#TBT: October 23-Ocotber 25, 2012

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Only a couple posts this week for #TBT.  Check them out below!

Raising The Bar

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Dave Tate's Raising The Bar, the sequel to Under The Bar, is a quick and easy read that continues with the idea of expressing life lessons that have been taught in the weight room and through competition.

The biggest difference, in my opinion, between this book and the original is that Tate gets a lot more personal with his stories, moving from only things that happened in the weight room to really anything that has happened in his life and then relating those stories and lessons back to training and explaining how they made him the person he is today.

If you enjoyed the first book, I think you will certainly enjoy the second.  If you haven't read the first book, you can definitely start with the second and be just fine.  There may be a little referencing of stories in the first book, but this only happens maybe once or twice.

Raising The Bar shows a side of Tate that you would not otherwise get to experience.  From his words, it seems that those closest to him weren't even aware of everything he reveals.  This book is a very deep look inside a man's mind as Tate unveils episodes from his past that will have to be read multiple times in order to capture the gravity of what he describes.  The rereading of this book is vital in order for its words to truly sink in.  There are just too many events that evoke too complex of emotions to be able to read it once and really grasp the magnitude of what you read.  So, while it isn't terribly long and the words flow smoothly, expect to read it at least twice.

I recommend this book to anybody who is looking for a new appreciation or new perspectives on life and the world around them.

Your body.  Your training.

Enjoy this review? Get a copy of Raising The Bar in the Self Made® Book Store!

Want to use this arti­cle in your blog, newslet­ter, or other plat­form?  You can, but be sure to include all of the bio­graph­i­cal infor­ma­tion found in the yel­low box below!

Under The Bar

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Participation in sports can teach us some of life's greatest lessons.  In Dave Tate's Under The Bar, Tate discusses twelve lessons he has learned from years of participating in powerlifting and how those lessons apply outside of the weight room and have helped him succeed in business and in life.

Tate breaks things down simply, identifying a lesson, relating it to the gym, and then reinforcing it with stories from both inside and outside the weight room.  While his references and metaphors are often, as expected, geared towards the powerlifting/serious strength training demographic, his experiences, takeaways, and viewpoints can be related to by most people.

The powerlifting theme is certainly draped over the entire book, but even if you aren't in to powerlifting or don't know anything about it, there is a lot of valuable wisdom to be found within these pages as Tate discusses his life events.  If you are able to read through the context and to theme of what he is saying, this book quickly becomes applicable to many people in many different walks of life.

One of my favorite parts of this book is the quotes at the beginning of every chapter.  I'm a quote guy in as much as they sometimes help to take thoughts or feelings I have and put them into words instead of keeping them more abstract in my mind.  So reading through the chapters, it was always a pleasure getting to the pages of quotes and finding ones that resonated well with me and that I could connect to.

If you have ever attempted to perform something at a high level, particularly sports,  I would highly recommend this book.  If not, it is still worth reading, but some of the concepts may seem foreign to you if you haven't had an experience of sacrificing a lot of areas of your life in order to put forth everything you have towards achieving something great.

What is one life lesson you have learned from participating in sports and how has that impacted the rest of your life?

Your body.  Your training.

Enjoy this review? Get a copy of Under The Bar in the Self Made® Book Store!

Want to use this arti­cle in your blog, newslet­ter, or other plat­form?  You can, but be sure to include all of the bio­graph­i­cal infor­ma­tion found in the yel­low box below!