@James Foster – Well, I definitely agree that 5 and 6 were the worst!
Today was Movie Day—a day in which I do nothing but watch movies, and I try to have one at least once a month.
You see, I love movies :-)
And today, perhaps to rekindle my inner child, I spent 91 minutes watching a movie that I literally watched every day for an entire summer when I was 12 years old: Rocky IV.
Now, you may not agree with me that Rocky IV is one of the best movies of all time, but if you’re a Rocky fan at all, you’ve GOT to agree that it’s the absolute best out of all the Rockies (and there will be time to debate that later if you don’t :-)
I mean, what a great story, right? Rocky, avenging his best friend Apollo’s death by defeating the highly-favored, monstrous Russian on his own turf in Russia−even for someone who’s seen it 79 times like me, it’s pretty intense stuff.
But apart from that, even if you somehow didn’t care for the movie (and I can’t imagine how), Rocky IV can still teach you something extremely valuable and applicable to you and your own goals.
And that is, the raw power of motivation.
Let’s be honest, if Rocky had gone in to fight the Drago prior to Apollo or at any other time, under any other circumstances, he would have got his butt handed to him. The dude was a monster, and had Rocky outmatched in every possible way.
But because Rocky had something extremely powerful to motivate him (the fact that this guy killed his best friend), he was able to seemingly defeat some crazy odds and emerge victorious.
Let me ask you a question: What’s YOUR motivation? What is it that gets you up in the morning and over to the gym before work when everyone else is sleeping in?
What is it that allows you to regularly pass up the quick and easy (and frankly, delicious) foods that so many others regularly indulge in?
Do you have a REAL source of motivation? If you don’t, it’s highly likely you’re going to get “knocked out” by all the temptation and “easy ways out” that surround us on a daily basis.
Let’s face it, it’s a heck of a lot easier to eat whatever, whenever, and skip the whole workout thing then it is to live a fit, healthy lifestyle.
You absolutely have to have a very powerful source of motivation, because without one, your toast.
So do you have a source of motivation that keeps you going strong toward your goals each and every day? What is it?
Reaffirm it by posting it in the comments section below to start today off with renewed focus (and if you don’t value your “reason” enough to post it below, it’s probably safe to say that you don’t really have one).
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
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I have always been in good shape, but never exercised regularly. I played ball and tennis a lot and stayed in shape. As I got busier,and older, I got more sedintary. I joined a gym and do basic things, but was not being invigorated. I saw your emails and took a chance and read what you had to say. I have altered my workouts because of your info and will let you know what the results are, but I feel better in just a week! Yes, I agree, Rocky IV was a great lesson in determination. I love all the Rocky moies and have seen them all over 25 times!!!Thanks for the tips.
Mark
My biggest motivation is to feel and look my best. There are so many health issues associated with being overweight. I have decided to take control of my life and to use food for exactly what it is; fuel for the body. I use to take comfort in eating but now I have gotten involved in other things to keep me busy so I think less about food. I have started learning a new language. Just seeing the changes in my body, how I now feel and look is very motivating for me. Now when I look in the mirror I can smile.
Sorry Joel, but given the choice between Rocky III and IV, I gotta go with III. I mean how do you give the nod to Ivan Drago over Clubber Lang? Rocky III has just a smidge more bad 80’s music than IV. Drago does punk out Rock, but not nearly as bad as when Mr. T emasculates Rocky in front of his wife. By the end of Rocky III you feel like you are the one throwing punches. Just to humor you, here is an exerpt from one of my blog posts with a summary of Rocky IV……
“Summary: Rocky Balboa defeats Heavyweight Champion Clubber Lang (Mr. T) in a rematch for the title. Rocky, with the help of Apollo Creed and a crappy Survivor song, learned to box lefty in hopes of regaining his man-sack. Meanwhile, over in the Soviet Union, the Russians decided that they want to be the kings of boxing. Via the use of superduper technology, steroids, and bad 80’s hair gel, Ivan Drago is created. Drago now wants a shot, but he’ll have to go through Apollo first (in an exhibition fight…Rocky is just not interested. He is however, interested in Drago’s 6′5″ Sasquatchian girlfriend Emma Hugh Jore). James Brown sings, Apollo gets killed, Rocky gets down, and Rock gets called a puss* by his own wife (You can’t win Rock..you can’t win). Rock should have really dumped Adrian Balboa for Adrienne Barbeau, but Rocky is a man’s man, he is the working class stiff who became the Champion because he just worked hard and had the most heart. Rocky trains in Northern Canada/Siberia (same place, but the women in Canada shave their armpits). Drago trains hard and gets regular B12 injections while Sly is lifting rocks and jogging along the countryside. Rock defeats Drago in front of the head of the USSR as millions upon millions of fans chant his name, “Rocky, Rocky, Rocky”. We are led to believe that Rocky was “clean” and that Drago was “dirty”. Drago cheated, but the good guy still won. The good guy should always win.”
