Donny Shankle

The Dreamer
By Donny Shankle

All of your greatest weightlifters dream big. From the time their goals entered their conscious, they took the steps to transfer those goals into their subconscious as dreams. Either by meditating on their own or with the help of visual aids like hanging posters of their favorite lifter in their gym or bedroom. Without dreaming about becoming a champion weightlifter, you lose important hours of the day which I consider to be focused training. Even while you sleep you can train. You can think about how the bar moves with you while you are awake and dream about how you will react to the bar while you are asleep.

If your dreams are full of scenarios which do not make sense or your dreams are not tied to what you are passionate about then ignore them. They mean nothing. The only dreams which matter are those that are closely tied to you competing and becoming a champion. How do we practice beneficial dreaming and stay focused even while we sleep?

There are more hours in the day than the hours you spend training. Thereby create order in your life. Let those things which you cannot control pass. Instead fill this time with envisioning yourself walking up to the bar and lifting it. Play out scenarios like pulling the bar just before the clock runs out or go even deeper and think about feeling the heartbeats of the audience. See the cloud of chalk rise from your hands as you walk up to the platform and smell the ammonia even when it isn’t there. Remember our discussion on the difference between focus and concentration? Concentrate or meditate on all of these little details especially before falling asleep and you will at some point dream about them. This is good training.

Of course, in order to dream like this you must love being strong. Without something in your life you love deeply, your dreams will only be nightmares.

A Timeless Tale
By Donny Shankle

I have an insatiable interest for good stories. You don’t hear good stories much nowadays. Everything is commanded in a quick text message or email. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a Luddite, but I do appreciate hearing a good story.

Stories about the underdog, dark horses, lone wolves and heroes who set themselves against the impossible resonate with me. Some of the most enlightening stories are found in mythology such as the 12 labors of Hercules or Thor’s wrestling match against the old woman. Historical stories about Musashi the legendary ronin or Alexander the Great show us the stark parallels between strength and self-esteem. Stories at sea are another favorite of mine. Fictional stories like Moby Dick teaches us revenge is futile while Captains Courageous teaches us to do away with a reluctant spirit and never give up. In addition to being a source of entertainment and wisdom, stories provide a practical knowledge you can apply to your own training.

Stories teach us about relevance. This lesson will become clearer as you begin to write your own stories and record your own experiences. Your training journals for example are the start to understanding relevance. Over time they show you what works and what does not work.

“Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own”. - Bruce Lee

Removing what is irrelevant to a story keeps the story moving. Getting rid of those things which are not pertinent to your success on the platform keeps your training moving. Do not waste your time on irrelevant arguments like whether or not your arms should bend during a Clean or whether you should release your hook grip at the “Receive” of a Snatch. Concentrating too much on details like bar paths, what type of shoe is best, or devoting entire training sessions to technique are all irrelevant to the flow of your training. Get in the gym and lift weights. Adaptation is relevant. Clarity is relevant. Making personal records are relevant. Plot is relevant. Discipline is relevant. The total is relevant.

We still don’t know how much weight can be lifted. As old of a sport as weightlifting is, we still don’t know what a weightlifter’s mind is truly capable of by itself. In order to find out we have to keep lifting and searching for the good story. This is the timeless tale.

The Bouncing Ball
By Donny Shankle

Newton’s third law of motion tells us for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. There are two forces at work within the law called an action force and a reaction force. The bar will move once the action force you apply to the floor is greater than the weight on the bar. The resulting reaction force is then transferred into the bar from the floor and it moves. The more powerful the force the faster the bar and correspondingly the weightlifter will move. In other words, you get what you put in.

Let us say for example, I bounce a rubber ball on the floor. If I were to throw the ball down using the power of my wrist it will bounce up. Now I decide to put my elbow into it and the ball bounces higher. Next time I decide to put my shoulder into it and the ball bounces really fast up and over my head. The more joints I am using and the faster I can control the lengthening and shortening of my muscles, the greater force I will apply into the ball. The floor will return the ball with the same effort I put in. The harder I throw it the faster it will change direction and the higher it will bounce. The only thing left now is to get aggressive and release the ball at the time it will go straight down.

