he said was “you don’t have to be the smartest person in the room, only the most resourceful”. Or something like that. If Einstein would have been a lifter I bet he would’ve developed some great concepts, and been a freak. The good news about training though is that you don’t need to be a genius, only possess great resources. For instance, if a guy has spent 20+ years under the bar getting strong, You can fast track your knowledge by just studying what he’s done.
The other day I did one of Date Tate’s Max Effort (ME) upper body workouts from his Stronger 2.0 ebook. One of the best workouts I ever had and my triceps are smoked. Here’s the workout.
1. ME 2 Board Bench Press: 3X1
2. 2 Board Bench Press: 75% of 1RM from 1. for 2X5
3A. Elite Rings Inverted Row: 4X 6-8 (used a weighted vest)
3B. Lying Triceps Extension from Floor: 4X6 (rest the bar on the floor for a second on every rep).
4. Standing Face Pulls: 3X12-15
If you want to get strong, learn from someone who is, and has been doing it for years. Get this book.
If you want to get motivated, try watching or reading something that provokes you to take action. For me with training it’s anything that gets me fired up (music or movies). And for learning it’s getting outside when the suns out, being around water, and thinking about a concept right before bed so my subconscious mind can deal with it while I’m sleeping.
While I was trying to find the Einstein quote I mentioned above, I came across this Youtube video. Check out the brilliance of this man.