BARBARIANS AT THE GATE

Despite the inclusion of my favorite character class, this is NOT a post about Dungeons and Dragons, but instead I wish to discuss barriers of entry and gatekeeping.  People say “gatekeeping” like it’s a bad thing, but consider the origin of such a phrase: WHY would we keep a gate?  What is the function of a gate?  The gate is there to protect something that we deem valuable.  You wouldn’t construct a gate to protect something that was worthless: you’d simply leave it out in the open, exposed to the elements, unprotected, raw, exposed and vulnerable.  We put our precious things behind the gate, lock them up, and keep them safe…and that’s exactly WHY we have “barbarians at the gate”.  The barbarians KNOW that all the good stuff is behind that gate: and they want in.  They WANT go get to all that good stuff, they want INSIDE your city, and they want to get AWAY from all that bad stuff that is out there in the raw, exposed elements.  The barbarians will storm the gate, crash the drawbridge, bring out the battering rams and endure the boiling oil, spears and arrows so that they can get BEYOND the gate.  These are the barriers to entry they must bypass, the very ones erected by the gatekeepers, because BOTH sides understand how valuable the stuff beyond the gate really is…do you?

Sometimes it's not a gate but a bridge....and it's the barbarians that are keeping it!

What inspired this post was an interaction I had online recently.  I was discussing 5/3/1 with a trainee and explaining the function of the assistance work: to build muscle.  Jim has said this on many occasions during his weekly podcast, specifically highlighting that the assistance work is where his athlete tend to exert themselves the MOST, because there’s minimal risk of getting hurt going to failure on a set of chin ups or push-ups compared to the core lifts, and this sort of effort is great for building muscle.  The trainee asked where I heard that from Jim and I explained it was in the weekly podcast, to which the trainee informed me that he didn’t listen to them because “There is an annoying sound in the background of a dying smoke alarm”. 

 

If you were to ask me to pinpoint the exact moment I lost my faith in humanity…ok, it wasn’t here, but this definitely helped re-affirm my decision to be a misanthrope.  That is the SMALLEST barrier to entry I have ever seen.  This isn’t gatekeeping: this is like a single blade of grass that is slightly taller than the rest of the lawn, and acting as though this is providing too much resistance to go forward.  Jim Wendler is a 1000lb squatter that was directly trained and mentored by Louie Simmons who has coached athletes ranging from high school kids to collegiate athletes and elite powerlifters, authored several books, and provides a FREE weekly podcast where he directly answers questions submitted to him by viewers on a wide variety of topics…and you can’t be bothered to benefit from this knowledge because there is an annoying sound in the background?  While you sit there in your climate controlled him in the most comfortable chair you own, munching on a snack with your favorite beverage and your designer headphones pumping in crystal clear sound, this minor annoyance has halted your ability to gain wisdom?

How long must I suffer!

 

Do you have any conception of the idea that, “back in the day”, the only way you gained this knowledge was to TRAIN alongside this mentor?  That there was no internet, no weekly newsletters, no 1-800 numbers to dail: the only way you had access was to actually ACCESS the person, in person.  And that meant you were SWEATING alongside them: loading and unloading plates and bars, going set for set, following them around the gym like a puppy-dog, and just hoping you’d learn something through sheer osmosis, to say nothing of if they actually took the time to REALLY explain what the hell it was they were doing.  THAT was the barrier to entry, and we barbarians were at the gate ready to tear it ALL down so we could get to the good stuff.  And that was just if you wanted the local “big guy” to share his knowledge.  Someone like Jim?  Dudes would drive for hours just for the chance to meet up one time and get whatever download of info they could.  There are SO many stories of folks back in the day getting to York or Gold’s or any of the Meccas of physical transformation just for ONE session to try to learn as much as they could…and you can’t be bothered to sit through an annoying sound?

 

Think of the other ridiculous barriers to entry that are keeping some barbarians at the gate.  How often do you hear someone say “I’m not a fan of” when discussing a food product.  Not a fan of?  Does EVERYTHING you put inside your face have to be the most delicious and opulent thing in the world?  Do you legitimately have no room in your life for food that provides a function outside of satisfying hedonism?  Do you have a childlike approach to eating: being a “picky eater” that will only subsist on a diet of chicken fingers, French fries and ketchup (ruled a vegetable by the government!)?  To say nothing of those who claim “I don’t know how to cook”, in an era where, once again, we have INSTANT access to information such that you can LEARN how to cook in the span of minutes.  And if you’re REALLY short on time, you can find a youtube video on how to cook and watch it at 1.5x speed so that you learn FASTER. 

However, don't try to COOK the food 1.5x faster by cooking it 1.5x hotter...

 

And really, the “I don’t have time” barrier to entry is so patently ridiculous.  Super Squats is my go to book for anyone interested in physical transformation.  It can be read in an afternoon and will give you all the tools you need for completely transforming yourself…and yet people REFUSE to read it.  And here comes the comedy: they then go and run what they THINK is the program, screw it up because they don’t know HOW to run the program, and waste 6 weeks of their lives.  They didn’t have time to spend an afternoon reading, but they DID have time to waste 6 weeks?  How does that even work?  Once again: reading this ONE book was the barrier for entry, and it was enough to keep some barbarians at the gate.  Each and every book you DON’T read is simply you allowing the gatekeepers to keep keeping the gate! 

Think of how diminutive these barriers to entry are, compared to the REAL ones that are out there.  Think of the barrier to entry that exists between rep 19 and rep 20 of Super Squats.  Or the barrier to entry as you’re 4 gulps away from finishing the gallon of milk for that day.  Think about the barrier to entry that exists between sets 6 and 7 (of 10) on Deep Water.  Laying on my back in my garage, within the 2 minutes of that rest period, I legit contemplated selling all of my home gym equipment and quitting lifting because I was feeling so miserable…and then my timer went off and I got up and knocked out another set of 10.  Because that misery was the barrier to entry, and I was a barbarian knocking at the gate because I WANTED IN.  Think of all those trainees who never even got to this GATE because they were denied entry into the first circle of the promised land from something as inconsequential as a yucky tasting food or an annoying background noise.  Some folks don’t even get to KNOW about the good stuff that is being gatekept because they don’t even get far enough to SEE the gate. 

Those who refuse to give up their abs will never see the gate of squatting 1200 f**king pounds

 

Be the barbarian you know you are.  Allow no gates to stand in your way.  Allow no gatekeepers to keep their gates.  Overcome all barriers to entry.  They wouldn’t have a gate up if there wasn’t something REALLY good on the other side: go get yours.