The physics behind the bouncing ball analogy are the same physics behind the pull in weightlifting but in the opposite direction. Instead of throwing the ball down, you are moving up with the bar. The reaction from the floor will be equal to how fast the hips, knees and ankles act. Now combine the momentum you have created going up with moving under the bar at the right time. The “Finish” or final extension of your pull is like the ball hitting the floor. The faster it is the faster you will change direction.

Q: Should I ever lift in my tennis shoes?

A: No. I have noticed weightlifters who lift in their tennis shoes develop a bad habit of keeping their chest down when they Snatch. This problem even persists after they switch to weightlifting shoes. To avoid developing this bad habit, always lift in your weightlifting shoes.

Q: How do I find weightlifting clubs in my area?

A: The best thing you can do is check with your governing body or organization. For example, USA Weightlifting has a great feature on their website listing all the available clubs for each state. Contact information for each club is also provided.

http:/www.teamusa.org/usa-weightlifting/clubs-lwc/find-a-club

Same Routine (Part 1)
By Donny Shankle

Get used to following the same routine in training. It may sometimes feel like you’re going nowhere but take pride in the same routine. You are adapting. All professions or skills get better this way. Do not extend yourself into too many disciplines if you are trying to become a master of one. This is the beauty found within the same routine. Not every one can put up with it or appreciate and learn from the simple genius behind it.

Let us take a broader look at this principle. I get discouraged sometimes when I think of all the different things I can learn and how little I actually know. I imagine I am not alone thinking this way. There are so many subjects and so many specific fields of interest. Since civilization began, man has been cataloging and indexing his knowledge passing it down to the next generation to improve on. Trying to know everything is impossible but many of the principles within each field of interest are the same. In order to know more about the world around us, we have to passionately devote our minds to something. Passion directed towards anything productive transfers over to learning more. Whatever my interests are, I have to stay focused on them to become better. Weightlifting teaches me I have to work hard, be attentive, take care of my body and avoid distractions if I want to become better. How is this different from anything else? Devote yourself to something and you begin to understand more about everything. It’s exercising the mind. This is called moving towards mastery. The more you adapt to it the harder it becomes to continue to excel but it isn’t impossible. However, it does take a lot of work.

10 QUESTIONS FOR DONNY SHANKLE

Same Routine (Part 2)
By Donny Shankle

You may ask isn’t it ridiculous to continue doing more of the same and expect a different result? Isn’t that the definition of insanity? You’re right but here is where you have to draw the distinction. It is not doing more of the same. It is improving your ability to concentrate on the same routine over a long period of time. For an athlete, this means improving your ability to meditate on a single discipline and unlocking missed subtleties within the discipline to improve your skill level. Only amateurs miss the subtleties. The amount of concentration you can apply while meditating is a direct result of the amount of long-term practice you have put in. Let me give you an example using gym etiquette and how meditating on this correlates to a heightened sense of awareness experienced only by champions.

Good gym etiquette is not only for the weightlifters who are lifting. It is more for the lifters who are not lifting during their period of rest. Even at this time training your sense of awareness is taking place. Great weightlifters are in control of their platform both in training and competition. Even outside the gym this heightened sense of awareness remains. It’s your ability to always perceive what is around you using your non-visual senses as well as insights. As you practice this enough you can prepare to react in advance to your discipline’s requirements on a daily basis. For weightlifters this means completing the lift in your mind before it physically takes place or using visualization to increase the magnitude of your strength. This type of meditation is a deeper concentration moving you towards mastery and pushing your skill level towards excellence. In other words, by always respectfully paying attention to what is going on around you in the gym, you inadvertently improve your ability to concentrate on the same routine now and in the future. This same routine of course being weightlifting. Being able to do this keeps you from wasting any time in the gym.

Same Routine (Part 3)
By Donny Shankle

All effort on your part must be on improving the total. This is what it means to always be in focus separate from concentrating on what you can do better or what you did right. During training tell anyone around you who wants to engage in conversation that you are training. Soon they will be able to feel your energy and be too intimidated to disturb you. The most disciplined of weightlifters come to the gym with their own chair and cup of coffee or whatever it is they like to drink and shut everything else out. If you happen to be training with a buddy who operates the same way, this is even better. The both of you will feel the disciplined attitude and energy radiating off each other. There will be an unspoken language and understanding. The focus will be on who is going to lift the winning total.

