The Gym is more that just a place to workout for many

Catching my breath in between sets, in front of the fan. It was hot and humid. Yet I was able to pull off a decent slingshot bench press workout. It was a 4 sets of 4 reps night. So I managed 135x10, 225x4, 235x4, 245x4, 255x4.

It’s usually nighttime when I workout, when everyone else is asleep. And I’m always alone, except for Jesus, who is my spotter, and Joey, the cat, who is my strength coach. 

The gym is peaceful and calming. Like my survival site, the gym is one of my safe spaces where it doubles as a church, a sanctuary, a place of therapy, and as a place of challenge. 

I’ve always preferred small or private gyms to the big, crowded, noisy franchise gyms. I’ve spent a lifetime in both settings as a trainer and a trainee, depending on the time and place throughout the ages. 

My first gym was a room down in the cellar of my family’s house. My Dad rebuilt it and helped me create a gym / martial arts dojo. Yard sale weight sets and exercise gear with heavy bags, mats and old boxing gear started the journey of a lifetime. 

I started fitness training when I was ten. I started martial arts training when I was 11. I ran my first training class when I was 12, as an apprentice/intern assistant instructor. 

The first training experience came early. 

I started training the tiny dragons and little tigers kids (ages 5-7) class. That would progress over the years until I was running almost all of the classes for youth, teens, and adults. 

At 17, I was selected to become the head instructor of the Kenpo Karate school that I had attended daily from the age of 11. 

Then I joined the Army instead and went in a very different direction. But of course, fitness and martial arts where always with me during that 20 year adventure. 

For the past 15 years, the Iron Garage has been my main gym despite working simultaneously at several other gyms and locations over the years. 

One of the biggest and simplest takeaways that I can give you is this: you must conquer your mind and emotions in order to play the long game in fitness and health. 

Nobody cares so work harder. There is no excuse. You either benefit or suffer from what you choose to do. You reap what you sew. You and only you are responsible for all that you do or fail to do. 

So with that being said let’s go hit the weights!

Do you feel some anxiety and fear before the next set of your workout?

When you are in the iron arena facing the beast and your next set is rapidly approaching, it’s normal for there to be a little anxiety, fear, and dread. 

It’s purely a mental battle but you still have to address it and drive on to the next set. A simple technique I use to overcome the mental battle is by using timed rest periods between sets. 

The general rule of thumb is heavy sets require longer rest periods, lighter sets require shorter rest periods. A lot of it has to do with ATP cycle rejuvenation. 

If you don’t experience this mental battle, then you should reevaluate the level of challenge and intensity of your workouts. 

An age old saying is “if you aren’t scared of your next set, then you aren’t working hard enough”. There is a lot of simple truth in that concept. Now on to the next set!

Turning Can’t into Can Do with Heavy Kettlebells

Tonight’s workout was 5x5 kettlebell goblet bench squats. My days of heavy lifting on any type of squats are long over because of my (totally not service related according to the VA) back and hip injuries. 

After the warmup it went from 45, 55, 62, 70, and 79. Then I decided to try the monster, the 106lb kettlebell of doom. I haven’t touched the monster in awhile. Waiting till the end of the workout to pickup the heaviest thing is never a good idea. So I was like, why not? 

I knew it was gonna be a short lived bad idea as soon as I picked it up. It was heavy after too long away from it. I managed to get in 2 reps and I quit while I was ahead. 

But it brought about a positive note. I overcame the mental deterrent that it’s too big and heavy to even try. 

It’s heavy but with a smarter approach, I’ll be able to eventually get 3,4 and 5 reps. It’s not impossible. Your mind will fail you long before your body does most of the time. And if you don’t face your fears, they will always win. 

Entering the arena to face the beast is the mental challenge. If your training doesn’t scare you a little bit, you probably aren’t challenging yourself enough. So in that regard, there was no failure, there was a lesson relearned.

Step into the Arena and Face the Beast

Entering the arena and facing the beast! This means different things to different people. And it applies to any life topic not just exercise.  

Generally, it means facing the thing or task that you suck at, fear, or hate the most, and attacking it with your best effort regardless of the outcome. 

For me with age, and plenty of old army injuries (which of course were not service related, yeah FU VA 😆), my gym demon is now squats. And I’ve conveniently talked my way around them for too many months after my last back strain. 

So here I am eating humble pie and trying to not tap out or get hurt. Pathetically light weight for 4x6. And it kicked my butt. - which also means it’s an awesome exercise. 

