The Best Answer

I had a great conversation the other night with Wayne “Scrapper” Fisher. For those of you who don’t know he’s an extremely intense and knowledgeable strength and conditioning guy, who runs classes for the military plus private strength and conditioning classes. He’s worked with top level fighters and even fought a bit himself. He’s one of those guys who makes you proud to be in the strength and conditioning industry, because he’s helping to preserve some of the last of real manly attitude left on the planet. He understands the need for the incredible vitality that only supremely hard core training can give you. He runs a great website www.trainforstrength.com with lots of free exercises and workouts. He also has some strength and conditioning packages that you really should check out.

His Mod 1 comes with three CDs, a DVD and a workbook. The CDs are train-along so you can go through the workout with him giving you verbal instruction and time cues the whole way. Some really kick-butt stuff! We’ll also have some articles from him on our site very soon. So we spent a while on the phone the other night swapping training tales, which is pretty much common practice among those who have delved very deeply into hardcore training. One of the old time strongmen said, “No matter where I go when I meet another strongman it’s like I’ve run into an old friend.”

He told me a story that I’m sure many of you can relate to. You see if you’re reading this newsletter you’re probably the type that trains with implements and in ways that just flat puts off the average guy. Scares ‘em. Makes ‘em sweat estrogen all through their nice little spandex, color coordinated, workout clothes. Be proud. Because that is usually the marker of a guy who is really going to succeed. The guy who is willing to live on the outside edge. To do the things that other people just aren’t willing to do. That’s where greatness lies.

So he’s training at a regular gym and is alternating going outside to do sandbag lifts, runs and carries and inside to do dips and pull-ups. He’s just come back inside speeding on his way to knock out another set. On the previous sandbag run he fell ending up with a cut, and some pretty significant mud. As he walks in dripping sweat, dirt and blood one of those knows-it-all-but-never-does-anything-real-with-it questions him on why he’s doing what he’s doing and working so hard. I know we’ve all been in some form of this situation. The having to explain why you’re working so hard that people are calling for lifeboats from the pools of sweat you’re creating or why you aren’t using the cable crossover machine instead of doing those brutal, dangerous and insane exercises. I know we’ve all been fed up with having to answer those questions sometimes too. So instead of stopping he simply answers, “Because I’m training to be a better man and you’re not.”

That might be one of the greatest answers I’ve ever heard for those indignant and repetitive questions. We should all be training to be better men.

Don’t read into that that this type of training is the only thing that makes you a man or well-rounded person or that he did, or that I randomly blast people who ask questions. Sometimes people need a wake up call. That’s what this was. A very succinct way of saying, “I’m willing to do the really hard things because I’m honestly working to be the best. Not pretending to put out effort.”

Occasionally I get a letter from somebody who resents something that I said in a newsletter. Usually along the lines of, “I don’t want anybody else talking to me about spiritual or mental topics in a physical training newsletter.” You know what? They’re missing the point. The harder the struggle in your training, the deeper you draw into your own mental and spiritual realms. The stronger your mind becomes, because of the effort you put your body through, the deeper your connection to the spiritual becomes, because of the transcendent nature of supreme physical effort.

When you’re training hard you’re not just training your outside body. You’re training your inner being. You’re becoming a better man physically and you should be moving toward being a better stronger man mentally and spiritually. Yeah, we’re all training to be supremely dominant physical men, but you don’t reach your true pinnacle without the inner training as well. Every time you hit it hard is an opportunity to improve both inside and out. Make yourself a better man in every way tomorrow by the training you do today.

Are you ready to make yourself into a better man? Ready to gain the knowledge of how to take yourself past your genetic or mental limits? Ready to take the reigns of your own destiny in hand? No longer willing to accept missing your goals, lacking in strength or lagging in endurance? Are you ready to shoot mediocrity out of a bazooka? Then step up to the plate and get our Training Trio of Twisted Conditioning I, Twisted Conditioning II and Super Strength & Endurance for Martial Arts.

Use them to make yourself into the unstoppable force you can become.