Training this way enables you to completely concentrate on the weights you are about to lift and how you will perfectly time your reactions. Champion weightlifters know how important timing is to a lift and avoid any and all distraction which may disrupt this timing. This includes getting rid of any training partners who are not as physically conditioned or mentally astute as them. It’s finding the “zone” and riding it. Keep in mind this sort of training is highly instinctive (I will cover instinctive training later in this chapter) and is more achievable for the drug free weightlifter. Since he or she has made the commitment to find out what their mind and body can lift alone, he or she has to find more meditative powers instead of chemicals to win beyond the statistical level.

Of course, practicing your weightlifting under the same routine each day may sometimes feel monotonic or physically hurt. Yet it isn’t impossible to push through this hurt or learn to appreciate this monotony. This is part of the maturation process and is called getting stronger. Once you feel the monotony is productive, you are getting stronger mentally and the body will soon follow. If it were easy everyone could do it. Honing your technique for instance can also feel the same way but you have to know when to do it in order to remain in the reactive state you are trying to achieve. This is what is important and not the boredom or aches which initially come with training in the same routine. Have you ever noticed people who claim to be in touch with nature are really in touch with their own mind? They can meditate. Remove the first “T” in meditate and what does that spell? Champions or people in touch with their surroundings can mediate their mastery to find a solution to their discomfort and boredom. The more you study the better you will be able to do this.

Besides the physical hurt will get better if you allow for adaptation to take place. Increase the stress on your body gradually. Give your muscles time to strengthen. Train daily and calculate your volume weekly. Use time constraints instead of the traditional set and rep scheme. Austerely monitor your hours of leisure. All of this helps to keep you following the same routine and uncover its hidden secrets while experiencing consistent joy. Going back to technique, another way to effectively apply the same routine is to pay attention to your warm-up sets and see their importance. More of the same routine will be spent on preparing to lift at maximum instead of actually lifting at maximum. It has to be this way because we are human and we only have so much energy before we hit exhaustion. The warm-up at lighter sets is when you practice your technique. It’s like sharpening the knife on a whetstone before cutting into the meat. Following the same routine is part of training. Yes it can sometimes be nerve racking but so is studying for a test or learning a new language. Like I stated earlier, it’s all connected.

Same Routine (Part 4)
By Donny Shankle

Here is where I will discuss the only potential setback within practicing the same routine. Through monotonous (not familiar) effort you may begin to over analyze. The Japanese proverb “A good tactician can sometimes be drowned by his own tactics”, is a great bit of wisdom which can be put to use by beginner and intermediate weightlifters. It’s applying the parameters before the principles. Recording your training like honing your technique is good, but only if you set it outside the importance of the four pillars to becoming a champion. It lies within relevance and irrelevance. As a clear example, I will use weightlifters who get so caught up in their analyzing they begin to mark the calendar with their biorhythms.

Biorhythms are a biological up and down feeling. It is understanding your individual physiology and yes weightlifters follow their biorhythm either unknowingly or knowingly. However, biorhythms should not necessarily be recorded by the lifter. The coach will do this to the degree he or she feels necessary and without a coach the athlete should not attempt this alone. You can be in touch with your biorhythm but once you mark it down on paper or block it off on a calendar you potentially limit yourself because how you feel has manifested. I for example understand that two weeks out of the month will be a down phase followed with a week of good lifting and eventually a week of very good lifting. Yet, I do not anticipate these periods and in fact I try to avoid them. Sometimes the down period can last longer if I happen to fall into a depression or can even be shorter if I am experiencing a surge of happiness.

It took years to get it all right but once I stopped anticipating how I might feel or subject myself to what others thought possible by their calendars, I was able to bring my training to a level where I could lift at maximum every day and defy what was thought possible by a drug-free weightlifter. It must be noted during this period I had exceptional coaching. My coach/coaches may have even implemented my biorhythm response under the training guidelines but I doubt it. I was too stubborn anyway to always follow everything to the letter. It’s not who I am and understanding your identity is part of unleashing high self-confidence. Also, had I avoided an unfortunate injury to the neck who knows how much longer I could have sustained this optimal performance. Since following the same routine is about unlocking greater knowledge, the moment you set physical limitations before even confronting the challenge, you have lost this ability probably forever. So even though there is only one setback to the same routine, it can be enough to derail your training indefinitely if your over analysis keeps you from practicing a sublime attitude.