I have to do box squats for any type of squats now  and I have to avoid barbell back squats. This was hard to accept. I can do these safety squat bar box squats as long as I use light weight and really pay attention to detail. Also hard to accept. 

I can go much heavier with goblet squats and those are the safest and easiest for me to do. The SSB box squats are really hard right now even with light weight- and they scare me. And that’s why I’m doing them. Cause it scares me and it’s hard! If you run from that it’s over. So yeah a lot of this is mental. 

Go do the thing you suck at/fear/hate the most and get better at it one day at a time. 

That will be worth so much more to you in the end than the coward life of running away and avoidance. That was me and these damn squats. Was… - not any more. Go get sum!!

There is no place for ego in the gym

Tonight I got under the safety squat bar for the first time in months. I had to layoff of it due to a lower back strain many months ago. 

I have been strength training for over 40 years literally. As I get older, the reality is that I can no longer perform certain exercises that I used to be able to do. 

20 years in the Army, on active duty, has left me with a multitude of injuries which I have to manage daily.

What I have found is that my connective tissue and joints are far more vulnerable than the muscles. For a dynamic warmup, I have to perform some lighter repetitions of the intended exercises. 

So returning to the safety squat bar was a mental challenge. Fear of re- injuring my back was constantly on my mind. And I knew I would have to start over with light weight and low repetitions. 

With my age & old back and hip injuries, loading the spine with heavy weight is no longer safe, realistic, practical, or effective for me. It is a blow to the ego to have to start over with light weight. But it must happen. 

The safety squat bar is my safest option for back or shoulder loaded barbell weight. It is still a high risk event for me now. 

So I sucked it up and put a little weight on the bar and restarted my safety squat bar box squat training. Humbling to say the least. 

But it was still a killer leg and core workout so that was good. I will progress very slowly and deliberately with this one as it is risky business. 

Don’t dwell on or overly think about what you can’t do. Search for and find what you CAN do. 

One of the best mindsets you can have is when you are faced with a situation and you say “let’s see what we can do here”. Find out what you CAN do and the go do it!

Eric Dempsey 

MS, ISSA Master Trainer 

Iron Garage Wisdom, Thoughts, and Tips Part 1: Your Mindset in Fitness and in Life is the True Challenge to Conquer

 

Last night, I had a great workout in the Iron Garage. It became great when it was over.
The workout was simple but challenging.

 
Warmup: 2 min on the sanddune stepper, 20 reps standing band chest press, 135x10, 225x1 on the bench, light stretching.

 
Now it was getting hot and humid, rain and thunder, starting to question my course of action.

 
The slingshot bench workout consisted of 245x6, 245x5, 245x4, 245x3, 245x2, 245x1. The rest periods between sets decreased as the reps went down.

 
This made the last 3 sets as difficult as the first 3 sets. Manipulating rest periods and metabolic energy pathway recovery requirements.

 
I laughed at the end as I said to myself "I am smoked, like a cheap cigar". And then I pondered while laughing, who in the hell came up with all the corny sayings that we all used in the military?

 
It was hot and humid, even with the fans blasting. I was sore and in pain. Left shoulder was hurting -sharp pain style, who knows why. My excuses to quit were piling up fast and I almost convinced myself to call it.

 
I had no coach or trainer, no spotter, no one to cheer me on or encourage me, and no one to answer to if I quit early. Despite that I convinced myself to do one more set, one more rep until before I knew it I was done. 

With Jesus as my spotter, and my mb slingshot as my safety device, I drove on and finished the workout. As the Training for Warriors crew always say "Last Set, Best Set". (I'm a certified level 2 TFW coach by the way).

 
Ok so you finished your workout. Great job. I'm proud of you. Here is a cookie. GTFOutta here with that crap. So why do I tell you all of this? 

Because this invisible battle rages on with me and most people who have trained in any physical events, during every single workout. I had the same mental struggle when I was doing some of my first strength and conditioning workouts at 10 years old. Same stuff different decade. It's part of the journey.

 
In my program that I teach, my pillars of wellness are 1. mindset and behavior, 2. lifestyle, 3. nutrition, and 4. fitness and exercise.

The real struggle that I faced during my workout, wasn't the 245lb barbell. It was my mindset. Facing the mental battle every workout is what I call "entering the arena and facing the beast". Defeating the beast in the arena is the true victory, not the completion of a workout. 

