Continuing on with my theme of the tribe gathering around the communal fire and storytelling, allow me to discuss the types of individuals one can encounter at these communal fires and the value of their contributions. I’ve broken this down into 3 categories: keepers of lore, soothsayers, and gossips. Keepers of lore would fundamentally be those storytellers I prized in my earlier writings: those that know the history of the tribe, it’s stories, myths and legends, and are able to retell these events and weave together the tapestry of bits and pieces of information, lore and knowledge into a comprehensible and understandable narrative. Anyone can know random facts and trivia, but the ability to recall them WHEN they are relevant and present them in manner that is appreciable to the audience is the real value. We then have soothsayers: those wild-eyed mystics who gaze into the abyss and attempt to foretell the future and fortunes of those in attendance. Whereas the keepers of the lore are concerned with the past, the soothsayers speak to the future. And then the gossips, who speak only of the present, the people that are here and now, and the goings-ons as they occur. What is the key difference of the third group here? It takes NO talent to be a gossip, which is why, at any communal fire, there will be a disproportionate amount of gossips compared to Keepers of Lore and Soothsayers.
Not a keeper of lore...but there IS lore around this keeper
In the realm
of physical transformation, we absolutely NEED Keepers of Lore. Those iron historians that can re-tell the
stories of Pat Casey hitting a 600lb bench press in 1967 in a t-shirt on a
rickety bench that looks like something from a yardsale off a diet of meatloaf
sandwiches slathered in mayo while Paul Anderson was squatting 1100lbs out of a
hole he dug in his backyard, a trick Bob Peoples taught him, while chugging a
mix of milk and honey between sets. To
say nothing of those TRUE historians that can cite instances of the first set
of dumbbells found in ancient Greek gladiatorial training centers, or the use
of heavy clubs with Indian wrestlers dating back to well before Christ, or how
the Spartans learned to eat a diet of barley vs grain and venison vs pork and,
subsequently, found themselves leaner than their Athenian counterparts. We learn SO much about the future by looking
into the past, because the physical transformation gestalt is cyclical, much
like everything else in existence.
Styles and practices ebb and flow, with high volume being the training
style du jour one day only to be replaced by HIT the next, only to transition
to functional patterns, only back to abbreviated training, only to come back to
traditional bodybuilding. And nutrition
experiences similar instances of en vouge practices followed by the immediate
counter-reaction, with us observing low-carb’s popularity in the 70s, and then
the 90s, and then the 2010s and then the counter-reaction of high carb in the
80s and currently.
What we can
gain, among many things, from these Keepers of Lore is the common trends that
ran deep among those that succeeded and how we can apply them to our current
situation. On the micro-level, all these
methods can appear wildly different, but the historical perspective affords us
the luxury of being able to step back and analyze from far away, and in doing
so we are better able to observe what commonalities those who have succeeded
have all shared and, consequently, what trends have resulted in failure and
burnout. Effort, consistency and time
are those ever present principles, and those who attempt to bypass either of
these principles tend to be the ones that we recognize as the snakeoil salesman
and charlatans of their era: flashes in the pan remembered as a comical
footnote in the annals of history.
Although some DO have a little more staying power than others...
In contrast,
we have the soothsayers of physical transformation. Who are these people? These are the pioneers: the people out there
trying new stuff, engaging in their own n=1 studies, subjecting their bodies to
all manner of experimentation and embracing this journey with an open mind and
an adventuring spirit. Yes, you can tell
how much I love these types of individuals, because the current world of
physical transformation is so incredibly neutered, whereas in the past this
pioneering spirit was THRIVING with the likes of Bill “Peanuts” West and the
original Culver City Westside Barbell crew recruiting any and every strong
human they could find on the planet in order to try out whatever whacky method
they could come up with in order to get as strong as physically possible
(which, consequently, is why they housed Pat Casey and Superstar Billy Graham
as the only two individuals on the planet that could bench over 600lbs in the
1960s). And here I am talking about the
past when I talk about the future, but we saw this same spirit with the other
Westside Barbell crew of Louie Simmons, where according to everyone that
actually read the Russian literature, Louie COMPLETELY misunderstood it…and
still made his misunderstanding totally work by creating his own incredibly
unique system totally out of scratch, constantly modifying, tweaking and
inventing stuff while experimenting on his stable of mutants in order to create
the most dominant powerlifting gym of it’s era.
While everyone else was content to just do what everyone else was doing,
these pioneering individuals gazed into the future and JUMPED ahead of the
curve.
I love
listening to soothsayers at the communal fire.
The first time I heard Shawn Baker discussing carnivore on Mark Bell’s
podcast, it completely blew my mind how totally contrarian everything he said
was to everything I’d ever heard, which of course drew me in. It was the same hearing Jon Andersen discuss
Deep Water, or hearing Jamie Lewis discuss…anything, despite him truthfully
being a Keeper of Lore, because he took that information and used it to reach
INTO the future and drag us through a timeportal. In modern times, I look to those that are
espousing ideas that run counter to what is currently being purported, because,
quite frankly, I have SEEN what modernity is producing, and I am NOT impressed.
Although the future doesn't look too bright either
Which leads
us to the gossips: those who are only pre-occupied with the goings-ons of the
here and now. Again: why are there so
many gossips? Because it requires NO
talent to be a gossip. All of us are
equipped with the faculties to look at what is currently transpiring and
regurgitate it to anyone who will listen to us: hell, you can train a parrot to
perform that trick. These people gather
around the communal fire and simply discuss those that are already present and
what they are already doing: who cares?