Same Routine (Part 5)
By Donny Shankle

No negativity must enter into the same routine in order for it to be effective. However, there is a certain degree of humiliation you will have to go through to improve but this is trivial. It consists of not being the strongest for a time but keep focused on your long term goal and remain a good sportsman. Do not worry about bad days or even good days. Staying committed to your training is important and it’s this life long commitment which distinguishes the best from the rest. Improvement doesn’t mean killing yourself in the gym either. It doesn’t mean being overly hard on yourself. Emotions are necessary to improving proficiency but do not expect too much too soon. Emotions without organization lead to setback because frustration causes you to doubt your capacity.

Champions learn how to use their emotions as a key to unlocking their knowledge while increasing their performance. You are practicing a skill and this will take time no matter when you decide to begin training. Being fit is different from being skilled. Your enthusiasm each day will determine your potential for excellence and later mastery. However, the process of learning and adapting doesn’t change within the same routine as long as you keep the skills necessary to win within the specific confinements. The skills must be specific and not the man. Time will bring the desired change.

Finally, my training during a period in California improved dramatically because of the added responsibility I placed on myself. During this time is when I started writing about my training and how I valued the sport. My contributions led to an increase in my professional attitude. Keep a blog, write a book, spend some time where you withdraw within yourself and this will help you discover there is more to the same routine. As you begin to withdraw within yourself you will produce exceptional work and this will motivate you to keep training. Whether this work will be recognized by your peers is another matter but this isn’t important. What matters is whether or not your retrospection emboldens your drive.

Relax in the knowledge that following the same routine is proven. Do not worry about encountering uncertainty. You can be certain if you practice over and over you will get better but on that same token it will not be enough to be the best. In order for that to take place you have to transition into the professional weightlifter and prioritize your time. The difference between expert performance and normal performance lies in your commitment. All of this recollection and contribution leads to a positive presence of mind and heightened sense of awareness to your training. The repetition over time shows you what it takes to be successful and reveals how knowledge of principles are universal. This should not be overlooked.

Donny Shankle Weightlifting Seminar At CrossFit Soul Miami

Courage As An Attribute
By Donny Shankle

The late coach Bill Starr laid out in his book, The Strongest Shall Survive, four physical attributes all athletes train to become great. They are strength, speed, coordination and flexibility. I add courage to the list because the body is not separate from the mind and it too must be quantifiable. You have to be courageous if you want to win. Yet the mind cannot be measured the same way as the body. It is measured during moments of pressure.

As a sportsman I admire the skills and competitiveness displayed across all sports. But as a man I see the best in ourselves who show us courage. For me the athletes who display the greatest courage while competing are the greatest athletes. Why should they not be? Are not the greatest warriors the warriors who display the greatest courage during combat? I admire them for what they do and how they do it. I love the idea anyone can achieve the same or greater if they are willing to work hard and not circumvent their challenges.

If you want to win you have to be strong. In the jungle this will keep you from being eaten. In business it will keep you from dying bankrupt. As a weightlifter it will keep you at the top of the podium. Your mind is where your strength lies. Courage is it’s closest ally and it comes from the heart. Since the heart is a muscle, it too can be trained.

Instinctive Training
By Donny Shankle

I sat down the other day and read a letter shared with me by a friend of mine. I was privileged to have the chance to read it since it was written by a great weightlifter many years ago. I speak clandestinely because I promised my friend I would not share names. The correspondence was of a delightful conversation between friends but I also noticed a few paragraphs discussing instinctive training. I am not inclined to talk about instincts because I champion man’s reason but as an athlete I understand you can’t always reason your way to success. You have to rely a little bit on true gut feelings.

