Bryant Josh - Powerbuilding Breakdowns

Finding your path, or your course, in life requires that you make a decision. Of course, any choice comes at the expense of other options.

What social media enthusiasts and food truck devotees call FOMO, or fear of missing out, is not an experience that is peculiar to the current generation. Across time, people have struggled with making the right decision and living with that option.

As the French writer Marcel Proust said: All our final decisions are made in a state of mind that is not going to last.

From our experiences, we learned that there is genius in bold action and enduring conviction. At any moment, you take the information you have and make the best decision possible. Then, you move forward with a mindset of audacity and bravery.

Like many lessons, this was something we learned from the formative time we spent at the gym we frequented during that foundational adolescent period.

Our gym included strength enthusiasts who were downright Homeric in their exploits, some borderline transient types cut from the Steinbeck model of Monterreys paisanos, and an amalgam of training-focused ex-jocks who stretched their adolescence to the point of absurdity as a means to ensure the requisite time with the iron.

It was a motley crew. But, among that crew, we found mentors, heroes, and teachers.

One such individual was Kirk.

On an unusually muggy day, Kirk made his first appearance at the gym. He had a face that more refined women would call chiseled, and a classic strength build. We remember one female gym-goer, an art teacher at the local community college, called his body aesthetically pleasing without sacrificing an obvious functionality and purpose.

Basically, the dude was big and jacked. We noticed that the ladies liked that and many men envied him.

He walked into the gym dressed like a prep school gym teacher. He wore a tank top tucked into form-fitting sweat shorts, and he kept his socks pulled up almost to his knees (old school Los Angeles Lakers fans will remember this Michael Cooper look).

Broad and tapered with purposeful movements, his presence commanded attention. While we noticed Kirk right away, we kept our distance out of respect and a reluctance to come across as fawning or obnoxious. But, we were in an information-gathering phase. In particular, we wanted to learn as much as we could about strength, and this guy clearly had strength. So we observed how he trained.

After cautiously watching a few of his workout sessions, we started to notice a certain pattern. Kirk divided his sets into three rep varieties. The first set would be heavy. After that, he would drop the weight to hit more reps, before finishing with even less weight and noticeably more reps.

It was similar to some of the drop sets we saw from bodybuilders, but it was done with less volume, a lot more intensity, and a much longer rest interval between sets. This was interesting. We wanted to understand it better.

Our first interaction with Kirk was more of an experience than a conversation.

This may sound more than a little unusual, but we smelled him before we saw him. Focused on training, we were working our way through weight on the dumbbell rack for hammer curls. Looking down at the numbers inscribed on the iron, we did not see Kirk saunter over toward us. But the gym air became thick with masculine musk. It was like the pollen-rich breeze of an early Midwest spring, except rather than a powdery plant substance, there was a dense cloud of testosterone.

Then, a heavy mitt dropped on our shoulder.

Excuse me, fellas, he said in a growl of a voice that somehow managed to come across as more friendly than threatening, but are you boys gonna hog all the weight?

Before we could respond, his brow lifted and a broad smile spread across his face. His teeth were even and unusually white.

Hey, Im not here to interrupt your workout, he spoke while holding up his hands to feign an attitude of supplication. I came over to you to compliment what you guys are doing. Going hard with the iron. Thats a good thing. I like it.

Seeing that we took the compliment in silent appreciation, he continued.

Now, hey, what are you fellas lifting for?

To get strong, we responded in a tone as if we were saying that the sky is blue or water is wet.

He shrugged a pair of massive shoulders dusted with a smattering of light blond hair.

Yeah, I got that. Generally, when you hit the iron, you are working toward one of two things. On one hand, he held up an open palm, you want to get as big and powerful as possible, like a powerlifter. Basically, you want to look like that big ol boy over there.

Kirk gestured over to Big Craig loading up the squat rack. A successful powerlifter on the state level, Big Craig was, well, big.

That is a strong man there, Kirk said with a sincere appreciation of physical might. If his car breaks down in a snowstorm, he is pushing that thing home. But I wont pee down your back and call it rain. His muscle is covered by a lot of flesh. Hes got a coat like a yogurt layer. If that guy wants to hit the pool party at the HOA clubhouse, not too many girls are getting real excited when he takes off his shirt. Sure, there may be a couple of girls who are into that freak strength thing, but they will be the exception.

So, you have a big, strong boy, who aint batting real high at the local singles bar. Now, on the other hand, Kirk held up the open palm of his opposite hand, you want to get jacked and shredded, like a bodybuilder. You want to look like that dude over there.

He jerked his thumb in the direction of Jerry DeFrango, an amateur bodybuilder who had done some local shows.

Now, you kids are old enough to know the deal. Ill shoot you straight. Jerry cleans up, I mean cleans up on the singles scene. But, you know where he really shines? Sunny days at the beach, pool, or lake. He takes off his shirt and the ladies swoon.

Admittedly, Kirk went on, Jerry aint gonna be able to push a car up a hill.

So, now, when I ask, Hey, why are you training? and you respond, We want to get strong, yeah, Im with that. But, Kirk held his index finger up in the air, do you want form, for making sure you got a date every weekend?

Or, do you want function, to ensure you got the raw horsepower to get out of a dicey scenario at a border town dive bar?

Well, we were really clear that our training was no-frills, no-nonsense. We focused on go muscles, not show muscles. That being said, we were also teenagers with overflowing hormones. Hey, we figured, it couldnt hurt to look good for our senior trip to Mexico or to take the world of college coed pool parties by storm.

Alright, Kirk spoke up, I can tell by your faces, you guys are torn. Both sound good. No shame in that. So, now you are hesitant to choose one option because you have a fear of missing out.

What if I told you that you could take the best from powerlifting and bodybuilding?

Hows that? we asked.

With powerbuilding.

Whats powerbuilding?