Stuff

Folks liked the Memories of Bill Starr. Marty Gallagher just posted a wonderful story about Coach Starr on Startingstrength.com.  Check it out, Marty can write his ass off.

People like that stuff because it was before all the BS of today- Starr was cut and dried and did the basics and he was low carb and Willie Nelson and Miller High Life and worked for the love of it all and did what he said he would do and they just don't come around like that very often. He read ancient texts and eschewed anything modern because everything modern wasn't worth a crap anyway.  He did good mornings until you could look between your legs and dips as low as you could go. He lifted in a barn and sat back and listened when you talked and looked you in the eye and actually cared. Not concerned with money or fame and when I knew him, he didn't have much use for men who let anyone else run their lives and felt like a man should stand on his own. He put paintings outside of his front door and plants and I asked him, don't you worry that someone will steal them? And he didn't worry, just had faith in people, and nobody stole a thing from him.

When I look at my most popular articles, Kirk Karwoski's training routine always comes up. Looking for a secret? No secret. He loved lifting weights. Heavy. Squat and leave. Bench , close grip, machine laterals. Ez Curls, DB curls. Deads, shrugs. Bye. See you later. Time to drink beer. Get up and work the next day, eat tuna, potatoes, then lift. Repeat. Intensity personified. No chains, bands, phases, gurus, sled drags, prowler pushes. I love some of that stuff. But the point is, Kirk trained and trained HARD. Not to failure, never that. But hard and heavy. Ninety pound dumbbell curls, strict. Four hundred and fifty pound inclines. And he didn't care (in my opinion) if he got hurt in the gym because everyday in the gym was a competition, and he loved it . 640x8 , 800x5. Squats.  The 640x8 was without a belt, the 800x5 with just a belt. And he squatted deep. And deadlifted with a normal bar, and form was everything. Legit. And he was gonna win or die trying. He would never just compete just to compete, for a "bucket list" or some worthless modern, made up junk. Win. Win. All out to win.

Kirk

It's like Arnold said one time- lots of mini champions around these days- but the Coan's and Kirk's and Estep's and Cash's were different. They were iconic and unquestionably different than anyone else. Stood apart. Charisma and sheer force of will. Because even though the totals of those guys may get overtaken, they still remain legends because folks know that they were/are legitimate, no frills, champions.

Estep