I’ve managed to dislocate both of my shoulders in a matter of two years time. The first was in training and the second happened in competition. My reason tells me not to lift anymore in order to avoid injuring myself further. However, I still want to win and lift because I love the sport and competing. Whether or not someone wants to identify these feelings as instincts or enigmatic feelings which transcend reality to find a place in this world is not my concern. I simply look towards getting in the gym again and doing what it is I do best. This is not an overzealous nature. It just is because I am. I took another hard hit but in order to get back up you can’t think about the next hit. You can’t rationalize your way through the pain and haplessness. It’s like the heavyweight champion of the world Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan until they get hit in the mouth”. Instinctive training in this sense means getting your ass in the gym and working hard all over again. Whether you want to call it working hard, smart training, linear progression, or program A, B, or C doesn’t mean a damn thing. If you feel like you can make the lift then put it on the bar. If you go into the gym and you are moving good and feel strong then go for the new personal record. This applies to competition as well.

I read that letter written by a legend of Olympic weightlifting and felt proud to learn that I train the same way he trained. By going into the gym and for lack of a better way of putting it in my own words, I trained instinctively. It’s hard to put another name on this because the truth doesn’t need names. You already recognize it for what it is. It’s how the big men get big. It’s how the tough men get up. He went into the gym and if he felt strong that day he lifted as much as he could. If he didn’t feel as strong then he lifted what he could. Then the process repeated itself. I and every other champion weightlifter does the same. The intellectuals will draw up some useful information but the work you put in with your coach is what will bring you the happy end. I never tried to rationalize my way in the training. Sure I applied my reason as a weapon the same way I applied my flexibility as a weapon. I always prepared and that’s called staying in focus. My mind was there no matter what because it had to be. I exist as a man and my mind has always been with me. Yet, this reason certainly didn’t rationalize my way to putting more weight on the bar. I did that because it simply made me happy. I didn’t think about it. How boring would it be to always think through the things which feel good? Use your imagination and you’ll understand my meaning.

Don’t always think your way towards greater totals. Get in the gym and practice some instinctive training. If you want to do a triple instead of a double then do it. If you are not moving well on the snatches then lift what you can and move on to the clean and jerks. If you keep thinking all the time soon you’ll be too damn old to thrive off your vigor. Training and competing are full of its many displeasures and there certainly more numerous than its moments of joy. Although these happy times feel really damn good and they’ll keep coming if you’re compelled to never give up on them.

Gym Persona
By Donny Shankle

The gym is full of all types of different personalities. I’m not really a people watcher but it’s impossible not to observe people in a place you spend a lot of your time. There are the title holders who bring back gold medals who everyone else wants to beat. Sometimes you’ll come across real legends along with legends in their own minds. There are the comedians who make everyone laugh and the greenies working hard to become full-fledged champions. There are salty dogs who compete at masters competitions. We all watch them training in amazement hoping to be as durable as them when it’s our turn. Then there are the dawdlers, pretty boys, attention-seekers, flirts and a few loudmouths. I don’t know what you call them but there are those you can explain an exercise to a hundred times, but each time you see them again for training you have to explain it all over. These people are often so lovable however you can’t help but forgive them and again explain what a Snatch is.

No matter what the personality type everybody focuses on their own goals. I like the different personalities because Weightlifting needs showmen. They draw in more people who want to lift and be strong. It makes the experience in the gym something your look forward to everyday. Weightlifting is really fun even though it takes a lot of hard work winning. The weights can beat you up and the perfection required to lift a record can be irksome. No matter the personality everyone rises to the challenge when the spotlight is on them. It can be a regular madhouse in the gym at times but it’s a place where we can all be a little crazy together. Besides everyone knows when to be a little more serious once the lions arrive. As soon as everyone shows up from work and open up their gym bags all of our different personas (whether appreciated or not) put life in the gym. It gives it a breathable atmosphere we may not find at our suffocating jobs.

Certainly the worst thing you can do as a weightlifter going after a new personal record for the day or win the coveted unicorn trophy for that day’s best lifter is spiritually shut down. Now I’m not saying be something you are not when you are in the gym training or competing on the big stage. What I am saying is be “you", and take “you", to the Nth degree.

