And so it begins....

Many a man has failed because he had his wishbone where his backbone should have been.

--Ronald Reagan

[The above quote was taken from a seminar I attended last weekend hosted by t-nation.com assistant editor Chris Shugart.]

I figured that since this is my first official blog entry, I would keep it inspirational. Sure, I could "inspire" people by playing "Eye of the Tiger" in the background or by posting naked pictures of Kate Beckinsale (Note: if you happen to have any, my e-mail address is tgentilcore18@yahoo.com), but well....that's just cheesy.

I REALLY want to inspire people, and light a fire under their ass. And well, what better way to inspire people than for me to take on the role of blunt bastard and give whoever is reading this a dose of "tough love."

To Whomever is reading:

You WISH you could make it to the gym three times per week, but darn it...you just don't have the time. Funny how you have "time" to watch an average of 20 hours per week of television. Hey, I need a little dose of Jack Bauer every week too, but I also need my dose of heavy squats even more. If you had a backbone, you would MAKE the time to be in the gym. Grey's Anatomy can wait.

You WISH you had six pack abs or a butt so tight you could crack walnuts with it. So why in the heck are you going out drinking beer or martini's a few nights per week and eating pizza and ice cream every weekend? Sorry, but even if you ARE making it to the gym everyday, you can't out-train a poor diet. If you had a backbone, (1) you wouldn't be drinking martini's, and (2) you would clean up the diet and quit making excuses why you're still above 20% body fat. Don't be that person who claims they "need their carbs." Bullshit. What you need is a big dose of shut the fuck up and eat your protein and fish oil.

You WISH you were bigger. Awesome. Quit doing leg curls. If you had a backbone, you would start deadlifting. That alone will add 15 lbs of lean mass in no time. Guaranteed.

You WISH you could fit into those pair of jeans that you wore a few years ago that would make every guy's head turn in your direction. Fantastic. Quit performing copious amounts of steady state cardio five times per week! If you had a backbone, you would start performing EST (Energy System Training) and lifting weights (and not eating like a nimrod). Not only will you be able to wear those jeans again, but you will be able to drop kick the next guy who grabs your ass in the bar to boot.

You WISH you were stronger. Who doesn't? So why are you STILL performing 3 sets of 10 with EVERY movement. Did you NOT notice that you're still benching the same weight now as you were four years ago? FYI: 185 is not impressive. And it doesn't count when your spotter is essentially doing upright rows with your last three reps. If you had a backbone, you would start incorporating more lifts above 90%. into your programming. You can thank me later.


I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. People just need to learn to grow a backbone and do what they NEED to do, not what the WISH (or want) to do.