This applies to every aspect of life. Don't let your mental beast defeat you in the arena. Free your mind and your ass will follow. Now, go hit the weights!

Eric Dempsey

MS, Certified Mindset Specialist

Learning never ends

And the biannual recertification process is finally complete.
The heavy dose of academics has fried my brain once again.
I'm good for another 2 years.
I've completed this process 8 times now.
I've been certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
as a certified personal trainer, for 14 years now. This is my primary certification. But I have dozens of others accumulated over the years.

And yet everyday, I learn something new, and realize that I am merely a beginner, still a white belt, in the vast complicated realm of physical culture. You are truly finished if you stop learning or refuse to learn anymore.

Nobody cares about how many certifications, diplomas or decades of experience that I have. People only care about how much I can do for them, for the least amount spent. More than 6 out of every 10 people in our country are overweight or obese, with the children's numbers rapidly closing the gap. And yet they still know it all and refuse to listen. They all flock to the shiny new quick fix shortcut program or potion like moths to the flame. I do not put all of this effort in for those people. I can't save them or help them. They are lost already.

I do what I do because out there wandering in the shadows, there is a person seeking the truth, looking for answers, wanting to do it right. A person who is tired of being lied to, tricked and scammed. A person who wants to learn, and values knowledge and experience. A person who wants to be more, be better, fitter, and healthier. A person who wants to rise to the true level of their God given potential. A person who realizes that diligent study and hard work are the not so secret keys to success. I'm here to help that person. Because that person is me.

Eric Dempsey

MS, NASM CPT, WLS, FNS, SFS

Dempseys Resolution Fitness

Why Mindset is the Most Important Aspect of Wellness

During this morning’s coffee and SLLS halt, I reflected on a question regarding what is the most important aspect of overall wellness.

In my wellness system, which I teach, the four cornerstones of wellness are mindset, lifestyle, nutrition, and fitness.

I have listed them in their order of importance, in relation to overall wellness.

Mindset is the number one, because without the proper mindset, a person will rarely make the necessary changes, and take the required action, to facilitate success with the other three.

I tell my clients that you have to get your mind right, before you worry about whether or not your coffee creamer is the culprit behind your weight gain, and lack of progress.

You have to zoom out, and look at the big picture, before you dive into the weeds, worrying about your ranch salad dressing.

There are usually much bigger, and more obvious issues, surrounding a person who struggles to make progress.

Once your mindset is on track, you move on to lifestyle assessment and so on.

Don’t worry about the micro, until you have the macro sorted out.

Go hit the weights and have a great day!

Eric Dempsey

MS, ISSA Master Trainer

Dempseys Resolution Fitness

I Faced the Beast and Stepped into the Roar -Program Update

To defeat Monday, I had to go into the arena and face the beast.

Last week, I got 275x3.

This week the goal was 275x4.

I stepped into the roar of the beast and executed 4 reps.

Wasn’t pretty, but it went up.

I’ve got to eat more.
A lot more!

The beast requires massive calories.

If you step into the arena underfed, you end up as the meal.

All of these people following the brain dead low calorie myths and I’m over here not able to eat enough.

Only people who train or have trained, understand.

No amount of jogging, treadmill walking or elliptical pedaling will give you insight, into the experience of pushing against weight, whose sole mission is to crush your soul, and potentially your bones as well.

So I will eat to prepare for next week’s facing of the beast, in the arena of iron.

The goal was met. I can do better. Never settle. Demand more of yourself.

Eric Dempsey

MS, ISSA Master Trainer

Dempsey's Resolution Fitness

Fighting the Urge to Rely On Comfort Foods

Many people think that fitness and dieting are all about the physical stuff, like doing cardio and counting calories. Sadly, that is far from true. While those things have their place, they are not the real power players.

The true, powerful forces behind whether you succeed or fail are your mindset, and your psychological disposition. Emotional eating can be devastating to your health and your mind. You must be in charge of yourself.

Too often people eat to make themselves feel better rather than to satisfy their hunger. When you eat for this reason, the foods you crave are usually those loaded with sugar or fat rather than healthy fruits and veggies. In order to develop healthy eating habits, the reliance on comfort foods needs to be reduced or eliminated completely.

Reflect On Why You Eat

Before reaching for a candy bar when you’re in line at the grocery store, ask yourself if you really need some chocolate and why. If you’ve had a stressful day at work or you’ve been under emotional strain, put the candy back and try to find a healthier way to make yourself feel better. Replacing exercise with eating will not only maximize any weight loss goals, it will increase your endorphins and give you a huge self esteem boost.

