Muscles of Iron
Strength, Health, Physical Development, Inspiration, and Know-How
Selected Post
Performing lots of old-fashioned hard work can help build strength and stamina greater than can be attained by exercise alone. Public domain image.
There is something about productive manual labor that brings out strength and stamina to a degree very difficult to duplicate with exercise alone. I have observed this phenomenon many times over my training career, at times even to the destruction of my ego.
My first lesson about “real” strength came on October 2, 1977, when I was fourteen years old. It was the day after a tornado had swept through the neighborhood, one during which my family and I watched from a basement window two very large trees in our back yard get “sucked” out of the ground and thrown like toys. And, we were lucky; our next door neighbor lost nine large trees!
The morning after the tornado, my dad and I went outside to assess the damage and begin the much dreaded cleanup job. Luckily, there was no damage to the house, but the entire yard was littered with hundreds of branches and sticks and, of course, the two big trees that had been toppled. Looking at the big mess, my dad directed his attention at me and said, “Bob, if you do a good job cleaning up the yard, I’ll take you to see Pumping Iron.” This was quite an offer, especially considering that my dad hated bodybuilding and everything that it represented. The thought of him going to see a new bodybuilding documentary with me, one featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, Robby Robinson, Franco Columbu, Ken Waller, and other big physique winners, seemed nothing short of bizarre. But, my dad’s offer sure was a huge incentive to get to work – and fast!
So there I was, out in the back yard picking up one stick after another, cutting small branches with a handsaw, and raking up debris of all kinds. And, to be fair, my dad was also out there working hard to get things back in order.
After about four hours of toil, our entire yard was clean, save the two big trees which had fallen. My dad and I could only look at the two wooden monsters and wonder how on earth we were going to get rid of them. Then, a near miracle took place; a strong-looking man showed up in our yard with a big chain saw and a wheelbarrow.
The approaching man introduced himself as the brother of one of our next door neighbors, and he offered to help us “cut up” and remove the two fallen trees. And, when asked how much payment he expected for his services, the muscular man replied, “A thank you will be payment enough.”
Soon after extending his generosity, our neighbor’s brother started his chain saw and cut each of the fallen trees into a large collection of fire wood. He and I then began picking up the logs and throwing them into a wheelbarrow, one by one.
When the wheel barrow was filled with the first load of logs, I offered to roll it across the yard and to his truck, which was parked in our driveway. Being a “weightlifter”, I figured that moving the loaded barrow would be no problem for me. But, when I attempted to move the bulky apparatus by its handles, it wouldn’t budge an inch.
After watching me strain and give up, the generous man snickered a bit and said, “Here, let me get that. But, before I move it to the truck let’s put a few more logs on it. I think it can hold at least two more.” He then threw THREE more logs on top of the load, lifted the barrow by its handles, and proceeded to push it through the thick grass and to his truck with apparent ease! I could only gasp in disbelief, and even my dad was impressed. “He is the strongest man I have ever seen,” my father declared.
Wanting to know his “secrets” of strength, after the cleanup job was complete I asked the generous stranger, “How did you get so strong. Do you lift weights?” He replied, “Through hard and productive physical work, son. That is how I earned my strength. There is no substitute.”
Thirty four years later I still think about the man who paid my father and me a visit during a time of need. Not only did he generously help us clean up after the tornado of ’77, he taught me a very valuable lesson. The lesson I learned was this: It takes more than lifting a barbell to build super strength, enduring stamina, and overall body power; doing plenty of “old-fashioned” hard work in the “real” world is also necessary.
Happy New Year and, yes – my dad did take me to see Pumping Iron. He was miserably bored throughout the movie, but I loved it.
Rob
PS – I’ll have Part Three of the Abe Lincoln series posted within a few days.