One of my new Workout Heroes was crushing her deadlifts and picked up the form and technique rather quickly.
I was reading a book about deadlifts from this Strength Coach that was OBSESSED with deadlifts...
... Like to the point his entire existence revolved around them. He was a huge guy.
Very strong.
Very manly and tough guy-ish --- so was pretty protective of his emotions...
you know the types. :)
He said there are only 2 events in his life that bring a tear to his eye…
1.) When a child of his is born
2.) when he witnesses someone nailing a deadlift with great technique 😅
As soon as this dude said that, I could totally relate.
I notice I always have way more energy on Deadlift day from seeing all you Workout Heroes CRUSHING your deadlifts, and I have to hold back happy tears.
Back to our featured story about this new Workout Hero...
"You're developing very nicely on those!" I said to her, at the end of one of her sets, very pleased with her form... "You learn how to deadlift, and its a skill you keep for life.A skill that gives you benefits as long as you're living because there's never a point in our life when we're NOT bending down to pick something up.
Once you get the form down, you don't have to relearn it.
Don't have to add onto the form.The only thing that changes is the weight - which goes up as you continue to grow stronger and stronger.
It's a timeless move. Been around for 100's of years and will be around for 100's of more.
Its the reason why it was one of the first ever weightlifting moves invented...
... dating back to the 1700's."
From there I gave her, and the rest of the Workout Heroes in that morning session, a nice little history lesson on where Barbells and Dumbbells came from, and why they have those names. Actually Deadlifting was invented before these weights, as people were deadlifting rocks, trees, and objects first and wanted an easier way to go about it.
Ancient Greek athletes used those things to train for their games, competitions and war.
Then in 17th century England, they started using old church bells as weights. Bell ringing was seen as a great form of exercise.
But people were tired of all that racket but still wanted to workout. So the next step was to remove that thingy in the middle to make it silent, which was another term for the word "dumb".
In 1711, a poet named Joseph Addison (whose is famous for his quote "reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body"--- a quote worth diving more into for a future email ;) )
in known for first using that term "dumbbell" when writing about his exercising in his journals. Barbells came next, with people now attaching those "dumbbells" and other weights to bars to better get their deadlifting, squatting, and bench presses in.
By late 1800's, gymnasiums started popping up all around Europe that were packed with all these weight lifting apparatuses.
Creating crazy strongman, MACHISMO types that would show off their feats of strength at circuses and stuff.
(Remember their one piece striped outfits? Vintage!) :)
Deadlifts, dumbbells and barbells have all stood the test of time. Same goes for the principles I teach inside my "Workout Hero Transformation Strategy"...
... they are timeless.
Especially the critical 3 components of a successful fitness journey:
1. Effective Workouts (such what is seen in our Anti-fragile Training -- which of course, includes Deadlifting :) )
2. Proper Nutrition that you don't hate -- (which is the basis for my "Never Skip Dessert" meal plan)
3. Having a Guide -- a Guide is there as a source for 3 things: Accountability, knowledge, and motivation (a few jokes and good stories sprinkled in here and there certainly help :) )
Like the ingredients when making a cake, like flour, eggs, sugar, and milk... you combine these three together and it is delicious fitness success (oops, I'm mixing up my analogies here, aren't I? ;) )
Leave one out, and that's when it doesn't turn out quite like we hope.
So there we have it, you now know where them dumbbells and barbells that are helping forge the best versions of yourself came from.
Honored to be your Guide on this journey and here's wishing you a good restful weekend. (especially if you crushed your deadlifts or Booty Blasters this week...
oh wait... should THAT be part 2 of this email? the origins of Booty Blasters? :) Sounds like a plan!)
Looking forward to connecting with you again next time!
May you stay on the Path of the Workout Hero because your awesome future awaits!
Your Guide & biggest fan, Mr Trainer man Erick
P.S. If you're not a member yet but need help dialing in those 3 things to get into shape, I have a couple of openings left this month to get you started for free.
Message me back "interested" to get your journey going.