The Dark Ages
By Donny Shankle

I don’t really like using the word plateau in the gym. By definition it implies a period of little or no change. You’ll hear it sometimes when you reach a point in your lifting where the personal records do not come as often as they used to. I get it but I don’t like hearing it. I much prefer telling myself or any weightlifter, “You’re going through the dark ages but don’t worry the renaissance is coming.” There seems to be something more positive in the analogy. I like history (especially United States history) and I always refer to the subject of history whenever I come across an area I don’t fully understand. A closer look at any history shows you how big changes were subsequent to little changes. There is an optimism to this way of thinking.

The first time I ever snatched 170 kilos was approximately two years after practicing the exercise under formal coaching. Naturally a lot of hard work went into reaching this number. Considering the current American record at the time for the Snatch was 172.5 kilos, it was a pretty good feat for a weightlifter with very little experience. It would take another seven years before I was able to Snatch 171 kilos. Later on I eventually snatched 173 kilos. It was due to all the missing I went through trying to achieve 171. This set a new standard and raised the idea of how much more can a drug free weightlifter actually lift? Also, my then greatest total of 366 kilos in competition was set in 2006. Like the Snatch, it would take me another six years until 2012 to set a new record total of 368 kilos. When I did break through my total increased nearly another 20 kilos. After I broke through this record, I couldn’t help but dance on the platform. The moment was even caught on camera and my dance was affectionately labeled the “Shankle shimmy”. I get asked sometimes why I danced such a silly jig after Clean and Jerking 208 kilos to give me that new total. I was simply very happy and somehow it led me to shaking my tail feather. What transpired between the years were a lot of ups and downs both in and out the gym which I disdainfully refer to as the dark ages. My efficiency during the dark ages had a lot of catching up to do with my physical strength. This showed in my inability to consistently reach these types of really heavy weights in training.

However, it was the training along the way which eventually pulled me out of the dark. The coaches I worked with and competitors I fought with pushed me to new heights. Every miss led to the possibility of eventually making the lift. I stayed convinced, retrenched my position, and fought on. When the training was done for the day I went home, sat in my chair, went over my records, massaged my aches and pains, said my prayers to God before sleeping, then went back to repeat the process. My renaissance at the time came at California Strength. Here is where the new standards were set and it was up to me to rise up and face them. This happened in spite of being called the world’s worst weightlifter.

I believed every miss I went through contained a lesson and it was up to me to use any failures I had confronted as a source of strength. The printing may have been small and hard to read but it was legible. This attitude along with great leadership from people like David Spitz and Coach Pendlay only helped to shine light on the grey to show me there are no such things as plateaus. In truth I never had that attitude to begin with and I was certainly not going to change no matter how dark the ages seemed. I might be a bad dancer but I’m not a pessimist.

Stubborn To A Virtue
By Donny Shankle

“Thanks to God that he gave me stubbornness when I know I am right.” - John Adams

I admit I can be stubborn at times. Heck I can be stubborn a lot of the time and I imagine most athletes are to some extent. This stubborn attitude plays a large part towards perfection. Records are not broken and gold medals are not won by push-overs. There are two types of stubbornness. The good stubborn is being stubborn to a virtue. The bad stubborn is being stubborn to a fault.

The recurring trait you’ll see across all champions is their unwillingness to quit or give in. You can call it determination but stubborn is more personal. This is what gives it strength. It’s more individual. You don’t say the team is stubborn. You say he is stubborn or she is stubborn. Someone like Christopher Columbus for example we can call stubborn. People told him the world was flat. They said he would fall off the edge of the Earth if he sailed too far. He refused to believe such nonsense and as a result he found a new world. This is what stubborn to a virtue is.

When you are beaten then learn how not to be beaten again. When the facts are shown to you proving you’re wrong don’t continue beating a dead horse. This is the exact opposite to being stubborn to a virtue and is called being stubborn to a fault. It’s continuing to head down the same path even when “you” know you are wrong. That’s the important bit. It’s not when everyone else says you’re wrong. Nine times out of ten criticism from others is quite often a sign you are in fact right. Dealing with it like a man is what leadership is all about. Being stubborn to a fault is an internal struggle that needs to be overcome first before you can continue moving forward. It’s the negative juxtaposition between stubbornness and it’s enemy stupidity.

