Thanks Dean Starkey!!

Me & Dean with our World Championship Medals from 1997; me from South Africa & he at Athens

Today, after missing two days of training I felt agitated and lethargic to the point it took me over an hour to talk myself into going out to start my double lifting session.  I had both a garage and a gym lift session today so I was NOT into it at all.  I know, I know, "just show up and get through it and you will feel better".  For some reason today I felt like I would be a failure if I took that approach.  Enter Dean Starkey, retired 19' 5" (5.92m) USA vaulter.

I've known Dean very well for many years and like any successful athlete or person, he has very little patience with himself if he doesn't feel like he is giving his best.  My very favorite memory of Dean's unique approach is that if he got rejected or stood up by a pole, he would not only gut it up and move up a pole, but he would actually skip the next biggest pole and go to the one above that.  MANLY!!

So today when I was feeling like a loser trying to talk myself into training, I remembered this and channelled Dean by going out and starting 50 lbs. (22kg) heavier on all of my big lifts and 25 lbs. on the secondary lifts.  I always say you can kill a fly with a flyswatter or with a sledgehammer and today I chose the sledgehammer.  Thanks Deano!!  Bubba

Here's Dean jumping big in Athens in 1997 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe_3_HiBMtU