Iron and the lessons of strength training
From the translator: I’m finally bringing you Henry Rollins’s famous reflection on Iron. To be honest, on the one hand the text is easy to grasp on its own; you can sense it or feel it. On the other hand, it is quite hard to put such reflections into words. If you like, read the original article for more. I tried to bring you the main idea of the piece!
Henry Rollins: Iron
“It took me years to begin to understand the value of the lessons I’ve received from the Iron. I used to think that what I was trying to lift was my opponent. I thought I was trying to lift something that didn’t really want to be lifted or moved. I was wrong. If you try to lift the Iron and it won’t move or come off the ground, that is the kindest and most generous way it can treat you. If it came off the ground with minimal effort and the slightest strain and floated up easily, it would teach you nothing. The Iron speaks to you through its heaviness. When the Iron is heavy, it is talking to you, and the dialogue is especially deep and meaningful. It shows you and tells you that the more you work with it and deal with it, the more you yourself begin to resemble it.
Until my late twenties I didn’t understand what a great gift and insight hard training had given me. I learned that nothing good can be achieved without commitment, without work and effort, and that a dose of pain always comes with it. Every time I finish a hard set, trembling, I’ve found out something about myself again.
For a while I tried to fight the pain that comes up during a set in training; I feared it and found it repulsive. But by now it has become clear to me that pain is not my enemy; it is an opportunity being offered to me. At the same time, we mustn’t forget that when dealing with the Iron you have to know how to interpret pain correctly. When you converse with the Iron, don’t let your ego take charge. For a few weeks I trained with training loads my body wasn’t ready for. The result was that a proper slump followed in my training sessions. Try to lift something you aren’t ready for and the Iron will immediately give you a lesson in moderation and self-control.
I have never met a truly strong person who didn’t respect themselves. I think overcoming many inner and outer temptations is also tied to self-respect and self-pride. If you have developed both of these and they are firmly in place, you learn to rise above vices and temptations, to be superior to them.
Seeing how many people train purely for cosmetic goals, I see vanity at its worst and emptiest. They are like cartoon characters, poster figures for asymmetry, insecurity, imbalance and defenselessness. Strength shows itself above all through character and attitude. There can be a huge difference between two outwardly strong people. Muscle mass doesn’t always equal strength. Strength is kindness and sensitivity. Strength is the understanding that your might and power are, by their very nature, both physical and emotional. True strength is the result of body, mind and heart working together.
Yukio Mishima said that he could not be a romantic entertainer and writer if he weren’t strong. Romance is by nature such a powerful and crushing passion that a weak body couldn’t bear it for long. I’ve done some of my most romantic thinking in the gym, in the company of the Iron. Once, during a hard workout, I was making love to a woman in my thoughts. I thought of her most, longed for her most, in those moments when the pain and the heaviness of the load were greatest and ran through my whole body. My whole body wanted her. It wanted her so much that sex no longer mattered; it was just a trivial part of the great longing within me. That experience was one of the most powerful experiences of longing for love I have ever had. At the same time, the woman herself was far away and I didn’t see her very often.
Working out is one of the healthiest ways to cope with loneliness. I still usually listen to ballads when I train. I prefer to train alone. That way I can focus on the lessons the Iron gives me. The time you spend finding out who you are and what you are capable of is always time well spent. For discovering and getting to know yourself, there is no better teacher than the Iron. The Iron has taught me how I should live. Modern life is capable of completely messing with your head. It’s hard to stay normal amid everything that is going on; it’s a miracle if you don’t go mad. People seem to be separated from their bodies. They are no longer whole.
I see people trying to escape from their offices, only to race home to the suburbs by car. They are constantly stressed, they sleep badly, and there is no nutrition to speak of. They behave badly. People’s egos have run wild; they are motivated only by the kinds of things that ultimately leave them stuck in a dead end. Willpower and an iron spirit are what a great many people need. Many would need the same lessons I have received from the Iron.
Over the years I have combined my reflections, my actions and the Iron’s lessons, and the result is pure strength. I believe that when the body is strong, the mind also thinks strong, life-affirming thoughts. I feel that time spent away from the Iron makes me regress. I wallow in depression and degenerate. Away from the Iron, my body switches off the work of my mind. The Iron is the best antidepressant. For coping with weaknesses, there is no better way than strength and toughness.
The Iron never lies to you. People may feed you all kinds of talk and nonsense; some praise you and call you a cool character, some insult you, some slander you and curse you into the ground. You can always trust the Iron: it is always honest, a good benchmark and an all-knowing describer of the situation. The Iron is like a lighthouse on a pitch-black night. I have come to the realization that the Iron is my greatest friend. It never yells at me, never abandons me and never runs away. Friends come and go, but 100 kg is always and forever 100 kg.”
Original article HERE.
Author: Janar Rückenberg (translation)
Come and work out! ArtGym
