Just a Gym
This is an incredibly important and sacred subject to me. I’ve been thinking a lot about my journey and reflecting back on my time in the strength community and experience at different gyms. This is not so much a synopsis of training lifetime and journey from gym to gym to fulfill a dream. It is more a demonstration that being present and on the path to continue improving and growing has been the dream. Not everyone will understand this idea or the commitment to spending so much time at one particular place. Those of us that live it know that it is more than just a gym.
Just a gym. It’s a phrase I’ve heard far too often from people who fail to comprehend that something exists so far outside the scope of their reality. “The sheer concentration to pursue a dream is not for everyone, but it was for me” (Witten, 2018). Even though bigger goals loomed on the horizon, the dream at any one point in time was just to be there. I stand over a barbell, “covered in dust, sweat, and blood” (Roosevelt, 1910). I pour chalk into my hands and go hunting for that next rep. That’s all I wanted everyday of my life since I stepped into the weight room when I was 15.
It’s always been more than just a gym. Zach Even-Esh will talk about needing to be “around the weights” when he was younger, so he’d do his homework at the gym desk (Even-Esh, 2021). It’s iron therapy and it’s very powerful. I can still feel the atmosphere of my high school weight room. Hot, dirty, rusted bars, and old weights made for a paradise. It was somewhere I felt like I belonged. It made me sad that I didn’t know others with the same attitude and would often be there by myself as senior year came to a close. For me, it was the main reason for coming to school and I was there to work.
I didn’t get the same inspiration training at LA Fitness, but I knew I loved to lift at that point so I kept at it there for a year. When I walked into Iron Sport Gym, I knew I immediately needed a membership. The guy at the desk asked if I wanted to try the gym for the day. I said nope, sign me up! I had such a hard time interacting with people and Steve Pulcinella and members there seemed super intense. For that reason, mornings ended up being the more optimal time for me to go when there were less people, but I absolutely loved being there every time.
The gym stood for something that I really believed in. Being there made my day and I felt like I could keep working hard and I’d get what I wanted out of life. The overall attitude of the membership at Iron Sport fascinated me. People coming before work, after work, and in the middle of a split-shift. Jobs that required manual labor and long hours, but there were goals to get after and competitions to prepare for. They were on the daily grind and couldn’t get enough of it. Neither could I. I was living for it.
The community aspect was difficult for me to grasp for a long time. I almost didn’t see it as necessary and felt like I just needed to put my head down and train hard. I hadn’t fit in well in the past, so why would this be any different. I had an unofficial rule to not have a prolonged conversation with anyone until I had at least made it through my main barbell movement. Oddly enough, I stopped wearing headphones in the gym after I was doing a set of lunges with dumbbells and bumped my ipod in my pocket and broke it. Years later, I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum, not wearing headphones because I want to be available and approachable. Ray Padilla at The War Room in North Jersey would make fun of me during my 3-4 hour training sessions, where the first hour simply included talking to people. This could be described as a waste of time, but it is also my way of giving back in the same way certain lifters, coaches, and judges did for me. I spent a lot of time around different gyms, which ended up being exactly what I needed to become more comfortable and outgoing. The relationships I’ve formed during these years mean everything to me, especially meeting the love of my life and embarking on the journey of building a gym in our home.
Reading Purposeful Primitive by Marty Gallagher really showed me the impact of the stories behind the strength athletes and their training (Gallagher, 2008). Even more so, their life and how they carried themselves. He gave us a look at these strong men and women who carried themselves with grace and character through tough, yet seemingly simpler times. Consistency and commitment outweighed the distractions, and the shroud of chaos we observe today was ever lacking. There’s no need to lie to yourself though. “Everyone has 2 voices” and many choose to listen to that voice that says to take the easy route (Goggins, 2021). Others leave that voice in the basement and are ready to take on the difficult tasks and push themselves.
The barbell doesn’t lie and those 4 walls it resides within maintain a consistent presence. I’ve trained in some great gyms with top of the line machines, calibrated plates and specialty bars. The plethora of strongman implements have been at my disposal on a daily basis. I’ve roamed the dungeon style rooms of Diamond Gym and looked at a room 30 power racks deep at UPenn and the NY Jets. I also squatted in the snow at my parent’s house, trained under the Thunderdome tent at Whippany Athletic Club in 90+ degree heat, ran heavy ass stones and yokes in my backyard, slammed bars and killed PR’s in Manny Frias’ garage with my strongman bros, and made some of the best progress of my strength training journey when those 4 walls weren’t necessarily available.
Now we have landed at the point where it does sometimes end up being just a gym. The thought that a singular place can outlast toxicity, drama, personal and financial change, and the overall test of time is utterly fanciful. The idea perserviers well beyond that. Place a barbell in your basement, garage, kitchen, backyard, warehouse or anywhere on Earth that you can find. Train hard, add additional equipment, invite friends and family, and build a community. Preserving the principles that working diligently at a craft and building character are a must. Be kind and include others. It is a difficult task, but we are a dying breed of iron warriors who know exactly what this object, place, and idea stand for. “Rage against the dying of the light” and keep the idea alive, that it’s more than just a gym (Thomas, 2011).
References
1. Witten, J. (2018, May 3) Jason Witten, "I relied on grit”, on Retiring from Cowboys | NFL (Video). Youtube
i. https://youtu.be/Tzls47gu3So?t=266
2. Roosevelt, T. (1910, April 23) The Man in the Arena – Teddy Roosevelt (A Powerful Speech from History) (Video). Youtube
i. https://youtu.be/A311CnTjfos?t=80
3. Even-Esh, Z (2021, June 15) STRONG Life ep. 266: The History of Ivanko Barbell (Video). Youtube
i. https://youtu.be/MdZkbV6pQVk?t=630
4. Gallagher, M (2008, June 21) Purposeful Primitive: From Fat and Flaccid to lean and Powerful – Using Primordial Laws of Fitness to Trigger Inevitable, Lasting and Dramatic Physical Change. Dragon Door Publications
5. Goggins, D (2021, November 26) Stop listening to the easy voice |Must Watch😱| David goggins (Video). Youtube
i. https://youtu.be/DlF4ouSHHu4
6. Thomas, D (2011, July 7) Dylan Thomas reads "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" (Video). Youtube