I wasn’t sure what thread to put this in so please correct me if need be.
I’ve been trying to remember something Dan John said in his book ‘Never Let Go’. I own the book but I am currently stationed in Japan and won’t be home until the holidays. I’ve tried to look up these lines multiple times but just can’t track it down. Does anyone own the book? The line was something like, “I don’t workout…I work out my demons, etc”. Basically he was talking about the difference between people who do workouts and those who use training as a tool to ‘work out’ their frustrations and so on.
Normal types might scoff at the notion of hitting the gym with so much shit going on, but they aren’t seeing the big picture ? or at least my big picture. I don’t punish myself with drop-sets and high-rep squats to build muscle. I do it to kill my demons.
We all have demons inside of us. Some have more than others, and some guys can deal with them better than the next. That 40-something stressed-out businessman who suddenly snaps and bludgeons the Walmart greeter with a plunger is an example of someone who can’t handle his demons.
I’m not saying I’m always inches away from committing manslaughter, but I can be a real dick when I let stress get the better of me.
So I smash my demons. I crush them under PR’s.
And if I’m too fucked up to train heavy, I torch them with extended sets, rip them apart with rest pauses and drop sets, and then chase them away with whatever fucked-up finishing exercise I can think of.
The demons always come back, mind you, but as long as I have a key to my gym I can stay one step ahead.
Thanks for the replies. Those are good but not exactly what I was looking for. The focus was on the idea of doing a “workout” vs. working things out. I know that’s similar to the Dave Tate quote (and maybe I am thinking of Mr. Tate since I read two of his books) but I’m fairly certain I read it in Never Let Go.