Healthy Eating For Dessert

A delicious dessert at the end of a hard day can be the highlight of the evening for a lot of people. Rather than eating a piece of cake or bowl of ice cream, have a fresh bowl fruit salad or some low-fat frozen yogurt. Substituting your high calorie desserts for something a little healthier can be a guilt free way to finish your day.

Clear Out Your Cupboards

Keeping chips and cookies in the cupboards is too tempting for most people, especially after a rough day. Throw out all your junk food and when a craving hits you, you won’t be tempted by fatty snack foods and you’ll be more likely to munch on something much better for you. Willpower can only take you so far in your healthy eating goals, so avoid the candy aisles and don’t even look in the vending machines you walk past until you’ve trained yourself to resist your junk food cravings.

Don’t Negotiate

It’s easy to talk yourself into having just one piece of cake or thinking that because you’ve had a rough day you deserve it. After eating that one piece it’s pretty likely that you’ll feel guilty for doing so and you may end up feeling worse than you did before. By just being strict and laying down the law, you’ll probably feel much prouder of yourself for choosing the apple instead of the cookie.

If you would like a more detailed guide to help you to achieve your goals. get a copy of Simply Slim today! Simply Slim will show you the simple secrets for long term weight loss and health.

Get your copy of Simply Slim here.

Eric Dempsey

MS, NASM Fitness Nutrition Specialist

Dempseys Resolution Fitness

Radio Tuesday: speed shopping, brown vs white rice, food labels, and adjusting workouts.

Today, we discussed speed shopping, brown vs white rice, food labels, 

and adjusting workouts.

Visit the new Chaplain Paul Voorhees Ministry page to access your free gifts.

Eric Dempsey

MS, NASM Fitness Nutrition Specialist

Dempseys Resolution Fitness

Morning Coffee Rant: The Pussification of America!

Morning coffee rant!

I was just reading a book review about the pussification of America and American men.

In PUSSIFICATION: The Effeminization Of The American Male,

Giles takes ‘Crispin’ from the unaccomplished, prissy and dank corridors of ‘Pussville’ -

up the steep, treacherous and unforgiving trail that leads to ‘Mantown.’-

that description is funny as hell and it just makes me laugh.

I could hear modern drill sergeants screaming that rhetoric, to the delicate flowers that they have to deal with today, in basic training. I can't even imagine the horror.

In my little world bubble of my fitness business, I can see the changes that have happened over the last ten years, as I trained and coached people in strength & conditioning.

I used to train moms trying to lose baby weight, in rapid fat loss bootcamps,
soldiers getting ready for upcoming training like ranger school, or SFAS,
athletes preparing for upcoming team tryouts, crossfitters for WOD improvement and a host of other "stuff that is really hard".

Now, I train people to "try" to stand up straight and do one push-up. - literally.

And that is actually a far more difficult and demanding job as a coach, than to get a motivated soldier or athlete, ready for an arduous event.

Complacency leads to the death of vigilance, skill and reflexes. It gets people killed.

The men and women who follow the warrior path and live in the physical culture, understand these things.

How can one explain the concept to our weak society, of the need to be strong and fit, so that you will be harder to kill?

There may be a time in the not -so -distant future, where American patriots will once again have to "trample the weak and hurdle the dead", in order to support and defend the constitution against all enemies, while defeating tyranny and oppression.

We as a society, are a nation at war, with its society soft and weak, in both mind and body, led by criminals.

That dark road has no happy endings.

Weakness is a choice, as is strength.

In today's world, it is best that you choose wisely.

I choose strength. Who will walk with me down that lonely path?

I can assure you that once you go the extra mile, it won't be crowded there.

Ok, time for more coffee!

Eric Dempsey
Master Sergeant, US Army Retired

Training for Warriors Level 2 Coach

Dempseys Resolution Fitness

Health and Fitness Mindset

Living a healthy lifestyle will play the primary role in all aspects of your life. This includes your ability to be successful, happy, and healthy. Your career, your hobbies, and your day to day
activities in general will be more fruitful if you are living a healthy lifestyle overall. Everything for which you endeavor may come to you easier, and you will experience less stress during your
efforts to obtain it.

The foundation for your quality of life includes the three basic principles of living a healthy lifestyle. These are mindset, fitness, and nutrition. The three of them work and operate together
as a circle that should not be broken. Each plays into the other, and as a whole, the three of them play a huge role in your life. 

