We are minimalists.
Minimalists care primarily about efficiency and effectiveness.
We refuse to do one more rep of one single exercise than is absolutely necessary to accomplish our goal of optimal health.That said, we realize nothing worth having comes easily. Therefore we are committed to doing whatever is required to get to optimal health.
Our approach is unique in the health and exercise world. Most programs are concerned with seeing how much people are capable of doing. We find this silly, misguided, and believe it wastes time, intent and effort. Truth is, NOBODY CARES about the highest achievements one can accomplish inside of a gym.
I can prove this. What is the highest bench press ever recorded? Most people don’t know. Do you? Who performed that bench press? Who did he take that record from? What was the highest bench press before?
Funny so many of us seem to place such high importance and emphasis on a thing like “hyperfitness” that has no demonstrable importance or meaning in our lives. If NOBODY knows the highest bench press in the world, then it’s not important to most people. Why then are so many people spending so much time, intention and effort (like I foolishly used to do) to accomplish something so unimpressive/unimportant? It’s baffling.
Does this mean we shouldn’t bench press, squat or deadlift? No. All of these exercises are essential to our optimal health, especially when done right. We need them. We should do them if we can. But we should do them in a minimalistic manner. In ways that enhance our lives, NOT in ways that diminish our lives.
Remember, we know great functional capacity is useful only OUTSIDE of the gym. That’s where most of us find our true passions and purposes. The gym’s job is to give us the energy, strength and vigor needed to succeed in pursuits we have deemed important, such as being an attentive spouse, an engaged parent, a more creative and productive businessperson, a better employee, or a more inspiring boss. The gym’s job is to give us more energy to be happier and more cheerful, more active in our grandchildren’s lives, and to worship in the ways we feel are important. All of it and more in an unlimited fashion. This should be determined only by ourselves and not dictated to us by self-imposed limits on health or capacity.
Get in the gym, get your health and vigor then get out. Don’t waste time doing more than is necessary.
Maybe you are thinking “Minimalism is just an excuse to do less.” LOL. Anyone who would think this has never done one of our workouts. However, if you think this, I invite you to take the “ONE PRIDE BUCK” challenge. Here’s how that goes. You bring your bad-ass self to Centerville, UT and dazzle us all with your hardcore excellence. After you’ve signed all the appropriate waivers and such, Linds and I will lead you through one of our average workouts. We’ll even film it! After you kick ass and have shown us all how pathetic we are, I’ll stand corrected and pay you ONE single PRIDE BUCK. I will hand this to you with my forever respect and adoration. 🙂
We don’t cut corners. Remember we are here to usurp all we can from our lives without being held back by self-imposed limits on our capacity.
Yes, we will do all it takes in the gym, but NOT ONE THING MORE. Instead of doing more reps in the gym, I say we do more “reps” in life. Do them where they count. Do reps where it can benefit yourself, your family, your loved ones, your community, your country, and your God. There is no doubt the energy you put into these more important things will come back to you in more meaningful, important, and joyful ways.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms...”
- Henry David Thoreau