When the hurdler runs his race and hits the hurdles does he not try to pick up his foot a little higher and time his stride better? He is in essence not changing how he moves, but he is forcing himself to do it better. He does this in order to cross the line a split second sooner than the man next to him. That’s stubborn to a virtue. If he continued to run through the hurdles and lose then that’s being stubborn to a fault. If you’re proven to be wrong then back up and reevaluate your premises. Don’t be stupid. Stubbornness ought to push you and keep you from taking no for an answer. It should not keep you static. Therefore stubborn to a virtue can only be good. Consequently, stubborn to a fault will lead to an attitude without reason.

My stubbornness I view as a virtue. It has always helped me in my life and only crossed into being a vice when I ceased from being stubborn and instead chose to be stupid. The degree I took my stubborn attitude has always been the same but the line between virtue and fault was thin. When I knew I was right, or I knew I could lift the weight, I believed wholeheartedly I could. It’s the stubborn to a virtue attitude which keeps you moving forward. It’s the stubborn man who makes his good dreams real. Weightlifting is one of many challenges. All I can tell you is face this challenge head on and pray your stubbornness lasts as long as the beating of your heart.

Show A Little Swag
By Donny Shankle

When you walk up to the bar, roll your shoulders back and pick your head up. A snatch or clean and jerk does not begin at the pull. It begins with your approach to the bar. If your eyes are looking down and you're thinking the lift is going to be heavy then the weight has already defeated you. It’s OK to be nervous because being nervous shows you care but never let your nerves turn into fear. The bar is a dead thing in space. It has no control over you. You control yourself. Your mind commands your muscles to take action against the bar. Confidence lies in your heart which is the link between mind and body.

Look at some videos of champions lifting and you may sometimes notice their teammates, coaches, or friends whispering encouragement just prior to going out on the platform. As the weightlifter lies in wait for the loaders to get the weights on the bar, you have a guy behind him massaging his shoulders, a guy to the left saying in his ear how strong he looked in the warm-up room, and then there is another guy in front of him wiping the chalk off his singlet, or perhaps even combing his hair. This entire routine is to awaken the confidence in that weightlifter. With confidence you can do anything. If you compound this confidence with a support structure who love you then on that day you will not only clean and jerk what it necessary to win, but you will have done what is necessary to live happy. I don’t mind a blowhard so long as that person backs it up. The greatest boxers who ever lived enjoyed hype, strutting, and talking shit but they also out boxed their opponent to either victory in decision or KO’ed the man outright. Their confidence was the strength their opponents lacked.

If training has taught me anything, it’s hard work brings success. Like life, the days will keep rolling on. The gym doors will always be open and the sun will always rise again for you to return and improve upon yesterday. You have complete carte blanche when you are in the gym. Either the pages in your biography will be filled in with a negative vocabulary consisting of the words failure, timid, and yellow, or it will use positive words like intrepid, magnanimous, and proud. When you compete, take a second to look at yourself in the mirror wearing your singlet and congratulate yourself on making it this far. You are not here because of luck or from a series of serendipitous events. Look at your muscles and breathe in all of the confidence and beauty in this world. You are about to compete because you have posted the total to be where you are and your hard work made that possible. Show a little swag as you walk up to the bar with a sense of purpose and then attack.

Spectators And Competitors
By Donny Shankle

I used to think there were two types of people in Weightlifting. Those who competed and those who watched the competitors. I even went so far as to believe one was greater than the other. As time has gone on, I have learned I was wrong. Each are one and the same. Man in his fullest sense or man in his fullest capacity as a man qua man is an observer. His thoughts are made real by his ability to conceptualize what he has seen or learned. In his observation he applies himself to either improve or create. The good man does this to find the best within himself. He lets whatever appears to be the best in him or you to become an inviolable law of his life. It’s the knowledge of men passed on generation after generation which keeps this process eternal.

A few months ago I had the pleasure to coach some outstanding masters weightlifters in Japan. Over a two month period progress was made which even surprised me. I knew what each weightlifter was capable of but I had no idea the amount of fight inside their hearts. Each one of them believed in the capacity of each other and lived up to it. All of them kept their attention on the stretch and gradually chipped away at improvement. I had a wonderful time spectating and watching this all unfold. I sat in my chair about 3ft. from the platform unafraid of weights being dropped on me because I believed in them. I saw the professionalism coming out as they learned each others idiosyncrasies and routine. The group trained strong because each weightlifter remained committed. All of them learned to work with each other and keep the joy you feel on personal record successes each and every attempt. As a result all of them won a medal at the competition we were preparing for and most of them were gold. It was a great day.

