A Change of Perspective

by Terry Brown | April 02, 2024

A popular 90’s song once lamented “Everybody Hurts Sometimes.” Unfortunately, this is just a fact of life. Especially if you’re the kind of person that likes to be just a little reckless every now and again. You know the type that thinks physical combat with another person of similar ability is fun (especially if you’re winning). The type who likes to live a little and try new things.

When I was a younger and less informed man than I am today. I developed an interest in physical fitness. I ran, I jumped rope, I did calisthenics, boxed a little and practiced martial arts. On occasion I would even mess around with those crappy plastic weights that everyone seemed to have back then. I worked out every day doing whatever the hell I felt like at the time.

I followed this approach until one day after close to 20 years of getting hot, sweaty, and tired I realized I wasn’t getting much accomplished. I was tired and I hurt all the time. I was also getting a little older, a little wiser, and a lot busier as life and work responsibilities grew. My desire to keep active and somewhat fit remained, but as days got busier I found the mind was willing but the body was not.

This led me to begin some research and one day by sheer dumb luck I stumbled across an article about Starting Strength. Here was a guy telling me that I didn’t need to train every day, doing every exercise known to man to make progress. I just needed a handful of exercises and 3 workouts a week to get stronger and make more progress than I ever thought possible. To be honest, it all seemed a little too good to be true, but I decided to give it a test and find out for myself.

My plan was simple: I’d stick to the program for a month to try it out, and if I wasn’t happy with the results, I’d just try something else. It wasn’t like I’d been making stellar progress to date anyway. In my eyes I had nothing to lose. With just a hint of skepticism, I approached my self-assigned one-month challenge. My first week looked like this:

Workout A – Monday

• Squat – 80kg x 5 x 3
• Bench Press – 70kg x 5 x 3
• Deadlift – 90kg x 5

Workout B – Tuesday

• Squat – 82.5kg x 5 x 3
• Overhead Press – 50kg x 5 x 3
• Deadlift – 92.5kg x 5

Workout A – Friday

• Squat – 85kg x 5 x 3
• Bench Press – 72.5kg x 5 x 3
• Deadlift – 95kg x 5

I followed this approach 3 workouts a week alternating between workout A and workout B for that 1st month, and I was genuinely surprised with what was happening to my body. Sure, I could see noticeable differences, but I wasn’t sore anymore; I felt good. Workouts for that first month also didn’t feel too taxing. I felt like I was stealing progress in a strange way. I was doing far less than ever before but also making faster – and more importantly – measurable progress. I was hooked.

I continued on with this approach and was able to continuously add weight to the barbell for months before any real deviation was required. As the weight on the barbell increased workout to workout, so too did my bodyweight. When I started out, I was 5 foot 8 inches and around 165 lbs, and today I am 215 lbs without any noticeable increase in bodyfat.

The knock-on effects of this program also had a profound impact on other elements of my life. I am the father of 2 boys, the eldest of which has additional needs. Daily life can be challenging and unpredictable. What I have noticed since my strength increase is that life is far easier to take in stride. I attribute this to the fact that strength is the foundation of every physical interaction we have with the world around us. Strength increases our ability to produce force, and that makes daily tasks a far smaller proportion of our overall force production capacity. The outcome of a day that consumes less of your physical resources is more energy to pour into other worthwhile pursuits. Your relationships with the people around you improve when you have extra energy and enthusiasm to engage with them in a more meaningful way.

We’ve talked about the physical benefits above, and I’d like to also mention the psychological benefits I’ve accumulated also. It shouldn’t be a surprise that when aiming to add weight to the barbell every workout, eventually it will get a little intimidating. Through this process you learn to face intimidation and fear in small doses, and this has a profound impact on your overall mental resilience and fortitude.

As you progress through workouts that may have previously been approached with trepidation you realize that even though this process is difficult at times, you are more than capable of pushing through. After all, it’s only a little bit more than you lifted the last time. Your previous training sessions have prepared you for the ones to come. With this realization your confidence will grow.

Another interesting phenomenon I encountered was the way I was perceived by others. There is an famous quote in the blue book: “Stronger people are harder to kill and more useful in general.” Now I’m not here to debate this statement with anyone, but from my own experience there does appear to be a kernel of truth to this, or at least in the way stronger people are perceived.

I’m not sure if it’s the obvious increase in confidence or the improved physical stature, most likely a combination of both, but I have no doubt doors have opened for me career-wise. Whether or not stronger people are more useful is not up to me to decide, but my employers certainly seemed to think so as promotion was quick to follow my pursuit of strength training.

To summarize the message that I’m trying to get across here, I’ll just say this: a minor change of perspective on how I approached my fitness has made a profound improvement to all aspects of my life. A one-month excursion into strength has led me to what I believe will be a lifetime pursuit. Give it a month and you may just surprise yourself.