SOURCE: St Croix Health and Fitness, Healthy Lifestyle Basics – Mindset, Fitness and Nutrition, Retrieved on May 16, 2014, from, http://stcroixhealthandfitness.com/healthy-lifestyle-basics-mindset-fitness-and-nutrition/

Why do some people seem to lose weight easily while others fail year after year?
• Is it genetics? Money? Willpower?
While it’s true these may play a small part, there’s something else that has a much larger role.

• It’s mindset. 

And yours may be holding you back.

What is “Mindset?”
Mindset is a belief about yourself and your most basic qualities.
Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, who wrote a book called Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, says there are two different types of mindsets: fixed and growth-oriented.

People with a fixed mindset think talent alone creates success. When faced with a challenge, they tend to take the easy way out to avoid failure and embarrassment. This is a psychological
principle known as self-handicapping.

People with a growth mindset believe they can improve their abilities and create successes by working hard, practicing, and learning. They take on challenges even at the risk of failing. They
embrace failure because they know they’ll learn valuable lessons from it.

How Mindset Affects Your Health

Research shows your mindset can profoundly impact your life—especially your health. Here are several studies that prove it.

In a study published in the journal Psychological Science, hotel cleaning crews were told that the work they do (cleaning hotel rooms) is good exercise and satisfies the Surgeon General’s
recommendations for an active lifestyle. Subjects in the control group were not given this information. Four weeks later, the first group perceived themselves to be getting significantly more exercise than before. As a result, compared with the control group, they showed a decrease in weight, blood pressure, body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index. Mindset alone caused physiological changes in their body.

In another study published in the journal Health Psychology, participants were divided into two groups. Each group received a 380-calorie milkshake but one group was told they were drinking
a 620-calorie “indulgent” shake and the other was told they were drinking a 140-calorie “sensible” shake. The researchers then measured participants’ levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates your brain to increase appetite.

Those who thought they drank the 620-calorie shake experienced a dramatically steeper decline in ghrelin after consuming the shake. The study authors concluded that “Participants’ satiety was consistent with what they believed they were consuming rather than the actual nutritional value of what they consumed.”

In other words, your mindset about a particular food can affect your hunger and levels of fullness. If your mind tells your body you’re drinking a “skinny” shake, you won’t feel as full.
You CAN use your mindset to lose weight, get fit and be healthy.

Finally, in a study published in the journal Clinical Psychology Review that looked at the science of optimism, researchers found that an optimistic mindset can lead to better health outcomes too
– optimistic people tend to be healthier on average.

How To Change Your Philosophy and Mindset Affects Your Health

So the science clearly tells us that your mindset can have a dramatic impact on your health. The question is, how do you change a mindset that may be holding you back?

This is what Dweck suggests in her book:

Step 1. Recognize fixed mindset thinking.
Even if you have a growth mindset, that pesky little fixed mindset voice will sneak its way inonce in a while. You know … the one that produces these types of thoughts:
• “I have bad genes, there’s no way I can lose that much weight.”
• “What if I fail?”
• “I don’t want to embarrass myself.”
• “I don’t have the willpower to stick with a healthy diet.”
• “I’m just not as smart/lucky/talented.”
When this happens, simply recognize and accept it. Then do this …

Step 2. Reframe negative, fixed mindset thinking with a growth mindset voice.
Once you recognize a fixed mindset thought, you have a choice: believe those negative thoughts
… or reframe them. For example:
• “No excuses this time … I’m getting started.”
• “If I fail, it’s okay. Great accomplishments don’t happen without risk.”
• “Forget diets. I’ll take it slow and making eating healthy a lifestyle.”
• “If I don’t know how to do something, I’ll learn.”

Step 3. Take action.
Once you reframe a fixed mindset thought, the next step is to take action.
Here are some strategies that will help you:

1. Write it down. One of the most effective ways to improve your philosophy and mindset is to keep a journal or planner. Use it to capture your thoughts, plan your day, and track your goals.

For example, here’s what I do:
• At the start of every day I write a positive quote at the top of my daily planner (today’s
quote is “Life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it”). 

• Next, I write down everything I plan to do over the course of the day to accomplish my goals (for example, “Write new blog post, network with 3 people, lift weights for 45 minutes, find recipe for healthy dinner”). 

• Then, I evaluate what I accomplished at the end of each day.
Writing things down feels good, and it’s proven to help you cultivate positive mental and physical changes in your body. In one study, participants wrote for 20 minutes each day for three consecutive days about either a positive life experience or a control topic.