later Joel
Sorry, I failed to mention Motivation.
Motivation is the reflection in the mirror. It is the answer to the question, “Am I satisfied?”. It is the goal, the prize, the 8% bodyfat. It is the reason behind the drive….kinda like Rocky (III not IV).
joe louis vs max schmeling? 2nd fight? with Hitler in audience?
hey whats up?
i want to get on the cover of men´s health magazine in germany. thats my goal. another motivation occurs every day. getting out of teh shower , seeing myself in the mirror and think your arms are not big enough, there´s a lil fat left on your abs.
Love it…we ALL need to reaffirm our TRUE motivation for working out!!!
You are correct!!!!!!!!!!!!
My motivation is that I want to be able to wake up and be happy with who I am and the body I have. I want to be able to help other people when I can and I cant do that if I am going to be stuck around doing nothing. By transforming myself I can better control my life and make a difference in the life’s of others.
Hi Joel Marion, just what say this very good web page you got runing here & i love what you wright,
i’m sorry if my reply might seem that have a go at you but i am not it is just i have Dyslexic.
it very funny you talk about this film as motivation, Sly Stallone took his motivation from Steve Reeves one best physiques going,
Steve Reeves was what bodybuilding was all about proportioned, balanced, beautiful body, he was what got so many people motivation.
so if the true bodybuilding men & women of 50’s to late 70’s was not born, there would be no films like rocky.
My motivation is preparing for my first contest, which falls in summer 2010. If I don’t have goals it is very easy for me to be undisciplined. In other words, and more attractive, my goal is to become Mr. México Jr.
great stuff joel , keep it coming
Has anyone ever tried the Ironmaster Dumbells? How do those compare to the PowerBlocks?
The best Rocky is the one you’ve just watched. Really! I love them all and have watched each many, many times, often multiple times in a row. They’re the BEST motivation EVER! (in a movie – got to agree with nicky, though, motivation comes in a packages – packages for me – little bundles of joy).
I seem to be built for endurance, but not really very fast… I started training sporadically because I wanted to show that it’s possible to do stuff like a half-marathon or triathlon without being as skinny as a fence rail. And because I was inspired by my dad who runs insane stuff like alpine-marathons and 100-k events (but at his pace):-)
I had a training ban because of a torn tendon, and now I’m back :-) Right now I have two main motivations: I want to be able to RUN at least part of a half-marathon (my dad is slowing his pace and doing one with me in may) and RUN the foot stretch (10-k) of the triathlon. The second is kind of connected – to be running regularly, I need to lose some more weight (102 right now – actually lost a couple kg already), otherwise my joints aren’t going to keep up with me :-) My goal right now is 10 kg by end of aug – my dream is to be down another 10 kg by end of this year (some people have been saying I need to lose more weight than that – but since I plan on building up muscles at the same time as getting rid of fat, I’m not really planning on more – I don’t want to be too skinny, since I like having some curves).
Anyhoo, sorry, this ended up being a bit longer than planned…
Joel, I will have to respectfully disagree with your assessment regarding “Rocky IV”. I do appreciate the fact, however, that you’re one of the first people not to proclaim the original one as best film. I’m a “Rocky II” man myself. The scene where his beloved wife Adrian awakes from her coma and tells Rocky, I want you to do one thing for me…win…WIN!!!” gets me every time…My lifelong commitment to physical improvement began when I almost got my puny ass kicked by a girl during freshman year. Although I like to think I’ve come a long way since that day over 20 years ago, I still remind myself that she’s probably grown a lot bigger as well (smile). That event was certainly a catalyst, but I now I simply enjoy the personal challenges weight training invariably presents. THANK YOU for all the great articles and helpful insight!!
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...