25 Jul MDLP: I am The Storm

Somewhere, somehow, someone wrote in some old forgotten diary “when it rains it pours” and then history ran with it. We started applying it to crappy days or the overwhelming feeling that things are truly out of your control. That singular emotion and fear that when things are bad there is still that possibility that they can get much worse in both quality AND quantity. I won’t describe the details of my life but I can certainly say that many of you can relate. So what does this have to with training right? Well… it’s everything.

If you’ve been reading my logs you get the feeling that aside from being a soul that is driven by grandiose and often times self destructive ideas, I am very clear on the law that no training session was ever created the same. If no session is ever the same, both in and out of the gym, then mastery can’t come from the mundane and mediocre stain of blind repetition. Let us consider for a second that your training is an expression of your day to day feelings and this idea is how you will guide your work outs. Aside from the train wreck every session could potentially become, we will then lose track of where we are going. Although I constantly preach about being in the present moment of your training, living moment by moment fueled by emotion can be very volatile for the athlete. Sound familiar? If it does then you read last week’s log and I thank you… but today we are going to focus on some action items rather than dreary description of how life can get shitty.

Set your destination but the rest stops along the way are more important:

My goal, my dream and my athletic battle is to one day attain my Strongman Pro Card. Aside from various other goals within the sport that are as important, this has been my dream in Strongman for the last 7 years. That is my destination, that is what I set the iPhone of my soul to take me to. Along the way I have suffered serious injuries, lost friends, lost family, had my heart broken by the sport so many times it would need another website to describe. These “rest stops” and fueling stations for the love of the sport have been quintessentially the most important moments of my athletic life. The losses of both comps and physical ability, as unwanted as they might have been, are the most grounding moments I’ve ever felt. These Essential fixtures in time are the perfect time to fix imbalances, focus on weaknesses, re-write programs, find a coach, and get a good training group. These are the moments where you are digging your trench, where you will make your stand and decide if this is the sport and life you want to live for. Sound dramatic? Well it fucking is because most of us reading and writing about this life have some screws loose that we hope to drill in just long enough to hold us until our goals are met. Plan your destination but repeat it to yourself daily that each and EVERY ONE of the stops along the way is the true adventure and that accepting this is the only way you will ever taste that goal.

The current moment is fleeting, don’t get greedy:

So here we are, the present moment, now what right? How does this apply to the gym and to the ever evolving mind of an athlete? Well that my friends comes down to one of the most pain in the ass words of life: perspective. The physical reality of training is that you are walking into a manmade structure, in a great country, with lifting toys, to train for pleasure, for growth and it all ends with a prepared meal many of us didn’t have to hunt or kill. This is juxtaposed by our feelings of desire, rage, passion, happiness and sadness. The feeling that maybe this sport saved our lives, that it’s everything to us, that at times this is the only way of life and that without it we would simply cease to exist and we want EVERYONE to fucking know this, right? (@thebattleaxegym see what I did there?) Somewhere in the middle of this practicality and tsunami of emotions we will find the tools for making an amazing training session and an even better athlete. It is not about bring down the value of your training to some spoiled American prancing around the gym forgetting how hard life really is nor is it an excerpt from a Poe piece where we end up in the corner soaked in pre workout whipping away our tears and humming “never more”. It is about disciplining our emotions, anger and sadness into a burning fuel for our bodies so that we can take a true appreciation how incredibly lucky we are to train and be on an athletic journey. This is the time to sharpen and fine tune those external feelings so that we don’t get carried away during training sessions and get hurt. This is a time to avoid injury, fix pains and learn when to walk away!! Having a bad day, a loss, or your boss pissing you off is not an excuse to de-rail off your program and decide it’s a 1 rep max deadlift day. Having a shitty day does not mean you “earned” the right to be reckless even though you may feel you’re the only one in the world that is feeling so low. Training is not a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos or a pint of ice cream, it is not something you can just indulge in because you are caught up in your feelings. Training is a gift as much as it is a weapon, learning how to use it for your destination takes daily practice, discipline and yes, daily failures to overcome as well. Practicing this mind set every day, every session and every present moment during your training is by far one of the most valuable tools any athlete will ever have.

After Thoughts:

I am a big believer and practitioner of generally having a pragmatic outlook and perspective in most areas of my life. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum I am also a very emotional, passionate and ambitious person which at times makes for a very hectic cocktail. As I mentioned above, it is somewhere in between these two complete opposing “foes” that I have managed to make some friends, keep some loved ones, get kind of strong and maintain a gym/business for years now. It’s not easy, nor am I saying any of you think it is and as much as I find myself saying “why am I like this?” I also find myself saying “I am this man, so let’s make the best of it”. I have had the luxury of knowing good friends that live this life, that practice daily and inspire me to keep going… in fact, some of them have a key to my gym. When it rains it pours but it also storms doesn’t it? Somewhere in between a gray a sky and a Thunderstorm is the fight for balance and perspective. This is the life of the athlete and shouldn’t be any other way.

Never Stray from The Way

MDLP

This article is dedicated to Robert Melgar Sr, First of your name. Your legacy lives on through the man you helped raise who has become a brother and an amazing father.

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Mike De La Pava

Michael “MDLP” De La Pava is currently a competitive Strongman and owner of The Battle Axe Gym. Born in Miami, Florida into a Colombian household, Michael finished his schooling by attending Penn State University where he graduated with a Degree in Psychology. Having his roots in martial arts, he would go on to compete in various sports as a Muay Thai fighter, Powerlifter, and rugby player before committing himself fully to Strongman. During this time, he opened Miami’s first Strongman gym, The Battle Axe, where he currently coaches athletes from various disciplines including powerlifting, MMA fighters, Strongman, officers of multiple authorities and enlisted and active military operators. Competing in Strongman for over 6 years has given Michael the opportunity to rank as high as 15th in the nation (105kg), won Florida’s Strongest man (1st in 2014 and 2nd in 2015 in the 105kg class), lift and load a 420 pound Atlas stone, log press 335, pull 700, and most importantly, share the competitive battlefield with some of the best in the game. During this journey, Michael suffered what some would consider a potentially career-ending spine injury. It was at this time that Brian and Michael would begin working together to not only rehab his spine, allowing him to return to Strongman but also develop a new Strongman training program revolving around the 10/20 philosophy. Strongman and coaching have given Michael the opportunity to travel around the nation and the world to train, coach and be coached, as well as share ideas with various leaders in the strength community. Michael’s experience and network in strongman brings a welcome connection with the ever-growing sport of Strongman to the 10/20 team and PRS family.

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