Sterling Terrell

recovering economist

Someone Who Likes Pain

Someone Who Likes Pain

If you are going to improve in any way at the gym you have to be someone who likes pain, or at least does not mind it much.

Now I am not talking here about some kind sadistic or masochistic perversion.

This is about enjoying the struggle of physical feats.

You might be pushing through the pain of a run looking for a second wind, or dead-lifting three reps of previous maximum weight.

I personally enjoy the soreness the day after a big weightlifting workout.

You hurt a little bit and your muscles twinge with the memory that you have been active.

Let’s all be more active, ok?

“More stress?” I didn’t like the sound of that. AT ALL! “Yes. More stress. We are going to push you harder—the hardest you’ve been pushed in your workouts—and we will do a workout specifically based on stressing your pull-up muscles to smash this plateau and get your pull-up numbers increasing. Be ready for a good workout tomorrow morning.” “Good? What do you mean by good?” I asked, worried that Uncle Jake’s definition of the word good might be a little different than mine. “I guess I mean pain. Be ready for some pain in the morning.” That’s EXACTLY what I was afraid of!

-Jocko Willink, The Way Of The Warrior Kid

How To Get Better At Pull Ups

How To Get Better At Pull Ups

Ok, here is how to get better at pull ups, from a Navy Seal.

  1. Grab pull up bar
  2. Jump and hold yourself up with your chin above the bar
  3. Hold that position for as long as possible
  4. Let yourself down as slow as possible
  5. Repeat

I used this method years ago to go from not being able to do one pull up to doing ten.

Turns out, you get better at everything else by practicing too.

Willink said it best: “You get better at pull ups by doing pull ups.”

Simple enough.

I followed his instructions. I grabbed the bar, jumped up, and got my chin over the bar. I held myself up for a few seconds, and then, when I couldn’t stay up any longer, I came down as slowly as I could. As soon as I got to the bottom and my feet touched the box, Uncle Jake sounded off, “Now do it again!” I did. The next time, my muscles were already tired, so I couldn’t hold myself up as long, and I came down faster. “Again!” Uncle Jake yelled again. I did it again. And again. And again. Finally, when I could barely get myself up over the bar and basically dropped right down again, Uncle Jake said, “Okay. Now take a break. When I joined the Navy, I could barely do seven pull-ups. But the Navy gave me a program, and I stuck with it—I still do it today. Now I can do about fifty of them pretty easily. You wanna know how you get good at doing pull-ups?” “How?” “By doing pull-ups! And by the time the summer is over, you will be doing at least ten pull-ups. Ten pull-ups, in a row, by the time you go back to school. How do you think that sounds?”

-Jocko Willink, The Way Of The Warrior Kid

Sterling Terrell