We all already KNOW all of this: why don’t you bring some value to the
fire and tell me a story about the past or a prediction of the future?
You readers
of academic studies who simply share what was contained in an abstract that you
overheard some influencer discussing on a 60 second Tik Tok reel: you are
contributing no value to the discussion at the fire. Hell, these studies are always “yesterday’s
news” as it is, for even a GOOD study (already a rarity) has to undergo so much
scrutiny and review that, by the time the information comes out, those bros
that were in the trenches already figured out all this stuff 20 years ago. And yet, when they tried to share it with you
as a Keeper of Lore, you called it anecdote and bro-science, but now that
someone slapped a study name on it and acquired a funded grant it suddenly has
legitimacy? Your preoccupation with the
present is, ironically enough, keeping you behind everyone else that is eagerly
lapping up the stories of the past and the predictions of the future in order
to achieve their own transformations.
While you prattle on about the gossip of the day, others are equipping
themselves with lore and fortunes to be able to overcome the challenges of the
future with the wisdom of the past.
This is the sort of maniac prophet I can't wait to listen to!
Leave the
gossipers to gossip at the fringes of the fire.
Seek out the Keepers of Lore and the Soothsayers and make the most of
your time at the fire. One day, it will
go out, and you’ll regret all the stories and predictions left to be told.
This is brilliant Emevas and very relatable.
ReplyDelete“Confessions of a gossip” is my contribution to this week’s fireside chat. I apologise for the length below but this one really got me thinking.
I have found my natural tendency and inclination has been to sit at various fireside chats as a gossip bickering and arguing with other gossips.
As someone with a tendency to gossip I can relate to being heavily impacted in my own journey by soothsayers. Examples are Shaun Baker (carnivore) and Martin Berkhan (intermittent fasting and HIT). I am eternally grateful to both.
I can see as a gossiper, that my time spent at a fireside chat goes through discrete stages and recognising these has meant my desire to gossip has reduced.
Stage 1.
When I first come across a soothsayer, I can get enthralled and quickly jump on the bandwagon. Uncertain and devoid of my own ideas and capacity to test the soothsayers ideas, I quickly gather next to other gossipers sitting in an exclusive location. This section of the fireside chat is where a group of us gossips gather together and slowly become devotees. It is an echo chamber. As devotees we listen carefully among the gossip and stories about transformation miracles. We happily and selectively spread these miracles to others prepared to listen. We exclude and screech over anything that challenges our devotion. It does not matter if we are experiencing the miracles ourselves, as devotees we are bearing witness.
Stage 2.
Ultimately this type of gossip gets tiresome. I like many other gossip’s tend to move to another part of the fireside chat, where we start on the “nuance and detail” of a soothsayers ideas. Examples are “Don’t fast for 16 hours, fast for 18. Don’t skip breakfast, eat breakfast. Don’t eat grain fed beef, only eat grass fed beef. Don’t eat eggs and dairy only eat only meat”. At this point there is the emergence of a group of “soothsayers 2.0” which are really just thieves. They are making a name for themselves amongst other gossips by polluting the gossip threads with nuance and detail that does not matter.
Stage 3.
Ultimately, when this form of gossip has runs its course, we move on again. Tired and bored with no results from endless gossiping about unimportant details we will embark on the final stage of gossiping. The aim at this stage is destroying the soothsayer. Instead of listening for miracles and spreading miracles, the gossiper is carefully listening for danger and failure and bad outcomes and happily spreading this.
Stage 4.
As a gossip I think you ultimately learn and realise your results and achievements in physical transformation are on full display for others to see. Nobody is likely to care about the gossip you are spreading on programming if you “do not look like you lift”. This is the beginning of the end.
Stage 5.
I feel if you do get results from a soothsayer you ultimately have no need or desire to gossip anymore. You slowly become a keeper of that lore. You only speak if asked, and you offer examples and experiences if you think it helps. This is no longer gossip but honest real and learned experience being genuinely shared warts and all. This is what I love about the blog and why I put time into reflecting and commenting. I don’t mind if others like or don’t like the comments, it is just sharing experiences.
On the weekend my family was sitting upstairs (directly above my home gym) laughing at all the silly noises I was making downstairs.
I was doing rest pause training where at times I felt like my only option was to groans and yell to get the bar moving. This training silences my mind, and shuts down all capacity for gossip. I come up tired, exhausted, and have no words to describe the experience.
Love these threads Emevas.
Dude, I absolutely LOVED this breakdown. That journey you described is incredibly relatable. We're all trying so hard to belong at first and find our tribe, but eventually you start to realize you don't want to be a part of a club that will have you as a member, haha. Having that independence to share your experience and not care if anyone cares about it is liberating.
DeleteI have noticed a lot of the sooth sayers often say the same things. Nick Showman (of whom Dave Tate brought in for a table talk a long time back) mentions how strength training fornsports becomes GPP and the actual sports practices are what should be sport specific. Dave Tate and Dan John have also said the same things.
ReplyDeleteThey're also more than happy to back up that what they say works not because of studies, but because they have proven it by training athletes to become elite level. While also not putting other methods down.
Jim Wender was asked onxe what he thought of Bret Contreras' criticisms of 5/3/1. He said he didnt care because his athletes perform very in football.
Dudes who produce results tend to think those matter, while dudes that rely on studies tend to disregard them.
DeleteVery well put.
DeleteOh well. Here's to being strong and wrong.