Iron in My Hands

Just when you think you've read all there is to read about lifting weights and building muscle, along comes another 80,000 words echoing in the corners and hallways of the musclehead gym: schemes and routines and hints and tips with the intent to inform, encourage and entertain. The immediate message: See iron, lift iron.

The ultimate message: Train hard, eat right and be happy.

Don't you just love simple? It's one of the main reasons I chose the sport. No pitcher, no quarterback, no foul ball and no meddlesome referee. Just you and the iron and the rhythmic sounds of action, the grunts and groans and clanks and thuds.

You are your partner, your team, your biggest competitor and your best fan; muscle and might are your favorite goals, with a good pump and burn to accompany you along the way.

And none of it happens without moving a ton of weights, forging countless sets and reps, enduring a pile of aches and maybe some pain, and amassing a stack of stories to tell.

And speaking of stacks of stories to tell, pull up a bench and I'll tell you a few.

Dave