Developing The Clubber Lang Mentality

Few characters have inspired me during my life as the fictional slugger Clubber Lang. Made famous in Rocky III, the iconic character was heavily based the actor that made him famous, Mr. T. (Don't forget, the T stands for "tough!") Lang's tenacity and braggadocio spoke to me as a kid who was bullied and alone but as an adult the character's behavior had a deeper meaning to me that I've had to revisit in the last few months.

"I live alone.

I train alone.

I'll win the title alone."

In the movie Lang said those words to a reporter while calling out the champ, while Rocky's nervous compatriots watch on. One day in the distant past I was watching Rocky III for the millionth time and realized that those words are true and they apply to me and many others out there trying to make themselves champions. Look, training is a solitary endeavor and there's really no way around that. Even if you have a dedicated training partner and you train together all the time, your results are still YOUR RESULTS. Other people can motivate you but ultimately you are responsible for what you achieve and how you get there, so tapping into you inner Clubber Lang can pay dividends and for some it becomes a survival mechanism. 

For me, going at life solo has been the way of things. I started out young as a pro wrestler and I could never understand why my "supporters" never came to my shows, bought merch or helped me get the word out about my appearances. When I moved on to Toughman it was the same thing and now as a Strongman I find that not only do people not truly support, but well, there's no one around to do the supporting! For a lot of us in the iron game we reach a point where we find that we are here moving the weights, busting our ass because we are alone. There's no family out there to come home to or a loving spouse that rubs your back on deadlift day and helps with meal prep, that's in the movies. The reality is stark, but it's true and that is NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR TRAINING! I bet your face wrinkled a bit when you read that, right? But real talk, how many people know what your max squat is? How many people know what your go-to vegetable is? Think about how many people actually say to you, "hurry and get to the gym, your training is important."

No one does that; and if you say they do, I'm gonna call you a damn liar.

That's not just a lifetime of bitterness coming out, it's just the way things are. If you're blessed enough to have a few buddies in the gym or on social media, that train with you or talk about training topics, consider yourself lucky. Otherwise you need to tap into something to pick yourself up when shit gets drastic during contest prep.

For me, I don't recommend the whole "remind yourself why you started" because that takes you to a negative place. You cannot, I repeat, you CANNOT build a positive body of work if you are fueled by negative thoughts. It just doesn't work that way. The negativity you tap into today to do your max bench will soon become associated with benching and then benching won't be a productive endeavor. I work a lot of hours a week, come home to an empty ass house and eat bland food 4-5 times a day. I don't have much family and perhaps a handful of friends. If I'm lucky I get to see my girlfriend once a week and out of that tiny network of people not a one of them is in the kitchen with me helping with meal prep and certainly no one is washing my gym clothes!

But that's okay, because this body of work is mine! When I go to a contest I go in knowing that I gave prep my all because during prep, I was the only one doing it! The credit and the glory go to me and God and that drives me to push harder because my success is a true representation of myself. Positive imagery is where it's at in terms of motivation. Reminding yourself that YOU are the one who is responsible for this proud body of work, but also you're the one building it! When you reach the top pedestal and achieve whatever goal you set out the accomplish, that's all on you.

When I'm in the gym and the things are getting to be too much, I use positive mental images to carry me through. I imagine the cold of the iron in my hands at the contest. I think about the way the air will taste when I'm breathing heavy pulling a truck. Ultimately I think about holding that trophy and having the other competitors look at me with envy, and how my success will serve as a tool for them to be inspired for the next contest. You have to give yourself permission to think about success and to imagine how succeeding will feel, look and taste. You can't burden yourself with negative, violent and depressing images during training-they will only serve as distractions. Use the power of your mind to unleash the strength within you to push harder and let the positive images inside you fuel that impulse.

When developing the Clubber Lang mentality, it's important to remember you're not pushing people out, you're just not letting people take away your focus. If you're fortunate enough to have a support system then utilize them and make sure you show your appreciation for their involvement. However, for the other 98% of us out there, we have to rely on the power within ourselves for 100% of the motivation we use as fuel for our dream chasing.

You must reinforce those positive images with your speech and actions. Talk to yourself if you have to, speak out loud the things you want to achieve. If you can't say out loud that want to win your contest or hit a certain bodyweight then you're not yet convinced you can do it. Without other people involved to remind you or why you're doing it and how to keep on track, you sometimes have to speak to yourself in the third person and literally tell yourself why you're doing the work.

You're already doing the work! Don't be ashamed of it! Speak your dreams into reality!

If you are honest with yourself about what you want, put in the work and remind yourself regularly of what you want and acknowledge how far you've come then you will succeed. You can achieve your dreams alone if you have to, you just have to allow yourself to ease into the role of motivator and remind yourself when you're at your lowest points what you're GOING TO achieve!

Everyday look in the mirror and tell yourself what your goal is and give yourself permission to chase it with everything at your disposal. You can be the weakest one in the weight room but if your goal is in sight and you hit the floor motivated then those other people don't exist. If you still got a spare tire and you're working on a six pack it don't matter what anyone else is doing, remind yourself how far you've already come and what's ahead of you.

The power to succeed is within you, it doesn't lie within others. You have to take responsibility and accountability for your training and prep, and then when success comes you take the credit for what you've accomplished.

It's a cold world out there, but a fire in your belly will always keep you warm. No matter how many people cheer you on along the path, you're still the one carrying the load, so keep your head up high and be proud of every step!

I'm going to keep adding different things on the sidebars that I think are fun, so I hope you enjoy them. Feel free to leave a comment or send and email any time!

Stay strong and stay humble! The power is within in you!