Anyway, that gets me back to the original premise of this thread. Why do you train? Is it for “when the wolf comes”? If so, what does that mean to you? I think I have my own answers to that but want to hear a few others first.
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I train because it is my passion, the sense of strength and power that grows over the years, the sense of wellbeing and confidence in any situation is priceless.
When i trained when i was younger, it was to keep myself above ground but now it is to better myself in every training session i do, there is nothing else in civy street that can give u that challenge.
Oh, and i do like women who want to touch my muscles, its a turn on, nothing like hearing mmm warm marble.
Btw, great wolve pic and story.
Man, that’s a creepy little tale. When I was living in Cali, there were coyotes that would come down from the mountans at night in search of food. One night, pretty late, (maybe 3-4 am), I was out with my Siberian Huskey (a pretty large one too), and suddenly a pair of coyotes just circled around us and kept going.
My dog didn’t even smell/hear them. Every other time I had seen one, they would scamper off, as my dog was pretty big, and I’m well over 2 bills (at least I rationalized this to myself). It was pretty unsettling feeling thinking about how that could have gone down.
I want to be ready for whatever, whenever it happens.
p.s.
I recently encountered a Vixen and her nearly full grown cups in the middle of the city. It was an interesting encounter and I consider it a good omen.
Wait… so what was the point of this story in regards to why you train? You backed away and took a different route, how does that relate to your training?
Are you trying to say you want to be prepared for anything? if that’s the case, then how does this story illustrate that? walking away from a potentially dangerous situation does not require strength training to accomplish. If anything, guys that think they are jacked are less likely to have that wisdom because they think they can handle it.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great story(it really is, very cool encounter), but it was a great story without the question at the end(which is asked WAY too frequently on this forum, imo).
I’m a newb- if there is an introduction forum I will find it ASAP. But I felt compelled to throw my .2 cents in here. For me, it is a professional obligation that I take completely to heart. I agree whole heartedly with the comment above; you need to be prepared for that unknowable moment.
Whether it be early or late in life, you will face a challenge- a physical challenge- that will possibly determine your own, or someone else’s fate. In a split second you’ll have to react-- Have you prepared yourself? Have you created the mental pathways through repetitive physical hardship? Or will you be just another toad who was in the way, or became a fatal statistic?
I stole the quote below from Gym Jones, but I believe it crystallizes the sentiment I’m after:
-Get fit and stay fit to accomplish a variety of tasks. The goal of physical training can be summed up in one phrase, “to make yourself as indestructible as possible.” The harder a man is to kill, the longer he will remain effective, as a climber, a soldier, or what ever. Twight
In this age, we must all strive to be shepherds.[/quote]
I didn’t quite get it. So I did a little looking and found out you were talking about Dave Grossman, the author of Killology (cool). I also got the context of the reference. Thanks.
[i]On Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves
By Dave Grossman
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.
Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.
Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.
I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.
"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there that will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.
"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."...[/i]
[quote]Loose Tool wrote:
I didn’t quite get it. So I did a little looking and found out you were talking about Dave Grossman, the author of Killology (cool). I also got the context of the reference. Thanks.
I originally trained to get chicks. With the iron came a more assertive, bold, and vibrant personality. I found the chicks I wanted to get I no longer desired, because I’d become much more self confidant and secure.
I still train. And I train for strength, because I don’t think a strong mind, soul and will can exist without a hearty body. Strength means a lot of things, and it’d be really emo of me to go into how great they all are. But they are great.
I don’t think I’ll ever ‘need’ my size. I don’t have that sense of foreboding and danger. I do, however, sense a constant need for the perception that strength enables me to have, that of a rock in the middle of the stream, forcing the currents to pass by each side of it. And that’s the need that lifting fills for me. That’s why I lift.