September 2006 - www.functionalhandstrength.com

SEX MONEY KISS

I recently picked up a copy of the book “SEX MONEY KISS” by Gene Simmons. You’ve may have caught his new reality show (I haven’t since I don’t own a TV) but if you don’t know who that is, Gene Simmons is the Bass Player/ lead singer for the Rock Band KISS.

Yeah, the guy who spits blood.

You may not like his music or the man himself but one thing is for sure, he began with nothing, seized what few opportunities he was presented with and played his cards right business-wise when he had the chance to.

KISS is one of the most successful bands in history and Gene Simmons, the man, is almost just as successful in his own right.

That’s exactly what the book is about – what has made his life “work” and rule #1 is no losers allowed.

Here’s a good passage from page 75:

“On the days when there’s nothing to do a winner will find something to do. On the days when there is no work, a winner will create work. On the day when a winner has won the game, is at the peak of his power and is the actual world record holder, the very next day he will (and should) get up at the crack of dawn and try to break his own world record. Life, when you’re a winner, is about achieving. More. Not Less. A Winner never rests on his laurels. A winner only rests when you stick him six feet under.

Contrary to popular belief, winners are too busy trying to win and turn the other winners into a loser. Winners always try to achieve more, Again, the main word here is MORE.

A winner is, in fact, usually surrounded by losers; a winner is fed by losers. A winner is admired by losers, Losers make excuses as to why they aren’t winners. A winner who hasn’t won will simply try harder next time. But in his mind, he’s always a winner. If he didn’t win that race, he’s only lost one battle. The war is still to be fought. Never wait for the fat lady to sing.”

The demon wasn’t talking about strength training…but he may as well have been.

According to ‘Bombardier’ Billy Wells…

In strength training, there are many books that are well thought of as ‘classics.’ One great example from way back in 1926 is Super Strength by Alan Calvert, and another more recent example is ‘Dinosaur Training’ by Brooks Kubik. I’m talking about the books that are well-known and highly regarded, in terms of the quality of information as well as the reputation of the author.

If you are seriously interested in training you can’t help but run into classics like these either though word of mouth or through your own individual research. Even if they haven’t read them, most people are at least familiar with the titles and so they are pretty well-known in most circles.

There are, however, some outstanding training books that have somehow slipped though the cracks. To me, these books are like buried treasure since they often contain information written from a totally different perspective than the typical stuff you’ll find.

You would be every surprised at some of the names who have written training guides – many people you would not expect although most are written by very obscure authors who simply thought enough of their experience to put it down on paper in order to teach others what they have learned.

Quite by accident, I ran across a great training book written by ‘Bombardier’ Billy Wells, a well- known English prize fighter from the early part of the last century. Wells was British Empire Champion from 1911 until 1919 and was the winner of one of the first Lonsdale Champion belts. Evidently he had quite a bit of personality outside the ring and it is certainly reflected in his writing. As far as what “Bombardier” recommends: plenty of physical training (usually Boxing related drills and calisthenics), fresh air, healthy living, a sound diet, mental clarity, building ‘nerve’ force and other methods of training that are as simple as they are effective.

Mr. “Bombardier” also wasn’t afraid to say what was on his mind either and has some pretty interesting observations on a few topics that I will share with you at a later date.

Train hard
John Wood

How The Focused Mind Can Pierce Stone

Back In the days of high adventure, there lived a man who devoted himself wholeheartedly to Kyudo, the art of the bow. He practiced for hours each day and never, ever missed a session. After several years of constant and gradual improvement, he had reached a level of skill with a bow and arrow that was far greater than any man who had ever walked the Earth, before or since.

One evening, as he was walking in the mountains where he lived, he saw a flicker of movement in the shadows. It was a tiger with its teeth bared, its back arched and ready to rip him to shreds.

Since this very well have been the last thing he ever did, he put every ounce of concentration he had into what happened in the next moment. Without thought or hesitation, the archer grabbed an arrow from his quiver, notched it, and took aim.

He let the arrow fly…

It was a direct hit right to the head of the beast. The entire incident had only taken a few hundredths of a second. Without stopping to examine the dead animal, the archer continued on his way.

The next day, he became curious and returned to that spot. Upon his arrival, something seemed amiss as there was no dead tiger to be found. He was about to give up his search when he saw it… There is was: The arrow he had shot the night before, embedded in a huge boulder.

There had been no tiger after all, but the archer’s concentration had been so intense and so meaningful and his shot so powerful that his arrow had driven into solid rock. From this incident came the famous Samurai maxim about concentration and power in any Way of Life: ‘Ichinen iwa wo mo tosu‘ – The focused mind can pierce through stone.

Often people will ask me what one thing they can do right away to improve their training. I tell them to Concentrate harder and more intently on the things they already do.

Few people listen.Just as the archer did, if you can put every ounce of concentration that you have toward only a few simple tasks, the results will defy belief. Training itself is a simple thing to understand. The real secrets lie not necessarily in ‘what’ you do but how you do them. There are forces that can aid the mind that are hardly dreamt of by the average person.

If you’re going to be training tonight like I am, let the Tigers beware.

Train hard,

John Wood

Know One…Know All

Here’s a quick one to meditate on:

With so many different ways to train, it’s easy to get lost at times. You’ve got barbells, you’ve got machines, and you’ve got sandbags, hand grippers, barrel lifting, chest expanders, kettlebells, thick bars, bodyweight training and many more that I could think of pretty easily if I sat down and decided to make a list.

A lot of people seem to think that each individual ‘way’ of training and even each exercise needs its own ‘mojo’ that is to say, some special training procedure that is specific to that particular exercise and that exercise alone which allows you to train it correctly.

To some extent, this is true. There are certain things that should be understood about each way of training. But the larger picture is that aside from the correct form and possibly a few other small details, the truth is that the same factors which allow you to gain strength in any exercise are the same factors which allow you to gain strength with every exercise… whether you’re lifting a barbell, a rock or anything in between.

And since everyone is alike is some very fundamental ways, those same factors are at work in everyone, regardless of genetics.

So really, when you know ‘how to train’ you understand how to get stronger in any exercise, in any way, shape or form that you want – its just a matter of knowing what to do then taking action.

Train hard,

John Wood