Watch, learn, and practice. This is how we all begin our own journey on the platform. The first weightlifting gym I trained in I would stay awake in the late hours watching the best on stage on the TV. I watched because I wanted to make what I was seeing my own. I wanted others to watch me and my journey took me there in no time because I put the work in. I never sheltered myself from competition. I loved the idea of battle and still do but now I enjoy watching others do battle too. I look forward to watching weightlifters I have taught or coached win. I know the feelings they have inside when the medal is placed around their neck. I know the feelings of “the white moment” when all seems clear as they bring their feet together and get three white lights from the judges. It all goes full circle from spectating to competing to spectating again. Knowledge is passed on and more knowledge is gained and as a result the capacity of each man finds no limits.

Sex and Sleep
By Donny Shankle

Have sex. The benefits of a positive and loving sexual relationship improve your performance in the gym. Sex does bring an increase in strength. It keeps the testosterone high. One of the main benefits it also brings is it will help put you in deep REM sleep and weightlifters need their sleep to lift at their best. The nervous system will not adapt and strengthen if you have difficulty sleeping.

A good sexual relationship also brings a list of other benefits. It will help keep you from getting sick as well as relieve your pain and stress. Charisma and confidence are also given a boost which are essential to lift big weights. Lastly sex will help to get your mind off training. Directing your mind to something else will actually help with your consistency in the gym.

Understanding Culture
By Donny Shankle

This is something I’ve learned from my travels. The world is full of so many different types of cultures. Some are better than others and some are difficult to understand. Some cultures are strict while other cultures are tolerant. I’ve been to places where things are very black and white and there is no grey area. Laws and customs are the way they are and no matter how silly they may seem to you it’s wise to show respect.

One of the great things about sport is no matter the culture you come from the goal is the same. Win. The sad thing is some cultures do not believe in winning honorably. Sport has rules. It is a contest among men and women to find the best within our species. If there are not rules in sport to be followed or if those rules cannot be enforced then sport ceases to be an honorable contest. It’s no longer sport and it turns into mere entertainment. I do not like the idea of competing for purely entertainment purposes. I am a sportsman and this means I follow the rules of competition to find the best. It is up to the athletes to enforce these rules. The athletes must police their own because bureaucracy can be bought off and bribed. The good man cannot be bought or bribed and the athlete must uphold this idea.

I have had teammates and friends of mine who are weightlifters tell me how it’s not their fault they cheat and use drugs to win. It’s just in their culture. It’s how they were brought up or it’s how it was explained to them. Nonsense. The rules are in black and white and spelled out in many different languages.

I’ll hear some people say how Weightlifting is a dirty sport and it pisses me off. Weightlifting is not a dirty sport. It is a beautiful sport which unfortunately is full of a lot of cheats. The sport itself is wonderful and highly challenging and no matter what culture you come from the idea of what a good man is remains the same. You are not just a showman on the platform. You are one example of the best of humankind.

Weightlifter's Prayer 
By Donny Shankle  
(Inspired by psalm 23)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall never quit

He maketh me to stand in the face of adversity: He leadeth me to find confidence in my ability

He restoreth my strength: He leadeth me in the paths of righteous accomplishment for His name's sake

Yea, though I walk through the valley of heavy weights, I will not fear: for Thou art with me;

Thy blessings of faith, endurance, and the resolve to never lose shall guide my way

Thou preparest a competition before me in the presence of mighty warriors:

Thou bringest them from far to test my conviction

Surely I will be in Thy light if I can confront what is heavy and walk away happy,

And I will dwell in this gym O Lord forever, in a fight to become not only the great weightlifter, but to wear the title of Olympian,

By Thy grace and my willpower, shall I then enter into Thy kingdom a champion

AMEN

Dream Big

Relevance

Motion

Q&A

Q&A

Again

Again

Again

Again

Again

Allies

True Gut

Showmen

Shimmy

New World

Take Action And

Eternal

Good

Nonsense

Kingdom