Mastery, is a word that people carry around at times and not only believe it, but indulge in it to the degree that they make it sound like they're better than anybody else when in fact they're not a master at all. It takes discipline, time, patience and observation along with the obvious application at the thing you are striving to master.
Now when people say they've mastered something, listen to how they say it. The tone in their voice, the expressions, the way they may even write about and the personality behind it. Some treat it like it's a gift and something that they cherish and want others to work at it too. Others, are just plain arrogant about it and treat it as if they're some kind of emperor/king/duke or whatever and act like they can talk down to people and that they can't do cause out of 8 billion people in the world, he/she is the only true master. Quite the bullshit way of them don't you think?
Learning from several masters of their craft that range from strength athletics to concert virtuosos to bodybuilders and powerlifters, you begin to pick up on things that aren't always seen. One of the true masters of Strongmanism, Bud Jeffries, was cunning and methodical in how he did things. He didn't lift and do things the same others have. At first glance, it may look ugly to the untrained eye but once you understood his positioning, the way he conducted himself in workouts and the way he spoke about it, you were seeing a rare breed of a human being that was in a class by himself. He was doing things outside the norms and it wasn't just squatting a 700 lb barbell or sprinting with a tire behind him, he made his training look like a unique blend of practicality mixed with nutty formats of unbelievable strength that will never be duplicated.
The point for this article however, is to see how you can possess the knowledge to train no matter where you are because if you truly want to understand the world of physical culture, you need to learn about the old timers and how they were able to do incredible things before supplements, steroids, PED's and (ironically) without going to a gym on a consistent basis. Back in the day, a gym was very different; there were no machines to work your hamstrings or to pulldown with a metal bar, no treadmills to run on for cardio and sure as hell there weren't rubber tubes to pull. There were Global Barbells & Dumbbells, Indian Clubs, Hand Crafted Racks, Pulleys that were strung together on walls, gymnastics equipment and of course Mats made for those who practiced wrestling, Japanese Jiu Jitsu and other arts that were part of the era. They weren't even called Gyms, they were called in most places, Health Clubs or a club named after an instructor or someone famous of the time or a YMCA.
The old timers, had to be craftier than those of today. Many of them were laborers, farmers, miners or whatever and needed an outlet to work their bodies outside of those insane jobs of the time. Some worked in the Carnival and would train to take on all comers in either lifting or wrestling. There were strongmen who didn't even see a barbell until they were in their early-mid teens or older. Compare that today when you have 10 year olds doing things with a barbell or dumbbell. Back then, they relied mainly on the things they worked with or used sports such as Baseball, Wrestling, Boxing or something else to get their cardio going. They had tons of sparring partners or others to lift with because since there were no cell phones, tvs or the internet for that matter, the distractions were far less.
Having a mindset like this is a key ingredient to mastering the ability to train anywhere. You learn to blend the old world with the new using bits and pieces that suit your goals. Yes it's true, bodyweight training is the Michael Jordan of anywhere, anytime exercise but it's only a piece of the puzzle. If all you do is bodyweight, awesome, that's your style. It was my style too for a long time. I believe in variety and applying ways to train that go beyond bodyweight training, it's another tool in the box that's part of your journey. Now when it comes to variety, yeah it's important to know what you want to do and how to utilize them in ways you'll see fit. Obviously we can't travel with barbell plates, a bar and a dumbbell rack in our suitcase, but we can use that old school aspect by finding things like rocks, logs and other things on our travels. Yes there's a gym on just about every corner in every major city, but we must learn to not rely on the gym itself to make ourselves strong and healthy.
Gyms provide things that we don't always have at home or on the road like camping for example, they have uses that are beneficial, but too many rely or are stuck into believing equipment is the only way to train. That's where certain things like building a home gym can be beneficial. It saves more money than you'll believe than a regular gym but it's also important to know what equipment to have so you can get the most benefit. Some hotels have a gym but not all and some areas don't have a gym around for miles on end. When it comes to equipment, find things that are easy to travel with that can be put into a backpack or suitcase. For me, I'll take my WorldFit Iso Trainer, My Dopa Band and an ab wheel or my other Isometric Strap and I have all the equipment I need when I travel. If it's too much for you to travel with things other than your clothes and essentials, that's great, you still have bodyweight training to count on.
True mastery in this case is that you have built a mindset, the knowledge and the awareness that no matter where you are, you can always find a way to train. You won't always be able to get to a machine or do power lifts, but you can still build strength and fitness that matters. In this pursuit of knowledge, learn exercises from a bodyweight point of view first and foremost, that's your foundation. Whatever comes next, be resourceful and find things that are practical and can easily carry around. At times, I'll grab my half tire, put my hammers in my backpack and walk to the park that isn't far so I can train with them, it's not fun carrying those things cause it goes up to 100 lbs overall with those fuckers but the reward is to do things out in the open air and train your ass off using things that matter to you. Carrying them back after kicking your ass can be a bitch though. You do what you have to do.
Master these ideals and you're on your way to having a journey that will take you on many roads. Share your knowledge with enthusiasm and do your best to share it without being an asshole. There's too many of those in this world, kindness isn't a weakness but don't be a pushover either. Hold this mastery sacred but don't be like Gollum with the ring, that can get you into the fires of Mordor (talk about geeking out for a moment) or in other words, it can bite you back in the ass. Be a badass in your mastery and don't stop being Amazingly Awesome.
