Feats of Strength

I have often heard stories of men achieving amazing feats of strength throughout their lifetime; stories of men working for hours on end in the construction of something greater than themselves; stories of men traveling great distances by foot to relay messages or return to loved ones. In this day in age, experiences like these have become foreign by the ease of technology, the busyness of schedules, and the fear of trying. Feats of strength are now considered by the living dead as an hour of movement three times a week. Even the events that are deemed most challenging, and are, without question, difficult, such as triathlons and marathons, are able to be completed by people with poor training or are done on whim.

This past Thanksgiving I was talking to my uncle about my personal bests regarding my training. The next day he sent me an e-mail containing some of the feats of strength he accomplished in his younger days. The e-mail contained the following:

• I did a 53 mile walk/jog through the White Mountains (New Hampshire) with about 20,000 total vertical feet (10,000 up and 10,000 down) - in 19 1/2 hours (a record for the event at the time) at 20 years old.
• Fast- walked/jogged 50 miles in 10 1/2 hours and rode a 3-speed bike 1223 miles in 15 days at 21.
• I first did 1,000 push-ups in a day when I was 22 years old, and was able to do this at several different time-periods until I was about 34.
• Bicycled across the US, approximately 3,200 miles, at 23 years old.
• I worked up to 15-16 3-minute rounds on the heavy bag when I was 26-34 years old.
• Cross-country skied the 33 mile Birkebeiner in 4 hours at 31 yrs old (it took me more than six hours last year with the new, faster equipment).
• I used to run for about 45 minutes, once a week at noon in the summer when I lived in Saudi Arabia (age 31-34 years old), just to see if I could do it/survive. The temperatures were up to and over 130 F. In three years I never saw anyone else run in the desert in the middle of the day in the summer (there were 500 mostly younger people living on our farm).

Reading these, I couldn't help but be motivated. I have already begun to create a list of different feats of strength I want to accomplish in the upcoming years, ones that I will be posting about in the future. What do actually want to prove to yourself with your training, or are you able to accept mediocrity?

So much of people's training today revolves around aesthetics or sub-maximal performances. When was the last time you pushed yourself to your physical and mental limits in your training? When was the last time you attempted something, just to see if you could survive?

Get big or die tryin'.

Charlie Cates, CSCS

Self Made®, Owner

Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

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