Three months later, the students who wrote about positive experiences had improved physical health and higher levels of focus – just from writing about it. That’s powerful stuff. 
If you want to change your mindset, write.

2. Embrace learning. We all consume massive amounts of information every day. You have a choice whether that information helps you or holds you back. Checking your Facebook page 10
times a day may be mindless fun, but what if you spent that time reading books that helped you cultivate a growth mindset?

I recommend Mind Is The Master by James Allen, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, and Make Today Count by John Maxwell. Even if you don’t like to read, buy audio books and listen to them while you drive. Imagine the impact those books and others you’re interested in can have on your mindset over time. 

3. Take calculated risks. Whether you want to start your own business or get in the best shape of your life, ask yourself this question: will you be better off by never starting or by taking a
chance and risking failing?

It’s an easy answer. Embrace failure. Because it will give you the most valuable feedback in the world. The foundation of the growth mindset is the ability to learn from your failures and become a person who continuously improves.

On Carol Dweck’s website, she says, “Although people may differ in every which way – in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments – everyone can change and grow through application and experience.”

In other words, your mindset is like a muscle: the more you use it to both learn and focus on positive thoughts, the stronger it becomes.

Dream big but start small. Focus on your mindset first and you will open doors to anything and everything you want to accomplish in life….perhaps starting with losing weight, getting fit and being healthy.

SOURCE: Health Habits, Use Your Mindset to Lose Weight, Get Fit and Be Healthy, Retrieved on May 16, 2014, from, http://www.healthhabits.ca/2014/01/31/use-your-mindset-to-lose-weight-get-fit-and-be-healthy/

GET AMERICA FIT FOUNDATION
http://getamericafit.org

Eric Dempsey
Master Sergeant, U.S. Army Retired
NASM Certified Personal Trainer & Weight Loss Specialist
Graduate Student In Exercise Science At Cal U.
Dempseys Resolution Fitness
www.dempseysresolution.com

Does Your EGO Run Your Fitness Plan?

Does Your Ego Run Your Fitness Plan? Do you do EGO fitness training? What I mean by that is, do you do workouts that you are used to, what you are good at, what you are comfortable doing? Do you stay in your comfort zone?


Muscle heads, cardio queens and runners do this alot. They just keep on doing the same old thing in one form or another. They might switch it up from one form of exercise to another, but they are still operating in their comfort zone. Progress tends to be minimal even though they may get better at whatever they are doing.

So you have to ask yourself why are you doing what you are doing? You have to have a clear goal. If you want to change your physique, does training for 10Ks make sense. - The answer is no. If you love running and want to run 10Ks because you love it, then it makes sense. If you want a bodybuilder physique and all you do are arm curls - that won't fit into the make sense column. 

Some people use fitness training in groups to feel good about themselves. Lifting heavier weights than others, out running slower people or doing more reps of endurance based exercises than others in order to make yourself feel better, to impress others and to receive praise from others are not good fitness goals to have.

Back in the day, during my decades of running, there was always one guy who was really good at running and not much else. He would always take us on a death run for PT along his favorite route. We called this EGO PT (Physical Training).

It never did anything good for anyone, caused many injuries but it made that guy feel like a champ. - That's not leadership, that is ego and comfort zone. Don't be that guy.

When it was my turn to run company PT, many times, I would place a strength event at the end of a 5 mile run. The EGO PT people would call me out and ask why I couldn't keep up with them and generally talk shit the whole run - BOOM - until the end.

One time, I placed a weight bench with a 225lb barbell on it, at the end of the run route and said at the completion of the run, everyone had to do one set of max reps with 225lbs.  Of course, none of the runners could do even one rep. I could pull off 5-10 reps even after having a 5 mile run kick my ass. 

They would all say how stupid that was and walk away. That was the point. If you have no strength in general and all you do is run, how functional is your fitness plan, when you can't do something physically demanding at the end? Not very functional at all. I couldn't run as fast as they could but when I got where I was going, I could at least do something. 

The endstate is: if you are doing what comes easy to you, what you are good at and you never drift outside your comfort zone, then you will be limited in what you can accomplish. If your goals don't match your fitness training, you will be disappointed until you start using the right tools for the job. And if your goal is to impress people and get attention, you might want to take a look at that. Train to accomplish your goals and not to feed your ego.

Eric

Dempsey's Resolution Fitness